Wow, still distilling from 07????
Thats great! Its like a time warp or something!
Yeah, he is talking about the 7 scale degrees or intervals. All the modes are 7 degree runs from the same scale, just at different starting points. Any of the other chromatic notes are accidentals. They add flavor to the original in the box scale degrees, and work to add dissonance to make the landing back on your home note or tonic that much sweeter. But that is more a function of harmony rather than single note theory. The key to harmony and melody is to establish a home or tonic with familiar intervals, and then get away from it in some interesting way. But as furthur out you go the more tension there is because the brain wants it to go back home, and resolve in some way. That is why a 7th is a minor 7th. It ads tension to make the tonic sound more resolved. For example,play a diminished run. Alone it sounds tense, but play the corresponding diminished chord before it. NOW it sounds really dissonant and full of mysterious tension,
See, I get confused when you talk about flatted this or that interval. Thats ok when talking about chord coloration, but its not necessary when talking about modes, or single note theory.
To me modes are a way to set up your phrasing. I think of it all as one big major scale with different starting points to give me different moods. If you think of it that way, the relative minors make sense, and you dont have to think so much about playing through the chords. HOWEVER, this is a bit of a mistake. if in Dorian mode, think only of that mode, and not its home major scale. I have trouble doing this, and thus my phrasing suffers and gets too major-y.
If you notice that a good amount of Dead songs start on the fifth (V) you realize that its why the mixolydian sounds right so much of the time. Its what gives the songs like franklins and rider the happy major feel that goes on forever.
Take a song like loser. The dorian mode works here because its a moody minor feel that starts on the ii. The key is G, but if you play in a dorian, you get that strong feel that Jerry does. Its where the melody is written.
Im sure I will read this again and see all sorts of mistakes, but hey, I luuuuv talkin bout theory...
Information is not knowledge. Knowledge is not wisdom. Wisdom is not beauty. Beauty is not love. Love is not music. Music is the best.- the girl from the bus