The fact that the darkest and brightest modes are mirror images of one another sounds like a plot twist straight out of a fantasy novel (and I'm here for it!)
Hello dear sir! I don't know what kind of witchcraft you are applying here, but after many years of hearing about modes and never understanding exactly what "brightness" meant, after watching your videos (this one and also the previous about set theory) I finally "heard the light". I always understood the concept, intellectually speaking, but now I realized what it means in sound. I don't know if being visually impaired is a help or a hinderance, but there is that to consider. Thanks for the enlightment!
Excellent; I will be returning to watch again. As someone specialising in teaching and performing modal polyphony from the Renaissance, this dense but lucid explanation is very thought-provoking. Thank you, Milton.
First class Milton, wonderful video. I'm currently doing a composition/performance based PhD and this is one of the clearest modes related videos I've seen to date.
My brain fails at the first step, in that, looking at an abstract circle of twelve dots or a repeating sequence of twelve points the first, and the sixth nodes are furthest apart counting both forward and backward giving a tritone musically? I realise I'm wrong as I'm aware this 'is' how the diatonic scale was derived!
I see that seven dots spaced evenly amongst twelve would give a diatonic pattern as it's an odd number spread across and even so you'd have to have some dots next to each other.
Thanks for watching. Yes so I didn't spend too long on that (as I'm planning a video directly on Euclidean/maximally even rhythms and scales). If you want the original 'by hand' system see here: cgm.cs.mcgill.ca/~godfried/publications/banff.pdf But in short yes there is a tritone there (horizontal axis) but yes the by hand filling was correct but 'illustrative'. What is clear though is that evenly spread as possible means no gap bigger than 2.and the small gaps are separated as much as possible. Hope that helps before the Euclidean video!
I discovered this with the modes when I sat down and drew out a long chain of fifths and noticed how the brightest mode Lydian, had all overtonal notes, whereas each mode moving clockwise had more and more undertonal notes in relation to it's tonic note, until Locrian where everything but the root was undertonal. There is certainly something about 7, there is a reason it is the standard for notes in a scale, it has unique qualities that no other number of notes in a scale has. Even in the word of God, the King James Bible, there is a clear reference to 7 being a number of completion and a number closely related to God himself. This discovery is one of the reasons I advocate so much for true intonation, Pythagorean tuning, it is at the very basis of music and how we conceive of it and how we name it, and how we organize it, and dare I say how God devised it to be organized by man. There certainly is significance to the number 12 as well, twelve tribes of Israel, 12 disciples of Jesus, 12 bounds of man's habitation, etc. But the 12 in music is clear with the 12 notes of the chromatic scale and 12 notes of perfect fifths before the Pythagorean comma appears. But in Pythagorean tuning, true intonation, another number appears, 17. For every home tonic chord, 17 notes exist in it's vicinity. In C major that is Gb through A# in a chain of pure fifths. In other words the five black notes get another version, C#, Db, D#, Eb, F#, Gb, G#, Ab, A#, and Bb. These can all exist in C major with shifting the tonality away from C major. Fb, Cb, B#, and E# are much stronger in pulling the tonal gravity away from C major than the others, I believe it is because of the diatonic half step that exists there. This is one phenomenon I definitely would like to explore more in the future. 17 in the Bible also is very significant being very clearly associated with overcoming by the power of God by faith. Noah's Ark rested on the mountain top after the flood on the 17th day of the seventh month, Jesus was resurrected on the 17th day of the month, and many many more.
@@stevejosephs8965 ! Oh yes the Lydian perspective. I don't think anyone needs to identify any one of the modes as the central/first one - but if any - the palindromic Dorian sort of makes the most sense but let's embrace the cycle, man.
Interesting topic indeed! I need a bit of help understanding the evenly spreading out of 7 notes in a 12 note clock diagram. Why that specific order? The end result is a minor pentatonic and minor scale, by the way - not major. EDIT: I now see that by rotating the clock you are getting the same 7 notes. My brain was placing the C at 12 o'clock - but that is arbitrary. Mind blown again, thanks!
Thanks! There are a number of ways to calculate "maximally even" (evenly spread) distributions. Here's the original Toussaint paper which includes a by hand system. cgm.cs.mcgill.ca/~godfried/publications/banff.pdf - There are several systems for doing so. However here's a quick way for 7 onsets in 12. 12/7 is 1 and 5/7 times which means 5 of the gaps will be 2 units long (5 tones) and 2 will be only one unit long. 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 (7 groups which add up to 12). This is a fair sharing but to make them 'evenly spread;, those 1s need to be as far apart as possible in the cycle. 2 1 2 2 2 1 2. (or any of its rotations) I'm planning a video on this topic exactly (Euclidean & maximally even rhythms and scales) but in the meantime I hope this is more helpful than confusing :) Re the pentatonic yes indeed from the top it's a minor pentatonic (just as the diatonic cycle has Dorian at the top) but we are dealing with 'cycles' rather than specific modes so the diatonic cycle (or group) and major (or minor) pentatonic cycle - which each contain all the modes) are the best terms. Thanks for catching - and watching.
Thanks Milton, for new perspectives and great visualisations, your humility, passion and insight are an inspiration to me.
thank you! hope you don't let us wait to long for the next part im stoked!
Thanks so much for the support :)
The fact that the darkest and brightest modes are mirror images of one another sounds like a plot twist straight out of a fantasy novel (and I'm here for it!)
Well done on so many levels- bravo!
Many thanks!
Hello dear sir!
I don't know what kind of witchcraft you are applying here, but after many years of hearing about modes and never understanding exactly what "brightness" meant, after watching your videos (this one and also the previous about set theory) I finally "heard the light".
