Modes

[RockinRobin]

Working with Modes
Using modes with “What Does It Take”; Sounds good. I’m tone deaf so having the music notes helps. Can I use modes with the song “You Never Can Tell”? “You never Can Tell? has 2 chords. D major and A major. Using Modes would I play six measures of the chard D starting with the ionian D or would I start with the Dorian E. The ionian chord would be D F# A C# The Dorian would be E G B C# or C nat. 7th bar starts with A ionian or B dorian and go by way of the modal scale B D F# A.
So could I play along with the backing track using Modes?
William

[Anonymous]

William – lets not get too bogged down in practicing with modes. If you are working with a new tune, that is in a scale that you don’t play very often – then that’s the time to practice some modes. If you are working in the C major scale, which is the most common scale then you shouldn’t need to practice modes that much.

Later down the line, in proper improvisation, you wouldn’t play up and down modes in each bar. You would only do that to get yourself fluid fingerwise with rarely used scales.

I would move on to the 2nd and 3rd videos in tenor lesson two, to avoid annoying household members. What you are doing now is to start building up ideas – practice for a couple of minutes. Then stop and think about what you have played whether you liked it or not, practice the timing, then start again with another variation. It’s a bit like meditating, you have to give it time for the brain to absorb the phrases being played from the different combination of notes in a specific bar. Don’t rush the next section, get the ideas played out in your head that sound good – when you have settled with how an idea is played the way you want, then sort out the timing within a bar in relation to the backing track bar. Start out on lower speeds before playing faster.

[Anonymous]

if you are playing modes for a chord you have two choices, either play the modes belonging to the scale of the song or play the modes belonging to the scale of the chord.

If it’s 2-5-1 then ex G-C-F chords you would more likely play the Dorian mode belonging to G major scale, the mixolydian mode belong to C major scale, and the Ionian mode belonging to F major scale. That would probably sound better than playing all three modes belong to the scale of the song which could be F major.

For ease of starting out, students would normally work with the modes belonging to the one scale of the song. ie working with phrases in one scale is easier that working with phrases belonging to the scales of each different phrase.

[Anonymous]

a better explanation for G-C-F
for the G chord use the notes in Gmajor scale (g a b c d e f#)
for the C chord use the notes in the Cmajor scale (c d e f g a b)
for the F chord use the notes in the Fmajor scale (f g a Bb c d e)

as an alternative to just using the notes in the Songs Major Scale.

Using Mode names gets very confusing, it’s easier to use mode numbers 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 as that reflects the starting position in the scale, and it also matches up with the chord numbers 1,3,5,7. So if you choose any chord number that will give you the mode number start position in the scale.

But it all comes back to which scale you use, do you use the Scale of song or the scales that each chord belongs too, either is acceptable depending on which is easier to play or which one sounds better. Some people use the chromatic scale…

[RockinRobin]

Thanks SXPOET
I’m working on WAVE. Key of F by Jobim . Melody notes and maybe a mode scale here and there
William

[john]

modes and scales are one ting we can actually practice without blowing into the sax, so not the best way to practice but it can still be done without getting family members mad!

[RockinRobin]

Wave
I have Wave in the Keys of F minor, E minor, and G minor. F minor by Jobim seems to be the best Key but the chart is confusing. Chart is divided into 4 sections A B C and D. After going through all 4 sections the two dots means repeat but no repeat. There is what seems to be an instrumental part for sections A and B. Then John Sergenian’s sax comes in on section C all the way to the end. I suppose I could fit some modes in during the orchestra section. Keeping time is hard to do. It’s a Brazilian Bossa Nova. I’ve been working on this one for years. I have others.Like Glenn Zottola’s tribute to Stan Getz.
William

[saxomonica]

Hi guys. Waving hello, hi, well, now, i do like Rita’s mode, ya, just sayin’ 🙂
Check it out, a great tribute –

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