Time, tempo and rhythm

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Let’s take a pause from the scales that we’ve seen in the previous Pomodoros, and direct our focus to another crucial element of Music : Time !

Disclaimer : This topic is not so much the official version of rhythm and tempo as taught in music lessons, rather my own interpretation of what these terms mean to me.

In his book “The Music Lesson” Victor L Wooton, or rather the character Michael sais something like “If it wasn’t for Time separating them, all notes would sound together” (not a literal quote).So, music without the flow of time is impossible.

But even when you do have notes separated from each other in time, still you don’t necessarily have music. Think of all the sounds you here on the street or in a factory. What’s missing is a “time pattern”, aka rhythm.

The basic element of a rhythm is the beat. A beat is not so much something striking something else (e.g. the drumstick hitting the drum), but a sudden intensification of a vibration, aka a pulse. That pulse can be audible, visible or tactile. The most basic pulse for a human being is the heartbeat, first heard and felt in the mother’s womb. You could say that it’s the first music a human being hears, even subconsciously.

But when we talk about “the beat”, it’s not just 1 beat. It’s the sequence of beats that happen in regular intervals. Again, think of the heartbeat. It happens on regular intervals (otherwise you would have a medical situation !). So, you hear – or feel – a beat, and then some space, then the beat again, then again the same length of space, and so on and so forth. This is the basic pattern, the basic rhythm.

Tempo is nothing else than the speed of those beats and their intervals. If your are calm and relaxed, your heart beats at a slower tempo. If you are running or stressed, the tempo is higher. But still, you have the same beat, the same rhythm.

Now, let’s introduce another convention : every beat with its space, let’s call that a “measure” or “bar” : In standard music notation and tab, they are indicated by a vertical bar crossing all the lines of the staff :

(BTW, it’s tab for the 5-string banjo in case you’re wondering).

As you notice, in the examples above we have 1 beat per measure, which is the most simple rhythm.

Now, do the following exercise. Stand up, and start walking. Every time you put your left foot down, count “One !” – out loud ! That’s your basic beat right there. Probably, after a while, a little voice in your brain will count “Two” each time you put your right foot down. So now, you have 2 beats per measure ! The first beat (the basic beat) is called the downbeat, and it’s a little bit more accentuated than the 2nd beat, which is called the upbeat.

Okay, here’s another exercise. While you’re walking, start singing “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”. Notice on what syllables of the song you put your left foot down, i.e. the downbeat. Once you found that, sit down, sing the song again, but this time, clap your hands on the downbeat.

If you have it right, you clap your hands on the syllable marked in red :

Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are.
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky.
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are!

Now, sing the song again, still clapping your hands on the 1st beat, but this time, also snap your fingers on the upbeat (the “2”’s in the space between the “1”’s). You should have something like this (upbeats marked in blue) :

Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are.
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky.
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are!

And now, “le moment suprême” ! Sing the song again, but now, in the space between the clap of your hand, and the snap of your fingers, tap your foot ! That means, you add an extra 2 beats to the measure ! And yes, it takes a little motoric coordination, but after some tries you should be able to sing the song, clap your hands on the downbeat, snap your fingers on the upbeat, and tap your foot on the beats in between.

So, that means that the song “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” has 4 beats per measure, and that each beat is a quarter of that measure. Here are the first 4 measures in music notation :

This is the most common time in western music, and certainly in folk music, the 4/4 : 4 beats per measure, each taking up a quarter of the measure. Or in other words : each beat is a quarter note long.

As an exercise, listen to any song on the radio or your pop music collection, and you will almost always be able to count 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – etc., with each “1” falling on the downbeat of the song.

Now, because a song is in 4/4 time, does NOT mean that on every beat you must play or sing a note !
In fact, that will almost never be the case. (Okay, “Twinkle Twinkle” is one of the rare exceptions, in which on (almost) every beat there’s a note, and that’s why I used it as an example).

There are 2 reasons why there isn’t a note on a beat.

The first reason is that a previous note is still sounding. Indeed, in stead of singing or playing 4 notes in a measure, you can sing only 1 note, but let it sound throughout the 4 beats of the entire measure. Thus, you have a whole note. Or you can sing 2 notes, each lasting 2 beats of the measure. These notes are half notes.

Here it is schematically :

 

And you can even divide further, and play or sing notes between the beats ! For instance, if you count “one – a – two – a – three – a – four - a” in stead of the plain “one – two – three – four”, you have added extra notes between the 4 beats. These extra notes are half the length of a quarter note, so you have eighth notes. And if those you can divide further into 16th notes, and so on and so forth…

The second reason there isn’t a note on a beat, is simply because you don’t play or sing one ! This is called a rest, aka a space. Rests can have the same time-length as notes : whole rest, half rest, quarter rest, etc.

Let’s see an example of notes and rests of mixed lengths. Here are the first few bars of “Oh When The Saints…” :

You notice that the first 3 notes don’t fill a complete measure of 4 beats. These notes are called “pick up” notes, and the first incomplete measure is the “pick up” measure. That happens a lot !
The other measures however have a combination of notes and rests that fully cover the 4 beats.

