Mixo Flat 6 if for no other reason than because it beautifully incorporates the minor 4 chord into it (by the way, I loved your video on the flat 4) :)
Mixo flat sixo and Phrygian Dominant are my current fav spicy modes! So many haunting half step resolutions. I hadn't ever heard of Aeolian b5 whaaaaaat!?
IIRC, the Lydian Dominant scale is also called the Acoustic scale because it most closely approximates the first seven unique harmonic overtones. Easily one of my favorite scales.
It's *weird* that it has that name. The 11th harmonic is almost exactly half way between a 4 and a sharp 4. Like literally 49 cents. One of those things where you hear about it, and don't check. ;) I love the 11th harmonic, btw, but it doesn't feel like a fourth or a tritone.
@@themennissvids Yeah, hence "most closely approximates", given the nature of 12-TET tuning. If one wanted though, you could retune a keyboard (or refret a guitar, etc. etc.) in order to get that microtonal inflection to specifically have the exact microtones of the harmonic series, though it'd be limited to a specific 7-note scale unless you extended it to include the first occurence of each note closest to its 12-tone relative.
besides just the 11th, i don’t mind saying that it’s somewhat represented by the tritone, as it’s the closest we have in 12edo. the 13th is where it’s not entirely accurate, however, as that would most closely be matched by the minor sixth, not the major one. the major sixth is used because it represents the 27th harmonic, which is more commonly used as a tension, even in microtonal music, than the 13th
Rambling 0:44 Modes of MM (rambling) 2:00 Second Degree 2:52 Dorian = (flat 3, flat 7) 3:20 Dorian + flat 2 Note: all that talking could have been replaced with: "Minor scale, raised 6th flat2" Now I see why OP cut it 😂
Modes can be a little dry when taught in the traditional way but you make the whole process exciting. Thanks for this entertaining and interesting video.
Love this video. In my college Jazz Harmony and Theory class, we spent a lot of time talking about the modes of melodic minor, they have a lot of applications. I’ve also heard super locrian called the diminished whole tone scale, as the first half (up to the fourth degree) is a diminished scale, and then the second half is a whole tone scale. Great video, one of my favorites of late!
I've always heard the 'Aeloian b5' called 'Locrian natural 9', and use it in a IIm7b5 - V7 - Im7 cadence or whatever II-V-I scenario where the I is minor and/or the II isn't diatonically a minor chord.
@@tinienne_rock2214 yes, that is what I learned it as through Mark Levine Jazz Piano Book, in there the b9 (locrian) vs. 9 (aeolian -5) is discussed quite a bunch but I was never sold that either of them is better than the other. It depends on the situation, but I use aeolian -5 more than locrian over half-diminished chords (I use them both though)
Great stuff, are you going to do one on the modes of the harmonic minor? Phrygian dominant and Dorian #4 are two of my favorite modes, so I was wondering about how they work in jazz.
I don't know about jazz, they're great melodic modes. They pop up in Arabic music as the Hijaz and Nikriz maqams as well as Eastern European folk music traditions a lot.
@@RusNad Yeah I am familiar with their usage in Eastern European and Middle Eastern music (+ flamenco where the Phrygian dominant has a prominent role). I am specifically curious about the possibilities offered by jazz. The Dorian #4 looks particularly interesting and challenging to me. Let's do a quick run through the diatonic chords: Dorian #4 - D E F G# A B C D F A C - Dm7 E G# B D - E7 F A C E - Fmaj7 G# B D F - G#dim7 A C E G# - Am(maj7) B D F A - Bm7b5 C E G# B - Cmaj7#5 What would the options be for jazz harmony? It seems to me that the key tensions are in those chords with the G#, so we need to emphasize that note like we would do in Lydian , or like we vamp on the half-step movement in Phrygian between the tonic and the b2. The question is about comping ideas that sound good in jazz but at the same time manage to reveal the personality of the scale. I enjoy tension a lot so I'd try including the min(maj7) and the maj7#5 chords, but it's by no means an easy task.
Dude, I just posted about this. Lately I've been obsessed with modes of the harmonic minor. Those are two of my favorites, but I also want to shout out Lydian #2.
@@rome8180 Yeah Lydian #2 is also fun, all modes are worth exploring and have something to offer. What I think is important to remember though is that modal jams and compositions should be approached differently with regards to harmony. What I tried to do above is apply functional harmony and perhaps that's not the best way to do things. If the mindset is modal, we can't stray far from the tonic. Maybe I should revisit one of Rick Beato's old videos on "exotic" scales and modes.
You're such an inspirational creator. I've been writing my own solo piano music for almost 6 years now and I haven't thought to dabble in the minor modes at all - they always felt a bit too out there for my non-jazzified ears. But after hearing/seeing you go through them... I'm ready. Thank you ❤
When I was learning piano (and wikipedia confirms it), the Melodic Minor uses the b3 on the way up and then the b7 b6 and b3 on the way back down. Which is why I always did harmonic minor, b3 and b6 up and down.
From what I understand that is how classical theory utilizes melodic minor, but outside of classical music is played the same descending as it is ascending. He's not wrong, he's just coming from a different musical background.
