Clever ways to memorize mode names

[dramatwist]

...since I've been playing successfully for 50 years, and have never been required to take a test on "modes", I have never paid much attention to what anything is named... my bass-playing son is into the "Circle of Fifths", but that's his thing... as long as you play well and keep the clams down, you're good to go...

 

[Wasnex]

Sure, but playing the tones of the dorian mode is not enough to make what your playing sound "dorian". What enables your playing sound dorian results form a prioritization of certain tones, by giving them more emphasis via rhythm, accent, duration, pitch, dynamics, articulation, etc. In order to sound D dorian you have to give emphasis to to the tonic (D), to the minor 3rd (F), and most importantly to the major 6th (B) which is the characteristic tone of the dorian mode. In other words, you emphasize the important chord tones of the Dm6 chord, and play other more as passing tones. Similarly, to sound G mixolydian, you have to emphasize the tonic (G), the major 3rd (B), and the minor 7th (F), which is the characteristic tone of the mixolydian mode; those are the important chord tones of G7.
Once your playing revolves around the chord tones, the other tones you play as passing tones (or other kind of ornamentation) can be either the diatonic tones of the mode, or some non-diatonic tones (which amounts to play some altered version of the chord), or chromatic tones, etc. depending on the "color" you like to give to your playing. In any case, this remains tonal playing (from the point of view of harmony), as opposed to the kind of modal playing you would do on So What.

Yes I agree it remains tonal playing, but we are using modes to facilitate and expand our grasp of the material. I am not sure how much plainer I can state this. Can we agree to agree?

The Dorian note on the lead sheet for "So What" just tells me the 6th is raised. I don't think I necessarily play the Maj 6th any more or less than if the song was in Aeolian. To me it sounds modal because it does not go anywhere harmonically or resolve; I.E. you really don't have a major or minor key center in your ear. No doubt a good guitarist or keyboardist will throw in some tasty chord changes, but honestly I don't know how they approach it .

I was also under the impression that various composers have develop harmony systems for various modes as well. In such a system we would have harmonic movement and cadences, but we would apply different rules than we apply to western functional harmony. Thus we would get a different flavor.

 

[Malcolm35]

^^ yes ^^ if you are going modal you should also use a modal vamp for/in the harmony.

If you are going tonal you should use a tonal harmony, i.e. something that resolves back to the tonal center of the piece. The ole V-I resolution.

IMO a mode over a tonal harmony chord progression is just another scale. You have not helped the modal mood because the tonal center will cut through and not allow the modal mood to be heard.

That is some how lost in the shuffle.

 

[Papageno]

Yes I agree it remains tonal playing, but we are using modes to facilitate and expand our grasp of the material. I am not sure how much plainer I can state this. Can we agree to agree?

Sure we can agree. In the end the name we give to musical concepts is of really secondary importance. It is merely a convenient shortcut for verbal communication among musicians. For example if neither you nor me know what dorian means, and you sing or play a dorian scale for me, I know exactly what you mean musically, and everything is fine. This works perfectly for communication among band mates in a rehearsal. If like on this forum, it is not convenient to sing for each other, it helps to have the word "dorian" provided we both know it and give the same meaning to it.

 

[Papageno]

^^ yes ^^ if you are going modal you should also use a modal vamp for/in the harmony.

If you are going tonal you should use a tonal harmony, i.e. something that resolves back to the tonal center of the piece. The ole V-I resolution.

IMO a mode over a tonal harmony chord progression is just another scale. You have not helped the modal mood because the tonal center will cut through and not allow the modal mood to be heard.

That is some how lost in the shuffle.

Agree 100%. Essentially all tunes that vamp back and forth on two chords are modal. The only exceptions that comes to my mind (ear) are if the vamp is I - V or I - IV: because these are the most important cadences (perfect and plagal cadences, respectively), this would sound like (boringly repetitive) tonal music, rather than modal music.

 

[Guitarodeo]

I don’t particularly like mixing at lunch. Which is not really true, but does help me remember modes. At least until lunchtime.