Lead Guitarist Lessons - Modal Chord Progression

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Lead Guitarist Lessons - Modal Chord Progression

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To bring out the unique feel of the various modes is one of the challenges of building a modal chord progression. Without taking care in selection , this part can become obscured. Now, lets look at Dorian and Phrygian. They are both minor modes. Both will use a Minor 7th as the tonic chord. For instance If we added lII chord into the mix, but played it as a plain triad, we would use the chord of C Major in both cases. So, we get an identical chord progression, although both the modes are different.

We can fix up this by adding another note on top of our III chord, granting us a major 7 for Dorian and a Dominant 7 for Phrygian (B vs. Bb) - a fairly subtle change that redresses the balance.

A better mode to deal with all this is to cautiously select chords that are characteristic to the way in question. For example, lets look at a Lydian progression, we will start with A major 7 as our tonic. We should emphasize on what is different in that musical mode as compared with others to cement the Lydian. Lydian has the risk of being confused with Ionian and Mixolydian. By looking at the table above, we can understand that of these three modes, only Lydian has a major chord in the second degree - Mixolydian and Ionian are both minor in the 2nd degree, so this would be a wonderful chord to use. This makes sense because we understand that Lydian has a sharpened 4th.

This same sharpened 4th forms the 3rd of the chord. Since this chord would usually be minor in a regular major scale, sharpening its 3rd would make it major. So another means to look at picking distinctive chords is to base them on notes within the scale that are distinctive - it generally comes to the same thing.

To keep the bass note voicing on the tonic is another trick that we can utilize to concentrate on the mode of the progression. It genuinely draws attention to where in the scale the chord is rooted, despite the fact that it complicates the chords a bit. Furthermore, it also allows you to concentrate on the tonality of the manner you are working with. Though this trick is less important. But this is a remarkable mode to start out and help you to become more advanced.
Building a Modal Chord Progression For Lead Guitar Players

To produce the unique feel of the various musical modes is one of the challenges of building a modal chord progression. Without taking care in chord selection, this part can become obscured. As an instance, lets look at Dorian and Phrygian. They are both minor modes because they have flattened 3rds. Both will use a Minor 7th as the tonic chord. If we added for example a III chord into the mix, but played it as a simplified triad, we would use the chord of C Major in both cases. Thus, we get an identical chord progression, although both the musical modes are different.

We can fix this up a little by imparting another note on top of our III chord, giving us a major 7 for Dorian and a Dominant 7 for Phrygian (B vs. Bb) - a fairly subtle change that pretty much redresses the balance.

A better mode to deal with all this is to carefully pick out chords that are characteristic to the mode in question. For instance, lets look at a Lydian progression, we will start with A major 7 as our tonic. We should emphasize on what is unique in that mode as compared with others to cement the Lydian. Lydian, as being a major musical mode has the risk of being mixed up with Ionian and Mixolydian. By looking at the table above, we can see that of these three modes, only Lydian has a major chord in the second degree - Mixolydian and Ionian are both minor in the 2nd degree, so this would be a great chord to use. This makes sense, because we know that Lydian has a pointed 4th.

This same sharpened 4th forms the 3rd of the chord deduced from the second point of the scale. Since this chord would normally be minor in a regular major scale, sharpening its 3rd would make it major. So another mode to look at picking distinctive chords is to base them on notes within the musical scale that are peculiar - it pretty much comes to the same thing.

To carry on the bass note sounding on the tonic is another trick that we can use to focus on the modality the progression. It really draws attention to where in the scale the chord is rooted. But it complicates the chords a bit. Furthermore, it also allows you to concentrate on the tonality of the mode you are working with. Though this trick is less important but is a great means to start out and assist you to become more advanced.
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