@@ilodar5684 It's even used in both directions in some classical music: Vivaldi's "Summer" (3rd movement Presto) and Bach. th-cam.com/video/RVRsFzcBJhY/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=MusicTheoryForGuitar
In jazz, the melodic minor scale is only referring to the ascending melodic minor - it is really only used for this purpose he is showing. The descending scale isn't used because it already has a name - Aeolian
Fun fact: the altered scale is also sometimes called the diminished whole tone scale, since the first half of the scale is like a diminished scale and the last half is a whole tone scale. This leads to some people calling it the Dimwit scale (derived from Dim/Wh. T).
instead of Aeolian b5 I usually say Locrian Nat2, the iim7b5 in a major key is pretty common in jazz, R&B and pop songwriting (normally they just play it as an inversion of the ivm6 and play locrian over it - think All I Want for Christmas is You), I ALWAYS opt for locrian nat 2 here, cus it's just SO much better
7:49 When you said it would sound familiar, and started dancing up the keyboard with it, it instantly hit me with "Marvel". It's EXACTLY the mode (and key) that the Phase 2 intro theme uses
I will say, I've never really been interested in music theory persay because of how complicated it seems, but the way you describe everything, play examples, as well as your genuine love for music showing through just makes me wanna learn 😭
It'd be fun to go over examples of cool chromatic chords and scales, I recently found arpeggiating root, major third, flat 5, dominant 7th, major 7th and stepping back down to the root sounds great. That sounds pretty rough as a chord voicing, so if you got something like strings in the background playing the entire color at once, you could try root, flat 5, major 7th, major 3rd and then that dominant 7th at the top. Spacing out the semitones in major 7ths (Maybe flat 9ths when the other relations are smoother that way, maybe even room for another octave in between) also helps a lot with voice leading to and from other chords, otherwise it can get a bit messy. As for an example progression I quickly cooked up using this chord: This chord on D, B Dorian, E Dorian and D Lydian. Absolutely beautiful imo!
Lately I've been obsessed with the modes of the harmonic minor. The Phrygian dominant is the most commonly used one, but that's a little too familiar for me. I'm all about the Dorian #4 and the Lydian #2.
@@rome8180 I don't remember what I was thinking when I asked this 10 months ago, but I suspect I had some kind of brain fart. There's nothing wrong with Dorian #4. Maybe I had been writing something in Lydian and thought "Oh, no! You took away the nice vii chord that you got from raising the 4!", not realizing that ♭VII+ has its merits too.
Besides the major and its modes, the melodic minor and its modes are the only other set of heptatonic scales that has only half steps and whole steps between adjacent notes. All other heptatonic scales (like the harmonic minor and its modes) have larger gaps (minor thirds or larger) between scale degrees (counting the step from the 7th to the octave).
I've always liked this move of 1 major to 2 diminished and back again. It's very similar to the minor four cadence, but it just sounds so much spicier because of that diminished chord. Mixo flat 6 is just such a good flavor.
When I first tried this scale, I raised the 3rd degree of minor*, without any other change, aka barely major. It's probably my favorite scale with a major 3rd. Now I know the name of it. *Didn't knew any other minor than natural minor back then
Lydian dominant is like a musical paradox. Subdominant sound over a dominant tonic. No longer static sounding like Lydian tends to, and unable to resolve diatonically to a mode one fourth to contest it, it sounds like a jazzy, unbridledly bright dominant scale. Extra bright through the major 3 and #4, but bluesy and even a bit subdued through the b7.
I remember figuring these out on my own a couple years ago and went looking for a video, of which there was nothing so you might be one of the first! The way I figured them out is we have the tone and semitone pattern of the modes of the major scale: TTSTTTS. And I was like what if we shift that pattern so that it has 4 whole tones in a row and one tone in between the two semitones. So as an example: TSTTTTS and when I realized that was the melodic minor scale it totally blew my mind! I've also heard of the Lydian Dominant called the "acoustic scale" because that sharp 4 and flat 7 actually mimics the natural harmonic series if you were to keep following it up. Like if I were to go up the C harmonic on a trumpet you'd get: C, G, C, E, G, Bb, C, D, E, and then F# (NOT F). Thank you for making this!
Let's also talk about the harmonic minor. That 3/2 tone spacing adds an egregious amount of diversity for chord structure (basically playing atonal without being atonal).
It's amazing how our ears work in a relative way in the face of so many modes originating from the same scale with very few changes. Congratulations because of the attention you have given to each of the scales/modes 👏
I play a bit of middle eastern music on oud, bouzouki and saz. These scales are called “maqams” and seem quite normal and have different names in Arabic, Greek, Turkish and Persian. They all have variations that use 3/4 notes, which are often misunderstood by westerners as microtonal. I also play folk, rock and a bit of jazz. It’s interesting to see the crossovers of understanding. The Dorian flat 2 scale is very common in Persian music. I have a Casio A3 “oriental” keyboard for playing that music as well so we can play in maqams such as “rast” which is like natural A minor but the second note is halfway between B flat and B natural.
Great video Charles. Would love to see you talk about how and where you use the various modes of both the harmonic minor scale and harmonic major scale. Keep up the great work!!
It would be interesting to see you react to/analyze music theory of Indian or Middle Eastern music cuz we use a lot bigger variety of scales a lot more commonly. In Carnatic music (South Indian), we have a base of 72 different scales with basically every variation you can think of, and there are hundreds or thousands of "spin off" scales from those base 72.
technically most carnatic ragas can be "translated" as western scales, although the same can't be said for maqams. i agree that that would be a really interesting series of video topics. also want to bring up the pelog & slendro gamelan tunings!
Dude….ive been playing guitar for 17 or so years now. Always used the major modes, (Dorian, lydian, mixolydian etc). I never knew melodic minor modes existed! This is seriously gamebreaking
9:48 My jazz prof actually uses the term Locrian #2 instead and those of us who study with him typically use it over the half diminished chord in a minor 251
Wow! Charles I wish I could take your infinite knowledge and download into my brain space. As a player myself, I know learning and practicing some of these type of modes and scales can really take me to the next level. Thank you man.
I seriously cannot get over how much I love altered. I cant stop using it in minor II-Vs in my music lmao Putting that little whole tone cluster in the middle voices and then putting the #9 at the top just hits SO nice
14:34 man I can only hope to one day be so intuited with music that I can just laugh at "trying out" a scale like this, you do it so intuitively its as if the piano is just an extension of your hands.
You managed to explain what my guitar teacher wasn't able to in 1999: *why* the super locrian scale is awesome. He just tried to convey how cool that scale was, but he never gave me the background you just did. Thank you!!
Well that's not melodic minor. Also I've heard of that scale but doesn't sound like it's actually used. Cuz a bare minimum of songs would have that, and then again people would probably explain it to you differently. If u go up minor and descend major you would only miss out on the b9 and the b5. Doesn't sound practical to me but again I could be wrong.
