The GuitArchitect’s Guide To Modes Part 4 – Modes and Chords
Welcome to the fourth installment of the GuitArcitecture Mode Visualization lesson series.
If you see anything unfamiliar here, you may want to check out part one, part two, part 3a or part 3b, of the series, but in the meantime, here’s a quick recap:
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To Review:
Any major scale can be broken down into seven 2-string modal shapes that are derived from their scale degree (i.e. position in the scale). These Related Modes are:
- Ionian
- Dorian
- Phrygian
- Lydian
- Mixolydian
- Aeolian
- Locrian
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The sequential order of the modes is always the same.
In the 2-string modal shapes, the fact that the 7th note of each mode is missing from the initial fingering pattern is irrelevant because it will be played in the pattern that follows it.
Modes do not exist in a vacuum. They have as much to do with chords as they do with scales and are always associated with either a chord or a chord progression.
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Deriving the chords from the scale
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Let’s take a look at the initial two-string C Major pattern that we used in the previous lesson.
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If we remove every other note of the scale pattern, we can see arpeggiated versions of the triads associated with those modes.
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Here are the triads in ascending order with a root on the A String:
(Note: these are only sample voicings – please feel free to use your own)
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Since major scales all use the same intervallic formula, all major scales follow the same formula for standard harmonization.
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From this we can develop a generic formula for major scale triads.
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So, for example, the triad built on the first scale degree (i.e. the I chord) of any major scale will always be Major.
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Note:
If we’re discussing the relative minor key (A minor) – the sequence is the same – it just starts from the vi chord:
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7th Chords
If we take a look at the initial 2 string pattern again:
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This time I’m going to eliminate the 3rd and 5th note of each pattern. So in the first pattern:
C, D, E, F, G, A becomes
C, D, F, A aka
D, F, A, C or (D minor 7 starting from the 7th)
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Here’s the rest of the sequence:
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And a generic breakdown in another chart.
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Here are the 7th chords in ascending order with a root on the A String:
(Again, these are only sample voicings so please feel free to use your own)
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Beyond 7th Chords:
You could extend this idea out beyond 7th chords into harmonizations using the diatonic 9th, 11th or 13ths. But all of these chords just come from stacking diatonic 3rds on top of each other. I’ve followed this process through all the diatonic chord tones below with each scale degree of C Major:
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I’ll be explaining a lot more about this in a future post (including multiple approaches for voicing these) but for now here’s a chart that shows the harmonizations in the key of C Major.
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But Here’s The Catch
(and there’s always a catch)
The C Major modes are all just subsets of the same parent scale. If you’re playing them over a C major chord (or a chord progression in C Major) scale-wise it really doesn’t make a difference which of the above modes you’re thinking of as it’s all going to sound like C Major.
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To get deeper into modes, we need to get into some other tonal centers and talk about Relative Modes versus Parallel Modes and Modal Interchange and that is the topic of the next post in this series.
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Here are some important things to focus on for now:
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1. Theoretical:
- The major scale can be broken down into a series of triads and 7th chords based on scale degrees that are associated with the modes on those scale degrees (Ex. Key of C Major – D Dorian and D minor 7 on the 2nd scale degree.)
- The sound of the mode is based as much on the notes of the mode as it’s related chord. So for right now – this is just a whole lot of ways to see C Major on a fingerboard – you should adapt the process to other keys as well.
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2. Technical:
- While it’s natural to want to progress quickly, trying to play too quickly too soon results in excess hand tension which will increase the difficulty of what you’re trying to play. Fluidity comes from focused, relaxed repetition.
- Fretting hand: Always use the minimum amount of tension needed for the notes to sound cleanly. The idea is to be able to hear every individual note in the chord as well. Additionally, try to keep the fingers motion on the strings to a minimum and removing them from the string only when necessary.
- Picking Hand: Try using the above picking pattern on the top two strings or alternate picking.
- Practice switching between chord voicings cleanly and playing the 3-note-per-string forms over each one individually. As a comping exploration, you could try moving from one chord to the next in the series but only moving one voice at a time. This type of internal motion is something I initially copped from guys like Torn and Miroslav Tadic.
- Isolate problem areas and develop them. You’re not going to be able to pull any of these ideas off live if any of the individual components aren’t happening. This isn’t a bad thing. Things you develop over time are more likely to stay with you (and thus be accessible when you’re improvising).
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3. Musical:
- One thing to work on right now is to come up with multiple ways to play the chords above. If you’re not familiar with voicings in general – try to write out the individual notes of each chord and move them around on the fingerboard. It might not yield the most practical voicings (depending on key and position) – but it will definitely help expand your awareness of the fingerboard!
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Finally, one other thing I need to mention is that this is just my approach but it certainly isn’t the only one. You should explore multiple approaches and take things that resonate with you from each of them as each of them will give you more depth of understanding.
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As before, just go through the lesson at your own pace and return to it as you need to and please feel free to post any questions you might have (or pm me at guitar.blueprint@gmail.com).
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I hope this helps and as always, thanks for reading!
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-SC
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P.S. If you like this post – you may also like:
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THE GUITARCHITECT’S POSITIONAL EXPLORATION PRE-RELEASE NOW AVAILABLE
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THE GUITARCHITECT’S GUIDE TO MODES PART 3B – SEEING THE SIX-STRING MAJOR SCALE
THE GUITARCHITECT’S GUIDE TO MODES PART 3A – SEEING THE SIX-STRING MAJOR SCALE
THE GUITARCHITECT’S GUIDE TO MODES PART 2 – SEEING THE TWO STRING MAJOR SCALE
The GuitArchitecture Guide To Modes Part 1 – Seeing The Single String Major Scale
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THE GUITARCHITECT’S GUIDE TO MODES: MELODIC PATTERNS BOOK “PRE-RELEASE” NOW AVAILABLE
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Making Music Out Of Scales
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THE GUITARCHITECT’S GUIDE TO MODES: MELODIC PATTERNS BOOK “PRE-RELEASE” NOW AVAILABLE
A BRIEF THOUGHT ABOUT MUSIC THEORY
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PRACTICE MAKES BETTER AKA PRACTICING PART I
PROPER POSTURE IS REQUIRED FOR PROPER PERFORMANCE – PRACTICING PART II
TENSION AND THE SODA CAN OR PRACTICING PART III
DEFINITIONS AND DOCUMENTS OR PRACTICING PART IV
PRACTICE WHAT YOU PLAY OR PRACTICING PART V
TESTING YOUR VOCABULARY OR PRACTICING PART VI
POSSESSION IS 9/10S OF THE LAW BUT PERCEPTION IS EVERYTHING OR PRACTICING PART VII
SOME USEFUL ONLINE PRACTICE TOOLS
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GETTING HIPNESS FROM A MAJOR TRIAD OR MORE CHORD RECYCLING PART 3
Getting Hipness From A Major Triad Or More Chord Recycling Part 2
GETTING HIPNESS FROM A MAJOR TRIAD OR MORE CHORD RECYCLING PART 1
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Getting Through The Gig – Negotiating A Chord Chart Part 3
Getting Through The Gig – Negotiating A Chord Chart Part 2
GETTING THROUGH THE GIG – NEGOTIATING A CHORD CHART PART 1
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WARMING UP: FINGER EXERCISES, THE 3 T’S AND THE NECESSITY OF MISTAKES
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