I always understood the concept, intellectually speaking, but now I realized what it means in sound. I don't know if being visually impaired is a help or a hinderance, but there is that to consider.
Thanks for the enlightment!
@@GabrielPerboni thank you so much for the supportive feedback, glad you found it useful!
Excellent; I will be returning to watch again. As someone specialising in teaching and performing modal polyphony from the Renaissance, this dense but lucid explanation is very thought-provoking. Thank you, Milton.
Thank you so much David - too kind!
First class Milton, wonderful video. I'm currently doing a composition/performance based PhD and this is one of the clearest modes related videos I've seen to date.
Glad it was helpful - enjoy your PhD :)
I always love to get fresh perspectives. Many thanks for putting in this work and for sharing your knowledge with us. Thank you!
Glad you enjoyed it - and many thanks for the supportive feedback.
WOW!
Brilliant, thank you!
You’re most welcome!
Brilliant
My brain fails at the first step, in that, looking at an abstract circle of twelve dots or a repeating sequence of twelve points the first, and the sixth nodes are furthest apart counting both forward and backward giving a tritone musically? I realise I'm wrong as I'm aware this 'is' how the diatonic scale was derived!
I see that seven dots spaced evenly amongst twelve would give a diatonic pattern as it's an odd number spread across and even so you'd have to have some dots next to each other.
Thanks for watching. Yes so I didn't spend too long on that (as I'm planning a video directly on Euclidean/maximally even rhythms and scales). If you want the original 'by hand' system see here: cgm.cs.mcgill.ca/~godfried/publications/banff.pdf But in short yes there is a tritone there (horizontal axis) but yes the by hand filling was correct but 'illustrative'. What is clear though is that evenly spread as possible means no gap bigger than 2.and the small gaps are separated as much as possible. Hope that helps before the Euclidean video!
I discovered this with the modes when I sat down and drew out a long chain of fifths and noticed how the brightest mode Lydian, had all overtonal notes, whereas each mode moving clockwise had more and more undertonal notes in relation to it's tonic note, until Locrian where everything but the root was undertonal.
There is certainly something about 7, there is a reason it is the standard for notes in a scale, it has unique qualities that no other number of notes in a scale has.
Even in the word of God, the King James Bible, there is a clear reference to 7 being a number of completion and a number closely related to God himself.
This discovery is one of the reasons I advocate so much for true intonation, Pythagorean tuning, it is at the very basis of music and how we conceive of it and how we name it, and how we organize it, and dare I say how God devised it to be organized by man.
There certainly is significance to the number 12 as well, twelve tribes of Israel, 12 disciples of Jesus, 12 bounds of man's habitation, etc. But the 12 in music is clear with the 12 notes of the chromatic scale and 12 notes of perfect fifths before the Pythagorean comma appears.
But in Pythagorean tuning, true intonation, another number appears, 17. For every home tonic chord, 17 notes exist in it's vicinity. In C major that is Gb through A# in a chain of pure fifths. In other words the five black notes get another version, C#, Db, D#, Eb, F#, Gb, G#, Ab, A#, and Bb. These can all exist in C major with shifting the tonality away from C major. Fb, Cb, B#, and E# are much stronger in pulling the tonal gravity away from C major than the others, I believe it is because of the diatonic half step that exists there.
This is one phenomenon I definitely would like to explore more in the future. 17 in the Bible also is very significant being very clearly associated with overcoming by the power of God by faith. Noah's Ark rested on the mountain top after the flood on the 17th day of the seventh month, Jesus was resurrected on the 17th day of the month, and many many more.
but shouldn't F be where C is on the keyboard!? 🙃
I don't understand the question but I'll say yes.
@@miltonline It was Miles Davis summary of George Russel's Lydian Chromatic Concept. I don't they considered middle D though!
@@stevejosephs8965 ! Oh yes the Lydian perspective. I don't think anyone needs to identify any one of the modes as the central/first one - but if any - the palindromic Dorian sort of makes the most sense but let's embrace the cycle, man.
@@miltonline i think stevejosephs8965 is referencing george russell's lydian chromatic concept
Interesting topic indeed! I need a bit of help understanding the evenly spreading out of 7 notes in a 12 note clock diagram. Why that specific order? The end result is a minor pentatonic and minor scale, by the way - not major.
EDIT: I now see that by rotating the clock you are getting the same 7 notes. My brain was placing the C at 12 o'clock - but that is arbitrary. Mind blown again, thanks!
Thanks!
There are a number of ways to calculate "maximally even" (evenly spread) distributions. Here's the original Toussaint paper which includes a by hand system. cgm.cs.mcgill.ca/~godfried/publications/banff.pdf - There are several systems for doing so.
However here's a quick way for 7 onsets in 12. 12/7 is 1 and 5/7 times which means 5 of the gaps will be 2 units long (5 tones) and 2 will be only one unit long. 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 (7 groups which add up to 12). This is a fair sharing but to make them 'evenly spread;, those 1s need to be as far apart as possible in the cycle. 2 1 2 2 2 1 2. (or any of its rotations) I'm planning a video on this topic exactly (Euclidean & maximally even rhythms and scales) but in the meantime I hope this is more helpful than confusing :)
Re the pentatonic yes indeed from the top it's a minor pentatonic (just as the diatonic cycle has Dorian at the top) but we are dealing with 'cycles' rather than specific modes so the diatonic cycle (or group) and major (or minor) pentatonic cycle - which each contain all the modes) are the best terms. Thanks for catching - and watching.
This was amazing and eye-opening! Thank you.
Thank you!