Technically yes, the ascending melodic minor goes 1-2-b3-4-5-6-7-8, and the descending one goes 1-2-b3-4-5-b6-b7-8. But you might have noticed, the descending form is just the natural minor scale; it seems to me to be a case similar to the "no parallel fifths/octaves" rule, which well, probably meant something in the past, now it doesn't lol. Citing Wikipedia: -Composers have not been consistent in using the two forms of the melodic minor scale. -In jazz, only the ascending form of the scale is termed as "melodic minor". Honestly, you could use this theory, especially if you want to avoid augmented or diminished triads in your harmony (so you switch back to the natural minor whenever that would happen, thus getting a chord with a 5th), but it's really up to the composer. I remember learning the Melodic minor like this (ascending/descending), but even my teacher told me "just play it how you want to; this is music theory, not music legislature".
If we’re making a bit of a stretch, Aeolian b5 can be lightly used within a blues improvisational context, with that b5 also being in the blues scale, also letting you incorporate those standard minor scale tones that are removed from the pentatonic scale.
Great tip for quickly remembering the altered/superlocrian while on the dominant: play harmonic minor from a half tone above the dominant. As an arpeggio the chord tones in e minor would be c minor major 7 + 9 + 4+13 (c-eb-g-b-d-f-a)
Currently in Music School at SELU, these scales are usually discussed in Form & Analysis II Class which deals with more 20th/21st Century Composers as well as discussed in Jazz Theory, using the book Jazz Theory Book by Mark Levine
Yeah, super locrian js kinda like that too. Someone asks “does it have a flat nine? Or a sharp nine? Does it have a flat 5? Or a sharp 5?”. And you reply “yes.”
I've done Scale studies for a long time and I discovered a lot of these scales back when I was still in High School and my personal favorite modes are the modes of the Harmonic Minor scale. One of which being the Phrygian Dominant scale, which when you play the scale yourself it makes a lot of sense that you've actually heard it before in a lot of places; and chord wise it sounds really cool when you start incorporating some borrowed tones from Natural Minor.
I'm not entirely confident, but I believe some parts of the Diablo III soundtrack may use Aeolian b5. It's really the only thing that came to mind for me when listening to you play around with it.
Sir the Aeolian b5 is standard use of the ii-V-i major or minor, over the ii chord. It is equally standard as the super locrian altered dom and fast players navigate 2-5-1 via moving the same scale up a minor third degree from (literally playing the same phrase of notes if you want to simplify it) 2 to 5.
Lydian Dominant has my favorite chord as the I: I7add9add#11. It's my favorite because if you play it in closed voicing (stacked thirds), the root, third, and fifth form a major triad, the third, fifth, and seventh form a diminished triad, the fifth, seventh, and ninth form a minor triad, and the seventh, ninth, and eleventh form an augmented triad. You get one of each triad in the chord, and that musical symmetry is really cool to me, plus the chord sounds incredible.
Great video, Charles. I use a few different names for the Melodic modes. The one I would suggest is the fifth mode, the Melodic Major. It makes sense in that the Melodic Minor is the major scale with a minor third and the Melodic Major is the minor (natural) scale with a major third. Thanks for sharing. Cheers.
I've been playing around a lot with what I think of as Lydian sharp 2 flat 6. Lots of really cool coloration in there with the cross relationships in the 3rds and 6ths, plus a lot of leading tones caused by the clusters of minor 2nd intervals. Not sure if that scale has a name or not.
My favorite mode/scale.. 1,b2,3,4,5,b6,b7 Phyrigian with a major 3rd or harmonic minor starting on the 5th. Introduced to it as hejaz in my music and cultures course at york u.
Have only used the Lydian b7 but this is amazing, I haven't had a time to sit down and do this, so this video is a lot of help and motivation for me to compose or play with it! Thanks a lot for sharing! 🙌🏼
Aeolian flat 5 is very common in metal. Thrash and death metal use mainly natural minor but also love to throw in flat 5s since it is a weird and dissonant interval (originally known as the “devils interval”).
I had a lightbulb moment watching this video - being classically trained I have always thought of the melodic minor as being a modified harmonic minor or even aeolian (i.e. with a sharp 6 and 7) but thinking of it as a major with a flat 3 simplifies it so much. Makes transposing modes of the melodic minor (in particular super locrian) WAY easier
But it is Aeolian with a raised 6th and 7th, since you almost never every use sharp 6,7 on the way down. However, the way classical music theory refers to modes is different from the modern approach. Since modes came before minor and major usage in music, and before the modern hierarchy of dominants and other functions, truly modal music isn't governed by that. For example, there is a difference between an Aeolian piece and one in natural minor. It's the same notes, but their emphasis is different. Personally I'm against using modal names for scales when the music isn't modal, but I guess it's useful for complicated scales like these in the video
@@johnny141093 Definitely! Modern music theory has adopted the older names, but it's still important to know. Like how a piece in major isnt Ionian, because of the chord relationships in "major". You can definitely play notes based on for example locrian scale over certain chords, but you're not in locrian mode, if that makes sense. It's pretty interesting when composing, since the emphasis on 1,4,5 and triads is so strong today that, at least personally, I find it difficult to look past
Hey Charles, great video. Best context for Aeolian b5 I would say is a 6minor - 4dominant progression. Using the Aeolian b5 off of the root of the 6 chord - you are then essentially playing Lydian dominant over the 4 chord too. Cheers.
I always find the Lydian Augmented scale intriguing because it’s as close as a 7 note scale can get to the whole tone scale. Thus, you get a lot of the floating dreaminess of the whole tone, but still have a key centre to ground it.
I actually have to learn this stuff for an exam on Monday and I already watched this video a couple weeks ago just for fun and now studying I realised that I had forgotten most of it again so I came back to watch this video again and every time I watch any if your videos I just get really happy and excited about jazz and music in general it’s amazing how different it is learning this from you versus learning it from my teacher (who somehow manages to make it extremely boring and uninteresting even though i love jazz and it’s such a cool topic to be taught at school)
Great video, for so much colors in these modes. I hope you plan on doing the same thing with the modes of the harmonic minor scale... I love phrygian dominant so much.