Next to the most common 4/4 time (or “meter”), there is another very important meter, which is the 3/4 or waltz time.

It’s very simple : in waltz or 3/4 time, you don’t count to four, but to three : 1 – 2 – 3, 1 – 2 – 3, etc. The “1” is still the downbeat, and gets a bit more emphasis than the 2 other upbeats. So, in a waltz, you have 3 quarter notes that take up 1 measure, like in this example of “Happy Birthday” (notice the 1st pick up measure !) :

Now we come to the final question : what is rhythm ?

Well, with all the information above we are able to define that. The first thing that is needed for a rhythm is a meter : 4/4 or 3/4 or 2/4 or even more exotic meters like 5/4 or 7/8…

But that’s not enough.

The next thing that is important for a rhythm is the distribution of notes and rests. Let’s say for instance that in the following notation, the C stands for a kick on the bass-drum (or you foot stomping on the floor), and the A for a stroke on the snare drum (or a clap in the hands). This is a 2-measure rhythm a drummer could play :

(Of course, drummers have their own kind of tab, in which each drum and cymbal has its own symbol.)

The important thing to notice here is that the rhythm is composed of a pattern of notes and rests. The length of the notes and rests can vary : half notes and rests, quarter, eights, sixteenths, etc. Or any combination of them. In short : there’s no limit on the amount of possible rhythms.

Moreover, and that’s just as important, not only the length of the notes and rests are important, but also if they are accentuated or not ! As we’ve seen, normally the downbeats are more or less accentuated, and the upbeats are a bit lighter. But in a rhythm, it can be interesting to play a bit with those rules, like in this reggae rhythm :

Here you see that the downbeat does not get any note at all, and the 3rd beat gets a heavy bass-kick, which is so typical for the reggae style.

So, in short a rhythm is :

• a repetitive pattern
• of notes and rests of which the length can vary (whole, half, quarter, etc.)
• and that are accentuated or not

Let me finish this section with some advice that again I picked up from Victor L. Wooton : a rest is as important as a note ! So, don’t practice only to play the notes, also practice to play the rests !

In the next Pomodoro, we continue our exploration of scales, as we delve into the minor scales.

4 note chords and beyond

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In the previous Pomodoro, we saw how we can build chords by stacking up the root, the 3rd and the 5th note of the modes of the scale, resulting in 3 note chords. 3 note chords are mostly used in folk music and its derivatives like bluegrass.

In jazz however 4 note chords are used. You can hear it already in the swing music of the ‘20s of the previous century. But as we’ve mentioned in the previous Pomodoro, there’s also one 4-note chord used in folk music : the dominant 7th chord.

Building a 4-note chord is childishly easy : you take a 3-note chord, and you add the 7th of the mode. So, that gives in the key of C the following chords :

mode root	chord notes (1 – 3 – 5 – 7 of the mode)	chord name	indication
C	C – E – G – B	C major 7	C+7 or Cmaj7
D	D – F – A – C	D minor 7	D-7 or Dmin7
E	E – G – B – D	E minor 7	E-7 or Emin7
F	F – A – C – E	F major 7	F+7 or Fmaj7
G	G – B – D – F	G 7	G7
A	A – C – E – G	A minor 7	A-7 or Amin7
B	B – D – F – A	B half diminished	B-7b5

I left out the roman numeral notation, because in my brief big band jazz amateur guitarist career, I’ve never seen a music sheet with roman numeral notation.

As always, when you use another key, the root of the modes and the chords will change, but not their major or minor characteristic.

Some points to notice :

• The same remarks as for the 3-note chords remain : when you play a 4-note chord, notes and their octaves can be repeated. However, most 4 note chords on the guitar are played using only 4 strings (e.g. string 6 for the bass note, strings 2-3-4 for the other notes).
  Inversions are also allowed : 1 – 3 – 5 – 7 or 3 – 5 – 7 – 1 or 5 – 7 – 1 – 3 or the 3rd inversion 7 – 1 – 3 – 5.
  
• While it was ok to call the 3-note chord VII “diminished” (and leave out the “half” part), that’s not the case of for the 4-note VII chord ! Here, you HAVE to call it half diminished, because there is also a 4-note full diminished VII chord. The difference is that the half diminished VII chord has a minor 7, and a (full) diminished chord has a diminished 7. E.g. a (full) diminished B chord = B – D – F – Ab !
  If you compare this with the VII chord in the table above, you will notice that the minor 7th A has dropped to Ab. An interesting feature of this chord is that every note is separated by the exact same interval 1+1/2 step, so it can repeated upwards or downwards : B – D – F – Ab – B – D – F – Ab – etc.  ! It’s the only chord for which this is the case.
  Without going further into detail, I can tell you that you find the (full) diminished chord when you build chords based on the minor scale. If you want to try out for yourself, don’t forget to use the minor harmonic scale, as mentioned in Pomodoro 8. I assure you : you will find some exotic chords there !
  
