THE MODAL DISTILLERY - Transmuting Theory into Practice

INTRODUCTION
In the early 90’s I chasing the Modes. Esoteric terms like ‘Mixolydian’ cropped up in magazine articles by luminaries like Alex Skolnick and suggested realms of arcane knowledge that I sought. This journey of discovery opened many doors of perception and progression which I continue to traverse. In this lesson I intend to extract the essence of Mode in order to distill some musical aqua vitae. There is a presumption that you have reasonably well-developed techniques but only a modicum of theoretical understanding.
What are the modes? On the surface they appear to be a bunch of patterns with strange names. In the Karate Kid, Mr. Miyagi sets Daniel the task of sanding his porch. Daniel is resentful and impatient but persists. Later he comes to understand the wisdom of this approach when the repetitive motions save him from a pasting. I will be asking you to practice every element (shapes, notes, names etc) until they are memorized and automated. The wisdom will emerge gradually in response to your committed practice.
The system of developing the modes (or inversions) can be applied to any scale form once you grasp the concept but I will use the C Major Scale (formulae: Tone; Tone; semi-tone; Tone; Tone; Tone; semi-tone). Later I will apply it to a popular Japanese Pentatonic scale. Don’t get hung up on jargon because the Greek names are simply labels or unique identifiers for each pattern.
PRACTICE

• The patterns below are designed to encourage stretching but you can use any shapes based on the same notes. Pick shapes that suit you from the ubiquitous variations on the WWW.
• Keep a metronome at hand to work on your timing and tempo.
• Make sure you employ your techniques as you ascend and descend to get a feel for improvisational possibilities.
• Once again… master the shapes but don’t forget to memorize their names and notes.

C D E F G A B C                                                              D E F G A B C D

(C Major Scale – Root position - C IONIAN)                               (D DORIAN –inversion from 2nd note)

E F G A B C D E                                                            F G A B C D E F
(E PHRYGIAN –inversion from 3rd )                                       (F LYDIAN – inversion from 4th)

G A B C D E F G                                                                A B C D E F G A
(G MIXOLYDIAN – inversion from 5th)                                      (A AEOLIAN- inversion from 6th)

B C D E F G A B                                                               C D E F G A B C
(B LOCRIAN – inversion from 7th )                                      (C IONIAN - Root position on octave)

Here is a handy fretboard if your fingerboard knowledge is patchy:

CREATIVITY
Now you have memorized the patterns, their names and notes you should notice each pattern has the same notes as the original C Major scale. It is only the order that has been changed so that each note gets a go to be the start or Root or Tonic.
Take a look at the list below to confirm this:

• C IONIAN - CDEFGABC
• D DORIAN – DEFGABCD
• E PHRYGIAN – EFGABCDE
• F LYDIAN – FGABCDEF
• G MIXOLYDIAN –GABCDEFG
• A AEOLIAN – ABCDEFGA
• B LOCRIAN - BCDEFGAB

Now compare the shapes of all the modes with the original Major scale (Ionian Mode). If we number the major scale as follows: Ionian= R 2 3 4 5 6 7 then

• Dorian = R 2 b3 4 5 6 b7
• Phrygian = R b2 b3 4 5 b6 b7
• Lydian = R 2 3 #4 5 6 7
• Mixolydian = R 2 3 4 5 6 b7
• Aeolian = R 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7
• Locrian = R b2 b3 4 b5 b6 b7

This approach reveals the inherent differences between the modes if you were to imagine them independently. If you play one mode enough times exclusively each day it will occur to you that they have their own unique sound, quite apart from the original major scale that spawned them.
To reinforce the individuality of each mode you must now record and loop the following sample progressions and indulge in some improvisation/composition. Focus your phrasing on the root note and one other characteristic note of the chosen mode to begin with e.g. if you jam the E Phrygian example then your licks/riffs should be focused on the E note with some F for good measure. This approach will get you started and should reveal the exotic Phrygian vibe as you become more confident. Before you start the recording/jamming take a look at the source of the chords.
The chords below are based on the C Major scale’s triads and their corresponding modes:

• CEG=Cmaj=C IONIAN
• DFA=Dm= D DORIAN
• EGB=Em= E PHRYGIAN
• FAC=Fmaj= F LYDIAN
• GBD=Gmaj= G MIXOLYDIAN
• ACE=Am= A AEOLIAN
• BDF=Bmb5= B LOCRIAN

I have grouped these chords into simple chord progressions which turn-around on the root chord of the chose mode.

• C Dm F G - C IONIAN - Phrase around the C note.
• Dm G C C - D DORIAN - Phrase around D note and a splash of B.
• Em F Dm F - E PHRYGIAN - Phrase around E note and a splash of F.
• F G Am Em - F LYDIAN - Phrase around F note and a splash of B.
• G F C Em - G MIXOLYDIAN - Phrase around G note and a splash of F.
• Am Dm F Em - A AEOLIAN (The sixth mode Aeolian is also known as the Minor Scale.) - Phrase around the A note.
• B mb5 Em Am Am - B LOCRIAN - Phrase around B note, F and a splash of C.

Now shuffle the modes around and improvise over the same chord progressions. You should observe that if for example you put an E Phrygian over a C Ionian progression the Phrygian mode will sound like a C Ionian phrase.

EXPORTING THE SYSTEM

If you develop the modes of a Japanese Pentatonic scale for example, then the Greek names would no longer be useful and you need to remember them according to their place in the queue.

The E Japanese Pentatonic spelled: EFABCE. It would have one inversion or mode for each note that would be spelled as follows:

• EFABCE = Root position
• FABCEF = 2nd inversion
• ABCEFA = 3rd inversion
• BCEFAB = 4th inversion
• CEFABC = 5th inversion

Use the fretboard above to build a shape for each inversion. Write them down to help you memorize the patterns. Eastern music is generally built on ‘drones’ instead of chords so record a solitary E, F, A, B or C and improvise in the relevant inversion.

CONCLUSION

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