Mixolydian b6 is my favourite, and when I heard it here, I immediately remembered a song that uses it: Genesis One, by David O'Brien and Chris Egan. Chills down the spine every time I hear it, without exaggerating. A close second is the lydian dom. Makes me want to play Sims again, build a house, and lose all sense of time while I decorate the living room.
From another perpective, it's a combination of the octatonic and whole tone scales. The lower tetrachord is like a half-whole octatonic scale and the upper tetrachord is an augmented tetrachord which is made of all whole tones.
Back when I took bass lessons out of the Real Book my teacher explained what an alt7 chord was (ie Dalt7, Galt7). Alt7 means you have a b9 or a #9 AND a b5 or a #5. I was then warned not to play a perfect 4th, 5th, or 9th. I was then introduced to the Super Locrian scale. It was a game changer.
Lydian Dominant is also called Lydian-Mixolydian (which is more of a mouthful or sure). These are easily described as combinations of multiple modes and I'm so glad you finally made this video.
I seem to remember being taught the Melodic Minor scale where you played the harmonic minor ascending and then the melodic minor descending. Not sure I was ever taught just the melodic minor scale ascending as well
If I recall, the only time we use modes in music is with western classical music before the classical period (baroque, renaissance, medieval) and Jazz music along with anything based on it. There might be some other uses for it as well but these are all of the main uses.
My fave is Mixolydian b6, AKA Major-Minor*, because my introduction to alto sax legend Kenny Garrett was his “Sing A Song of Song”, the main hook of which is in Mix b6. That’s before he starts extensive modal interchange, and solos in Double Harmonic Major / Gtpsy Major / Byzantine. But, yeah, Mix b6 🔥 *1st five notes (or first three, depending on how you think about it) are from the Major / Ionian scale and the last three (or the last five) are from the Natural Minor / Aeolian scale.
2 of my (completely unrelated) favorite pieces of music are George Walker’s Lyric for Strings and Howard Shore’s Rivendell track from The Fellowship of the Ring. Both use Mixolydian flat 6 beautifully.
13:09 You sound like someone unironically fun at parties, at least those where I would love to be. Nothing inspires me more than people wiiling to share their passion.
Which one is your extra spicy favorite?
lydian dominant !
Mixo Flat 6 if for no other reason than because it beautifully incorporates the minor 4 chord into it (by the way, I loved your video on the flat 4) :)
Sus scales
Mixo flat sixo and Phrygian Dominant are my current fav spicy modes! So many haunting half step resolutions. I hadn't ever heard of Aeolian b5 whaaaaaat!?
Super locrian! Loved this video!! :D
IIRC, the Lydian Dominant scale is also called the Acoustic scale because it most closely approximates the first seven unique harmonic overtones. Easily one of my favorite scales.
Ooo
It's *weird* that it has that name.
The 11th harmonic is almost exactly half way between a 4 and a sharp 4. Like literally 49 cents.
One of those things where you hear about it, and don't check. ;)
I love the 11th harmonic, btw, but it doesn't feel like a fourth or a tritone.
@@themennissvids Yeah, hence "most closely approximates", given the nature of 12-TET tuning. If one wanted though, you could retune a keyboard (or refret a guitar, etc. etc.) in order to get that microtonal inflection to specifically have the exact microtones of the harmonic series, though it'd be limited to a specific 7-note scale unless you extended it to include the first occurence of each note closest to its 12-tone relative.
besides just the 11th, i don’t mind saying that it’s somewhat represented by the tritone, as it’s the closest we have in 12edo. the 13th is where it’s not entirely accurate, however, as that would most closely be matched by the minor sixth, not the major one. the major sixth is used because it represents the 27th harmonic, which is more commonly used as a tension, even in microtonal music, than the 13th
@@sihplak have you ever seen the weird wavy frets on some of Steve Vai's guitars
Sound samples of each scale
3:54 - Dorian flat 2
4:49 - Lydian Augmented
5:38 and 6:15 - Lydian Dominant
7:51 to 8:49 - Mixolydian flat 6
9:33 - Aeolian flat 5
11:19, 12:20, 13:25, 13:58 - Super Locrian(short samples)
14:25- Super Locrian
Rambling
0:44 Modes of MM (rambling)
2:00 Second Degree
2:52 Dorian = (flat 3, flat 7)
3:20 Dorian + flat 2
Note: all that talking could have been replaced with:
"Minor scale, raised 6th flat2"
Now I see why OP cut it 😂
Mixolydian b6 is one of my favorite tonal centers, the G - Cm6 is just so juicy as a vamp.
Agreed! Interestingly it’s the negative of melodic minor (i - V7, or i6 - V7 more specifically).
Well described, it’s my favourite, I keep using it in my compositions haha
I wish this wasn't fucking gibberish to me.
Dire Dire docks from Mario 64 is in G Mixolydian b6 IIRC
@@OhGodWhatIsThisAah I unironically studied quantum physics and then music theory became less gibberish. Ear training is huge too.
Modes can be a little dry when taught in the traditional way but you make the whole process exciting. Thanks for this entertaining and interesting video.
Number 8 - Depeche Mode
Begone bot
Wow it actually left
Number 9 A la mode
wdym, my dad always tells me about them lol
Those are good modes.
Love this video. In my college Jazz Harmony and Theory class, we spent a lot of time talking about the modes of melodic minor, they have a lot of applications. I’ve also heard super locrian called the diminished whole tone scale, as the first half (up to the fourth degree) is a diminished scale, and then the second half is a whole tone scale. Great video, one of my favorites of late!
Is calling it #1 funny to anyone else?
