Ever wondered why you play music, what drives you to do so and how you can use that understanding of yourself to better secure your success and levels of achievement?
Im my experience (both personally and as a teacher), it all comes down to the reasons you wanted to play music in the first instance.
Here is a video I recorded at Gibson HQ in London recently on this very subject which you might find interesting and useful when it comes to getting clear on your own journey and success.
http://www.youtube.com/edit?video_id=NlpKT4bs8Hg
Richard Deyn
www.guitarmastery.co.uk
Sunday 9 February 2014
Thursday 12 December 2013
Modes DeMystified
So you've heard others talking about Modes and don't they sound impressive?!
What is a Mode and what use are they?
Short answer - it doesn't really matter!
Long answer - okay, let's go....
A mode is simply a regular MAJOR SCALE but starting and ending on a different note.
I'll use C MAJOR because it has no sharps or flats and is easier to type!
The rules for this scale apply to EVERY key!
C MAJOR contains the following notes:
C D E F G A B
You can see a major scale only has 7 different notes in. Some folks say there are 8 if you include the full octave of playing the high C at the end:
C D E F G A B C
Okay so far? Cool
Let's keep the same notes in the same order but start and end on D.... that will look like this:
D E F G A B C D
These notes are still C Major right? Right!
If we treat D as the root note, then we can also call this D DORIAN. Why? Because the sequence of intervals (gaps) between the notes in this order make the Dorian sound.
If we do the same from E to E but keep the notes from C Major you get this:
E F G A B C D E
So these notes are still C Major and D Dorian but if we count E as the root note, we can call it E PHRYGIAN.
Here is the name of each mode we can generate from the original scale of C Major:
C Ionian - MAJOR
D Dorian
E Phrygian
F Lydian
G Mixolydian
A Aeolian - MINOR
B Locrian
So what does it all mean?
To the average player, going through their favourite songs and a bit of soloing, it doesn't mean anything. It just makes folks sound important when they talk like this. There is more to it though....
What is very interesting is the 6th mode of the Major key because this create the relative Minor key.
In other words, if I write a song in C major and you write a song in A minor, we are using the same set of notes!
So what's the difference in the sound of our pieces?
Simply put, the chords and the melodies in my piece make C sound like HOME and your piece in A minor, makes A sound like home.
So what?
If I am playing a melody in C major scale and you keep strumming Am chord, I am going to sound like I am in the key of A minor because it's ultimately the chords that dictate the tension and harmony of the piece.
Likewise, if I am playing notes from C major and you keep strumming a Dm chord underneath me, we are going to create the sound of D Dorian.
I am trying to make things simple to understand here so we need to flip it all on it's head - most people look to the modes to create the tension of Major, Dorian, Minor, etc. but ultimately, it's the chords we use which dictate the scale we are actually in.
So, here are the chords of C major and the sounds you will create across each chord when you play in the C major set of notes.
To experiment with these sounds, record your self strumming one of the chords for at least a minute. Then play back your chord as you solo using the C major scale. Target more towards the root note of the chord and you will hear the different tonality of each mode. So, if the chords is Dm, play C major but target the note of D more in your improvising. You will now be playing D Dorian without much effort at all.
Here's the chart you need for C Major:
Chord to play Mode created
C C IONIAN (MAJOR)
Dm D DORIAN
Em E PHRYGIAN
F F LYDIAN
G G MIXOLYDIAN
Am A AEOLIAN (MINOR)
Bm7b5 B LOCRIAN
I hope this helps you to create and understand different sounds in your music.
If you wanted more detail and to know the chords for other keys,there is a comprehensive lesson on knowing what key you are in and the chords contained within each key in the new DVD, Guitar Fundamentals as well as 28 Day Rockstar.
'Till next time....
Richard Deyn
www.guitarmastery.co.uk
What is a Mode and what use are they?
Short answer - it doesn't really matter!
Long answer - okay, let's go....
A mode is simply a regular MAJOR SCALE but starting and ending on a different note.
I'll use C MAJOR because it has no sharps or flats and is easier to type!
The rules for this scale apply to EVERY key!
C MAJOR contains the following notes:
C D E F G A B
You can see a major scale only has 7 different notes in. Some folks say there are 8 if you include the full octave of playing the high C at the end:
C D E F G A B C
Okay so far? Cool
Let's keep the same notes in the same order but start and end on D.... that will look like this:
D E F G A B C D
These notes are still C Major right? Right!