Exactly, for me Super locrian is an Augmented scale, a perfect fit for a V7#9 (#5)
@@KittSpiken yes it is, it just break the rule of always play the Major scale of the One (I) in a II V
@@spickeys5078 got to break some egg rules to make a joke omelet
Oh interesting, my college’s jazz theory class called it the altered scale
I love the recent use of the piano layout it makes the videos much more interactive and informative!!!
Might have resembled Rhapsody in Blue @ one point . The rest was sheer unfamiliar fun.
I've always heard the 'Aeloian b5' called 'Locrian natural 9', and use it in a IIm7b5 - V7 - Im7 cadence or whatever II-V-I scenario where the I is minor and/or the II isn't diatonically a minor chord.
I was a music major at school but never learned this. Really fascinating Charles!
You might want to get a refund.
That's cause you didn't minor in music
@@jeshaiahbretz4320 that's fucking great.
@@jeshaiahbretz4320 Ha, nice 🤣
Same, never learned about these other modes in music school!
Aeolian flat 5 is is literally what I play over every half-diminished chord (on Stella by Starlight first chord this hits the nail on the head)
This
So do I! It's actually more of a locrian mode with a natural 2, since the chord built on it is a min9b5
@@tinienne_rock2214 yes, that is what I learned it as through Mark Levine Jazz Piano Book, in there the b9 (locrian) vs. 9 (aeolian -5) is discussed quite a bunch but I was never sold that either of them is better than the other. It depends on the situation, but I use aeolian -5 more than locrian over half-diminished chords (I use them both though)
Great stuff, are you going to do one on the modes of the harmonic minor? Phrygian dominant and Dorian #4 are two of my favorite modes, so I was wondering about how they work in jazz.
yes!!
I don't know about jazz, they're great melodic modes. They pop up in Arabic music as the Hijaz and Nikriz maqams as well as Eastern European folk music traditions a lot.
@@RusNad Yeah I am familiar with their usage in Eastern European and Middle Eastern music (+ flamenco where the Phrygian dominant has a prominent role). I am specifically curious about the possibilities offered by jazz. The Dorian #4 looks particularly interesting and challenging to me. Let's do a quick run through the diatonic chords:
Dorian #4 - D E F G# A B C
D F A C - Dm7
E G# B D - E7
F A C E - Fmaj7
G# B D F - G#dim7
A C E G# - Am(maj7)
B D F A - Bm7b5
C E G# B - Cmaj7#5
What would the options be for jazz harmony? It seems to me that the key tensions are in those chords with the G#, so we need to emphasize that note like we would do in Lydian , or like we vamp on the half-step movement in Phrygian between the tonic and the b2.
The question is about comping ideas that sound good in jazz but at the same time manage to reveal the personality of the scale. I enjoy tension a lot so I'd try including the min(maj7) and the maj7#5 chords, but it's by no means an easy task.
Dude, I just posted about this. Lately I've been obsessed with modes of the harmonic minor. Those are two of my favorites, but I also want to shout out Lydian #2.
@@rome8180 Yeah Lydian #2 is also fun, all modes are worth exploring and have something to offer.
What I think is important to remember though is that modal jams and compositions should be approached differently with regards to harmony. What I tried to do above is apply functional harmony and perhaps that's not the best way to do things. If the mindset is modal, we can't stray far from the tonic. Maybe I should revisit one of Rick Beato's old videos on "exotic" scales and modes.
You're such an inspirational creator. I've been writing my own solo piano music for almost 6 years now and I haven't thought to dabble in the minor modes at all - they always felt a bit too out there for my non-jazzified ears. But after hearing/seeing you go through them... I'm ready.
Thank you ❤
When I was learning piano (and wikipedia confirms it), the Melodic Minor uses the b3 on the way up and then the b7 b6 and b3 on the way back down. Which is why I always did harmonic minor, b3 and b6 up and down.
yeah it sounds like he overlooked that when he was talking about melodic minor
Finally found a commenter that also noticed this. Thank goodness I'm not alone 😅
From what I understand that is how classical theory utilizes melodic minor, but outside of classical music is played the same descending as it is ascending. He's not wrong, he's just coming from a different musical background.
@@ilodar5684 It's even used in both directions in some classical music: Vivaldi's "Summer" (3rd movement Presto) and Bach. th-cam.com/video/RVRsFzcBJhY/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=MusicTheoryForGuitar
In jazz, the melodic minor scale is only referring to the ascending melodic minor - it is really only used for this purpose he is showing. The descending scale isn't used because it already has a name - Aeolian
Fun fact: the altered scale is also sometimes called the diminished whole tone scale, since the first half of the scale is like a diminished scale and the last half is a whole tone scale. This leads to some people calling it the Dimwit scale (derived from Dim/Wh. T).
instead of Aeolian b5 I usually say Locrian Nat2, the iim7b5 in a major key is pretty common in jazz, R&B and pop songwriting (normally they just play it as an inversion of the ivm6 and play locrian over it - think All I Want for Christmas is You), I ALWAYS opt for locrian nat 2 here, cus it's just SO much better
Nostalgia
@@weakw1ll haha the NOSTALGIA note lol
@@cookiecoderbt yessss lmfao
???
7:49 When you said it would sound familiar, and started dancing up the keyboard with it, it instantly hit me with "Marvel". It's EXACTLY the mode (and key) that the Phase 2 intro theme uses
40 years of music, your repeat visual display is hands down the best and most efficient way of teaching/learning theory, Keep up the great work!
I will say, I've never really been interested in music theory persay because of how complicated it seems, but the way you describe everything, play examples, as well as your genuine love for music showing through just makes me wanna learn 😭
It'd be fun to go over examples of cool chromatic chords and scales, I recently found arpeggiating root, major third, flat 5, dominant 7th, major 7th and stepping back down to the root sounds great. That sounds pretty rough as a chord voicing, so if you got something like strings in the background playing the entire color at once, you could try root, flat 5, major 7th, major 3rd and then that dominant 7th at the top. Spacing out the semitones in major 7ths (Maybe flat 9ths when the other relations are smoother that way, maybe even room for another octave in between) also helps a lot with voice leading to and from other chords, otherwise it can get a bit messy.