If we treat D as the root note, then we can also call this D DORIAN. Why? Because the sequence of intervals (gaps) between the notes in this order make the Dorian sound.
If we do the same from E to E but keep the notes from C Major you get this:
E F G A B C D E
So these notes are still C Major and D Dorian but if we count E as the root note, we can call it E PHRYGIAN.
Here is the name of each mode we can generate from the original scale of C Major:
C Ionian - MAJOR
D Dorian
E Phrygian
F Lydian
G Mixolydian
A Aeolian - MINOR
B Locrian
So what does it all mean?
To the average player, going through their favourite songs and a bit of soloing, it doesn't mean anything. It just makes folks sound important when they talk like this. There is more to it though....
What is very interesting is the 6th mode of the Major key because this create the relative Minor key.
In other words, if I write a song in C major and you write a song in A minor, we are using the same set of notes!
So what's the difference in the sound of our pieces?
Simply put, the chords and the melodies in my piece make C sound like HOME and your piece in A minor, makes A sound like home.
So what?
If I am playing a melody in C major scale and you keep strumming Am chord, I am going to sound like I am in the key of A minor because it's ultimately the chords that dictate the tension and harmony of the piece.
Likewise, if I am playing notes from C major and you keep strumming a Dm chord underneath me, we are going to create the sound of D Dorian.
I am trying to make things simple to understand here so we need to flip it all on it's head - most people look to the modes to create the tension of Major, Dorian, Minor, etc. but ultimately, it's the chords we use which dictate the scale we are actually in.
So, here are the chords of C major and the sounds you will create across each chord when you play in the C major set of notes.
To experiment with these sounds, record your self strumming one of the chords for at least a minute. Then play back your chord as you solo using the C major scale. Target more towards the root note of the chord and you will hear the different tonality of each mode. So, if the chords is Dm, play C major but target the note of D more in your improvising. You will now be playing D Dorian without much effort at all.
Here's the chart you need for C Major:
Chord to play Mode created
C C IONIAN (MAJOR)
Dm D DORIAN
Em E PHRYGIAN
F F LYDIAN
G G MIXOLYDIAN
Am A AEOLIAN (MINOR)
Bm7b5 B LOCRIAN
I hope this helps you to create and understand different sounds in your music.
If you wanted more detail and to know the chords for other keys,there is a comprehensive lesson on knowing what key you are in and the chords contained within each key in the new DVD, Guitar Fundamentals as well as 28 Day Rockstar.
'Till next time....
Richard Deyn
www.guitarmastery.co.uk
The best way to learn a new song.
Read the map for yourself!!!
To understand the 'bigger picture' of something is one of the best ways to learn about it.
It puts things in context and you can see where you are heading rather than just looking at the barriers directly in front of you. It's the difference between simply trusting your SAT NAV or actually looking at the map and knowing for yourself the route you are going to take. When you have seen the map and understood it for yourself, it's a much more pleasant experience to then trust the SAT NAV.
The same theory applies to learning a new song or piece of music...
When you first begin to learn a song, you have to start with the first note, first phrase, first chord or the first section of the piece. It is very common for a player to get lost in this part of the learning process and get tangled up in frustration very quickly. Why? Because almost everyone's instinct is to keep playing the fist thing they have learnt and only move on to the next part of the song when they feel totally in control of the first thing they learnt. I know - I used to do this too.
The best way to approach a new piece is to briefly play through each section of that piece everyday!
Here are the steps I use and that I teach my students to use... every piece ever learnt in this way, stays in your long term memory and you will always remember it...
Step 1.
Divide the piece in to 'bite size' chunks.
The way you divide it will be different for each type of piece and will also depend on the elements in that piece (does it contain a new chord to learn, new technique, etc.).
Divide the song in one of the following ways:
Solos - divide the solo in to phrases, or musical sentences.
Songs - divide the song in to section - INTRO, VERSE, CHORUS, etc.
New techniques and chords - mark these out as separate elements to practice.
Step 2.
Slowly, play through the first section or phrase until you have understood it's journey - in other words - the order of the notes, the chord sequence, whatever it contains.
When you feel you understand the sequence of this section well enough to play it without looking at the page or asking your teacher to show you it again, SLOWLY repeat the section for 2 minutes.
Set a timer on your phone (other gadgets are available), so you can fully immerse your mind in the playing.
If you have any new elements to learn (chords, techniques, etc) single these out as their own 2 minute practice section. Try to play then in isolation as well as in context of the phrase they belong to.
If you feel the section is too short to keep repeating for 2 minutes, either add another section to make the phrase longer, or reduce the playing time to 1 minute.
Repeat until you have played each section of the entire piece in your practice session.
Step 3.
Repeat step 2 for 5 days in a row!
After the first week, you will have a greater understand, not only of the sections and how they work but of the journey of the complete piece you are learning.
If it is a particularly long or involved piece, you may need another 5 days.
Practicing this way is much more thorough than how most people tend to approach a new piece.
Here's the maths:
If a piece has, for example, 10 phrases in it, your practice session will take you -
10 x 2 minutes = 20 minutes a day.
Over the 5 days, you will have played the new piece for a total of 100 minutes.
If you compare the benefits of playing a smaller amount (20 mins), each day rather than the same amount but all on one day (a larger 100 minute session), you can see why practicing in this way is going to get things in to your memory banks much more efficiently.
It's also much less overwhelming to think of practicing for 20 minutes rather than over an hour an a half.
Try for yourself - pick a piece to learn and create steps 1 - 3 for yourself.
Why practice more than you have to when you can spend your time more efficiently and just get on with playing?!
Richard Deyn
www.guitarmastery.co.uk
To understand the 'bigger picture' of something is one of the best ways to learn about it.
It puts things in context and you can see where you are heading rather than just looking at the barriers directly in front of you. It's the difference between simply trusting your SAT NAV or actually looking at the map and knowing for yourself the route you are going to take. When you have seen the map and understood it for yourself, it's a much more pleasant experience to then trust the SAT NAV.
The same theory applies to learning a new song or piece of music...
When you first begin to learn a song, you have to start with the first note, first phrase, first chord or the first section of the piece. It is very common for a player to get lost in this part of the learning process and get tangled up in frustration very quickly. Why? Because almost everyone's instinct is to keep playing the fist thing they have learnt and only move on to the next part of the song when they feel totally in control of the first thing they learnt. I know - I used to do this too.
The best way to approach a new piece is to briefly play through each section of that piece everyday!
Here are the steps I use and that I teach my students to use... every piece ever learnt in this way, stays in your long term memory and you will always remember it...
Step 1.
Divide the piece in to 'bite size' chunks.
The way you divide it will be different for each type of piece and will also depend on the elements in that piece (does it contain a new chord to learn, new technique, etc.).
Divide the song in one of the following ways:
Solos - divide the solo in to phrases, or musical sentences.
Songs - divide the song in to section - INTRO, VERSE, CHORUS, etc.
New techniques and chords - mark these out as separate elements to practice.
Step 2.
Slowly, play through the first section or phrase until you have understood it's journey - in other words - the order of the notes, the chord sequence, whatever it contains.
When you feel you understand the sequence of this section well enough to play it without looking at the page or asking your teacher to show you it again, SLOWLY repeat the section for 2 minutes.
Set a timer on your phone (other gadgets are available), so you can fully immerse your mind in the playing.
If you have any new elements to learn (chords, techniques, etc) single these out as their own 2 minute practice section. Try to play then in isolation as well as in context of the phrase they belong to.
If you feel the section is too short to keep repeating for 2 minutes, either add another section to make the phrase longer, or reduce the playing time to 1 minute.
Repeat until you have played each section of the entire piece in your practice session.
Step 3.
Repeat step 2 for 5 days in a row!
After the first week, you will have a greater understand, not only of the sections and how they work but of the journey of the complete piece you are learning.
If it is a particularly long or involved piece, you may need another 5 days.
Practicing this way is much more thorough than how most people tend to approach a new piece.
Here's the maths:
If a piece has, for example, 10 phrases in it, your practice session will take you -
10 x 2 minutes = 20 minutes a day.
Over the 5 days, you will have played the new piece for a total of 100 minutes.
If you compare the benefits of playing a smaller amount (20 mins), each day rather than the same amount but all on one day (a larger 100 minute session), you can see why practicing in this way is going to get things in to your memory banks much more efficiently.
It's also much less overwhelming to think of practicing for 20 minutes rather than over an hour an a half.
Try for yourself - pick a piece to learn and create steps 1 - 3 for yourself.
Why practice more than you have to when you can spend your time more efficiently and just get on with playing?!
Richard Deyn
www.guitarmastery.co.uk
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