As for an example progression I quickly cooked up using this chord: This chord on D, B Dorian, E Dorian and D Lydian. Absolutely beautiful imo!
Lately I've been obsessed with the modes of the harmonic minor. The Phrygian dominant is the most commonly used one, but that's a little too familiar for me. I'm all about the Dorian #4 and the Lydian #2.
Doesn't flattening the 7 kind of defeat the purpose of raising the 4?
@@horurmartomasson1041 Where does "purpose" enter into anything? Also, I'm not sure I get your reasoning anyway.
@@rome8180 I don't remember what I was thinking when I asked this 10 months ago, but I suspect I had some kind of brain fart. There's nothing wrong with Dorian #4.
Maybe I had been writing something in Lydian and thought "Oh, no! You took away the nice vii chord that you got from raising the 4!", not realizing that ♭VII+ has its merits too.
Crazy insightful & clear. Definitely played Mixolydian b6 without knowing it.
I actually love the 2-5-1 from the altered scale bit.
Something about a V chord with all those alterations just....hits right. Example 13:37
Besides the major and its modes, the melodic minor and its modes are the only other set of heptatonic scales that has only half steps and whole steps between adjacent notes. All other heptatonic scales (like the harmonic minor and its modes) have larger gaps (minor thirds or larger) between scale degrees (counting the step from the 7th to the octave).
If you do a flat 3, 4,5,6,7 I think that works out.
I've always liked this move of 1 major to 2 diminished and back again. It's very similar to the minor four cadence, but it just sounds so much spicier because of that diminished chord. Mixo flat 6 is just such a good flavor.
The Mixolydian -6 is my favorite. That -6 adds so much dramatic beauty to a melody.
When I first tried this scale, I raised the 3rd degree of minor*, without any other change, aka barely major.
It's probably my favorite scale with a major 3rd. Now I know the name of it.
*Didn't knew any other minor than natural minor back then
14:01 sounds like the final two chords in Holst’s Neptune Suite, even the way you switch between them! Spooky indeed
Would you use the 6th mode in the context of 2 5 1? So on top of a Am7 b5 ?
Lydian dominant is like a musical paradox. Subdominant sound over a dominant tonic. No longer static sounding like Lydian tends to, and unable to resolve diatonically to a mode one fourth to contest it, it sounds like a jazzy, unbridledly bright dominant scale. Extra bright through the major 3 and #4, but bluesy and even a bit subdued through the b7.
I remember figuring these out on my own a couple years ago and went looking for a video, of which there was nothing so you might be one of the first!
The way I figured them out is we have the tone and semitone pattern of the modes of the major scale: TTSTTTS. And I was like what if we shift that pattern so that it has 4 whole tones in a row and one tone in between the two semitones. So as an example: TSTTTTS and when I realized that was the melodic minor scale it totally blew my mind!
I've also heard of the Lydian Dominant called the "acoustic scale" because that sharp 4 and flat 7 actually mimics the natural harmonic series if you were to keep following it up. Like if I were to go up the C harmonic on a trumpet you'd get: C, G, C, E, G, Bb, C, D, E, and then F# (NOT F).
Thank you for making this!
I'd love to see another video just like this, but about modes of the harmonic minor.
Let's also talk about the harmonic minor. That 3/2 tone spacing adds an egregious amount of diversity for chord structure (basically playing atonal without being atonal).
It's amazing how our ears work in a relative way in the face of so many modes originating from the same scale with very few changes. Congratulations because of the attention you have given to each of the scales/modes 👏
I play a bit of middle eastern music on oud, bouzouki and saz. These scales are called “maqams” and seem quite normal and have different names in Arabic, Greek, Turkish and Persian. They all have variations that use 3/4 notes, which are often misunderstood by westerners as microtonal. I also play folk, rock and a bit of jazz. It’s interesting to see the crossovers of understanding. The Dorian flat 2 scale is very common in Persian music. I have a Casio A3 “oriental” keyboard for playing that music as well so we can play in maqams such as “rast” which is like natural A minor but the second note is halfway between B flat and B natural.
Great video Charles. Would love to see you talk about how and where you use the various modes of both the harmonic minor scale and harmonic major scale. Keep up the great work!!
13:17 Those are the exact first two chords of Métropole by Anomalie. Check out the whole album, it's phenomenal
A la verga, acabas de presentar un álbum increíble. Gracias
@@4m4t0t0m3 ¡Me alegra que te guste!
It would be interesting to see you react to/analyze music theory of Indian or Middle Eastern music cuz we use a lot bigger variety of scales a lot more commonly. In Carnatic music (South Indian), we have a base of 72 different scales with basically every variation you can think of, and there are hundreds or thousands of "spin off" scales from those base 72.
technically most carnatic ragas can be "translated" as western scales, although the same can't be said for maqams. i agree that that would be a really interesting series of video topics. also want to bring up the pelog & slendro gamelan tunings!
This is so clear and really valuable info! But even more delightful is just watching you jam in these wild modes - what a vibe!!!
Dude….ive been playing guitar for 17 or so years now. Always used the major modes,
(Dorian, lydian, mixolydian etc). I never knew melodic minor modes existed! This is seriously gamebreaking
9:48 My jazz prof actually uses the term Locrian #2 instead and those of us who study with him typically use it over the half diminished chord in a minor 251
Wow! Charles I wish I could take your infinite knowledge and download into my brain space. As a player myself, I know learning and practicing some of these type of modes and scales can really take me to the next level. Thank you man.
I seriously cannot get over how much I love altered. I cant stop using it in minor II-Vs in my music lmao
Putting that little whole tone cluster in the middle voices and then putting the #9 at the top just hits SO nice
14:34 man I can only hope to one day be so intuited with music that I can just laugh at "trying out" a scale like this, you do it so intuitively its as if the piano is just an extension of your hands.
You managed to explain what my guitar teacher wasn't able to in 1999: *why* the super locrian scale is awesome. He just tried to convey how cool that scale was, but he never gave me the background you just did. Thank you!!
really like charles' turn towards more theory focused videos. that was indeed well done and super interisting
I had never thought of the melodic minor that way in relation to the major scale. It’s a great way to put it. Thanks!
Ionian b3 :)
12:47 Sounds like Rhapsody in Blue.
I'm super new to piano so this is more advanced than I'm able to truly appreciate but it makes me excited for what's to come.
i thought the melodic minor was the one where you play it differently going up to going down?? does anyone know why that happens
Well that's not melodic minor. Also I've heard of that scale but doesn't sound like it's actually used. Cuz a bare minimum of songs would have that, and then again people would probably explain it to you differently. If u go up minor and descend major you would only miss out on the b9 and the b5. Doesn't sound practical to me but again I could be wrong.
Technically yes, the ascending melodic minor goes 1-2-b3-4-5-6-7-8, and the descending one goes 1-2-b3-4-5-b6-b7-8. But you might have noticed, the descending form is just the natural minor scale; it seems to me to be a case similar to the "no parallel fifths/octaves" rule, which well, probably meant something in the past, now it doesn't lol.
Citing Wikipedia:
-Composers have not been consistent in using the two forms of the melodic minor scale.
-In jazz, only the ascending form of the scale is termed as "melodic minor".
Honestly, you could use this theory, especially if you want to avoid augmented or diminished triads in your harmony (so you switch back to the natural minor whenever that would happen, thus getting a chord with a 5th), but it's really up to the composer. I remember learning the Melodic minor like this (ascending/descending), but even my teacher told me "just play it how you want to; this is music theory, not music legislature".
Yeah, that's what melodic minor means in classical; but jazz theory seems to stick to the same notes.
If we’re making a bit of a stretch, Aeolian b5 can be lightly used within a blues improvisational context, with that b5 also being in the blues scale, also letting you incorporate those standard minor scale tones that are removed from the pentatonic scale.
Can we please have a whole album of Charles just playing in different modes!
Great idea - like Bach preludes and fugues but for modes
Great tip for quickly remembering the altered/superlocrian while on the dominant: play harmonic minor from a half tone above the dominant. As an arpeggio the chord tones in e minor would be c minor major 7 + 9 + 4+13 (c-eb-g-b-d-f-a)
These can all be made *even spicier* if you change all sharps to sharts!
What.
Currently in Music School at SELU, these scales are usually discussed in Form & Analysis II Class which deals with more 20th/21st Century Composers as well as discussed in Jazz Theory, using the book Jazz Theory Book by Mark Levine
Alright I finally find the perfect video to eat my noodles.
I would LOVE if a film composer used these different modes to represent different characters, situations, or emotions in their film score.
John Williams scores are a great reference -the E.T. Score is FULL of the Lydian mode and the Star Wars stuff too for example
Stargate. search sg1 theme it's in the minor 5th.
Altered scale: imagine you played a dominant chord and when asked what alterations you just said yes.
Yeah, super locrian js kinda like that too. Someone asks “does it have a flat nine? Or a sharp nine? Does it have a flat 5? Or a sharp 5?”. And you reply “yes.”
I’ve almost always used the harmonic major or mixolydian b6, I just love the melodic complexity of it and it works over major/minor substitutions
I've done Scale studies for a long time and I discovered a lot of these scales back when I was still in High School and my personal favorite modes are the modes of the Harmonic Minor scale. One of which being the Phrygian Dominant scale, which when you play the scale yourself it makes a lot of sense that you've actually heard it before in a lot of places; and chord wise it sounds really cool when you start incorporating some borrowed tones from Natural Minor.
I've actually been wondering about this for a while! Nobody's really covered anything like this. Thanks for going in depth into cool musical niches!
12tone did
alternatively titled "7 ways to flatten the Phrygian"
Fantastic explanation! I've never learned any music theory and even I was fully able to appreciate these scales!
I'm not entirely confident, but I believe some parts of the Diablo III soundtrack may use Aeolian b5. It's really the only thing that came to mind for me when listening to you play around with it.
Sounds like chick corea
Sir the Aeolian b5 is standard use of the ii-V-i major or minor, over the ii chord. It is equally standard as the super locrian altered dom and fast players navigate 2-5-1 via moving the same scale up a minor third degree from (literally playing the same phrase of notes if you want to simplify it) 2 to 5.
"There's no reason you can't"
Ladies and gentlemen, JAZZ!
Lydian Dominant has my favorite chord as the I: I7add9add#11. It's my favorite because if you play it in closed voicing (stacked thirds), the root, third, and fifth form a major triad, the third, fifth, and seventh form a diminished triad, the fifth, seventh, and ninth form a minor triad, and the seventh, ninth, and eleventh form an augmented triad. You get one of each triad in the chord, and that musical symmetry is really cool to me, plus the chord sounds incredible.
Aeolian b5 is commonly used for M7b5 chords, so it's perfect for that II chord in a minor II-V-I.
I love the altered scale but have never understood how it came from doing modes of the melodic minor! Super cool
Great video, Charles. I use a few different names for the Melodic modes. The one I would suggest is the fifth mode, the Melodic Major. It makes sense in that the Melodic Minor is the major scale with a minor third and the Melodic Major is the minor (natural) scale with a major third. Thanks for sharing. Cheers.
I've been playing around a lot with what I think of as Lydian sharp 2 flat 6. Lots of really cool coloration in there with the cross relationships in the 3rds and 6ths, plus a lot of leading tones caused by the clusters of minor 2nd intervals. Not sure if that scale has a name or not.
My favorite mode/scale.. 1,b2,3,4,5,b6,b7
Phyrigian with a major 3rd or harmonic minor starting on the 5th.
Introduced to it as hejaz in my music and cultures course at york u.
Have only used the Lydian b7 but this is amazing, I haven't had a time to sit down and do this, so this video is a lot of help and motivation for me to compose or play with it! Thanks a lot for sharing! 🙌🏼
Super informative and fun video. Love your content, man.
Aeolian flat 5 is very common in metal. Thrash and death metal use mainly natural minor but also love to throw in flat 5s since it is a weird and dissonant interval (originally known as the “devils interval”).
I had a lightbulb moment watching this video - being classically trained I have always thought of the melodic minor as being a modified harmonic minor or even aeolian (i.e. with a sharp 6 and 7) but thinking of it as a major with a flat 3 simplifies it so much.
Makes transposing modes of the melodic minor (in particular super locrian) WAY easier
Same
But it is Aeolian with a raised 6th and 7th, since you almost never every use sharp 6,7 on the way down.
However, the way classical music theory refers to modes is different from the modern approach. Since modes came before minor and major usage in music, and before the modern hierarchy of dominants and other functions, truly modal music isn't governed by that. For example, there is a difference between an Aeolian piece and one in natural minor. It's the same notes, but their emphasis is different.
Personally I'm against using modal names for scales when the music isn't modal, but I guess it's useful for complicated scales like these in the video
@@janne7263 that's fine but as a jazz saxophonist I need quick access to scales for improvising so it is easier for me to think of it that way
@@johnny141093 Definitely! Modern music theory has adopted the older names, but it's still important to know. Like how a piece in major isnt Ionian, because of the chord relationships in "major". You can definitely play notes based on for example locrian scale over certain chords, but you're not in locrian mode, if that makes sense.
It's pretty interesting when composing, since the emphasis on 1,4,5 and triads is so strong today that, at least personally, I find it difficult to look past
Now the same video about the modes from the harmonic minor scale :D Like phrygian dominant, 1 b2 (nat)3 4 5 b6 b7 just sounds so nice!
4:50 well mr. Satie I didn't see you there. Love the content keep it up
Aeolian b5: Satie’s Gnossienne #1 if I remember correctly. Not the entire piece, but a good portion
Hey Charles, great video. Best context for Aeolian b5 I would say is a 6minor - 4dominant progression. Using the Aeolian b5 off of the root of the 6 chord - you are then essentially playing Lydian dominant over the 4 chord too. Cheers.
I always find the Lydian Augmented scale intriguing because it’s as close as a 7 note scale can get to the whole tone scale. Thus, you get a lot of the floating dreaminess of the whole tone, but still have a key centre to ground it.
I've used mixo b6 here and there, but always wanted to try using some of the weirder melodic minor scales. Gonna give dorian b2 a try haha
Lydian dominant is beautiful, need a complete version of that jazz improv you did 🤣
8:37 playing the Stargate SG-1 theme song
Ya I got hard nostalgia there.
I actually have to learn this stuff for an exam on Monday and I already watched this video a couple weeks ago just for fun and now studying I realised that I had forgotten most of it again so I came back to watch this video again and every time I watch any if your videos I just get really happy and excited about jazz and music in general it’s amazing how different it is learning this from you versus learning it from my teacher (who somehow manages to make it extremely boring and uninteresting even though i love jazz and it’s such a cool topic to be taught at school)
Great vid! You make it so that each mode's flavor really stands out prominently. This is a really good ear training vid
Great video, for so much colors in these modes.
I hope you plan on doing the same thing with the modes of the harmonic minor scale...
I love phrygian dominant so much.
Mixolydian b6 is my favourite, and when I heard it here, I immediately remembered a song that uses it: Genesis One, by David O'Brien and Chris Egan. Chills down the spine every time I hear it, without exaggerating.
A close second is the lydian dom. Makes me want to play Sims again, build a house, and lose all sense of time while I decorate the living room.
That scale is, in fact, the melodic major, being like the aeolian mode but with a major third.
From another perpective, it's a combination of the octatonic and whole tone scales. The lower tetrachord is like a half-whole octatonic scale and the upper tetrachord is an augmented tetrachord which is made of all whole tones.
Back when I took bass lessons out of the Real Book my teacher explained what an alt7 chord was (ie Dalt7, Galt7). Alt7 means you have a b9 or a #9 AND a b5 or a #5. I was then warned not to play a perfect 4th, 5th, or 9th. I was then introduced to the Super Locrian scale. It was a game changer.
Lydian Dominant is also called Lydian-Mixolydian (which is more of a mouthful or sure). These are easily described as combinations of multiple modes and I'm so glad you finally made this video.
Aeolian b5 = Locrian natural 2,this scale works great with a mi7b5 chord giving a interesting sound with the natural 9.
Great explanation of the modes! I find even more interesting chord voicings staking 4ths with the root on the top.
Bruh idk why but just the three notes you sang at the end, made me so happy for no reason bruhh
Loving the new visuals with the keyboard!
I seem to remember being taught the Melodic Minor scale where you played the harmonic minor ascending and then the melodic minor descending. Not sure I was ever taught just the melodic minor scale ascending as well
Melodic ascending and natural descending is what I was taught, in music theory classes and from various instructors separately.
John Williams uses that mixolydian flat 6th scale in Star Wars. One of the most beautiful things i have heard.
If I recall, the only time we use modes in music is with western classical music before the classical period (baroque, renaissance, medieval) and Jazz music along with anything based on it. There might be some other uses for it as well but these are all of the main uses.
My fave is Mixolydian b6, AKA Major-Minor*, because my introduction to alto sax legend Kenny Garrett was his “Sing A Song of Song”, the main hook of which is in Mix b6. That’s before he starts extensive modal interchange, and solos in Double Harmonic Major / Gtpsy Major / Byzantine.
But, yeah, Mix b6 🔥
*1st five notes (or first three, depending on how you think about it) are from the Major / Ionian scale and the last three (or the last five) are from the Natural Minor / Aeolian scale.
2 of my (completely unrelated) favorite pieces of music are George Walker’s Lyric for Strings and Howard Shore’s Rivendell track from The Fellowship of the Ring. Both use Mixolydian flat 6 beautifully.
13:09 You sound like someone unironically fun at parties, at least those where I would love to be. Nothing inspires me more than people wiiling to share their passion.