• A neat trick if you want to become a (big band) jazz guitarist : since the piano and/or the bass will play the root and the 5th of the chord, you don’t need to play them. So, you can stick to the 3rd and the 7th’s of the chord. They happen to be the most characteristic notes of the chord, so it’s great if you can let them shine on the guitar. Now, the trick : you can play the 3rd and 7ths of ALL THE CHORDS (major, minor and diminished) in ALL THE KEYS, only using strings 3 and 4 (the strings in the middle) !
  

A chord that is worth exploring a bit more is the V-chord, also known as the “dominant 7”.

First, the word “dominant”. In the diatonic scale, each note has a function. I don’t quite know the purpose of these names, but here they are in a table :

note in scale	function name
1	root or tonic
2	supertonic
3	mediant
4	subdominant
5	dominant
6	submediant
7	leading tone (leads to root)

The two most important are the root (1st note) and the dominant (5th note).  It’s called the dominant, because if you play the dominant 7, it’s like it is “demanding” to be resolved to the root chord.
E.g., in the key of C, when you play G7 (dominant 7), the chord “demands” as it were to be solved to C, the root chord. It’s this “demanding” characteristic that makes the V chord dominant.

In blues, very often all the chords are played with a “dropped 7” (the difference between a Gmaj7 and a G7 is indeed a dropped 7). A blues in E for instance is very often played as : E7 – A7 – B7.

The last point to discuss is the question : what after adding the 7th note to the chord ? Indeed, in jazz, chords don’t stop on the 7th note. Many a times, more notes are added : 9ths, 13ths, and all sorts of augmented and lowered notes.
They are called “ornaments” because they don’t really change the general “mood” of the chord, they just add color to it.
Some well known chord ornaments are

• the 6/9 that you can play whenever you play maj7. E.g. if you play Cmaj7, you can play C6/9.
• the 13th that you can play together with or instead of the dominant 7. So in stead of G7, you can play G13. (13 is the 6 above the octave of the root).

In extreme situations (free jazz), the entire chromatic scale is used as chord ornaments. But then as Charles Ives said, you have to take your dissonance like a man ! I don’t know about you, but I am certainly not there yet !

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This concludes this series of Basic Music Theory in 11 Pomodoros.

The last thing I want to say is that, for me Basic Music Theory can be compared to a CV of a person. This CV (if honestly written) will tell you a great deal about the facts and figures, but you won’t really know who that person is : what is her/his personality ? To really know that person, you have to meet her/him in person.

It’s the same with Music. You can read all the music theory books you want, it still while singing or playing an instrument that you get to see a tip of the veil of the mystery that Music is. A mystery that is worthwhile to explore and discover for a lifetime !

I wish you all a happy continuation of your exploration adventure !

3 note chords

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In the previous Pomodoro, we got to know the modes of the diatonic scale. In this Pomodoro, we will see that they are very handy in explaining chords.

A chord (or harmony) is nothing else than 2 or more notes sounding together. That can be pleasing to the ear, in which case it’s a consonant harmony, or not so pleasing in a dissonant harmony. You could think that “pleasing” or “not pleasing” would be totally a matter of personal taste, but there are studies that indicate the physiological nature of harmony (see this video).

In western folk music and bluegrass, we mostly talk about 3-note chords, with one 1 big exception which is the dominant 7th chord, that has 4 notes. But more of that later.

First, let us establish what a 3-note chord is. A 3-note chord is constructed by the root, the 3rd and the 5th of the mode. That’s it. No more, no less.

Indeed, each mode in a key has it’s own chord. But in stead of naming the mode, we indicate the chord with a symbol, or with a roman numeral. So, in the key of C for example these are the chords :

mode root	chord notes (1 – 3 – 5 of the mode)	chord name	indication	roman numeral
C	C – E – G	C (major)	C	I
D	D – F – A	D minor	D- or Dmin	II
E	E – G – B	E minor	E- or Emin	III
F	F – A – C	F (major)	F	IV
G	G – B – D	G (major)	G	V
A	A – C – E	A minor	A- or Amin	VI
B	B – D – F	B (half) diminished	Bdim or B-b5	VII

I suggest you play these chords, while someone else plays the notes in the key of C. You’ll hear how they match wonderfully together !

Probably there are some questions bubbling up. But before we address them, let’s take another example : the key of G (that has F#) :

mode root	chord notes (1 – 3 – 5 of the mode)	chord name	indication	roman numeral
G	G – B – D	G (major)	G	I
A	A – C – E	A minor	A- or Amin	II
B	B – D – F#	B minor	B- or Bmin	III
C	C – E – G	C (major)	C	IV
D	D – F# – A	D (major)	D	V
E	E – G – B	E minor	E- or Emin	VI
F#	F# – A – C	F# (half) diminished	F#dim or F#-b5	VII

Of course, you could continue building your own table for any key, but let’s stop for a while, because it seems we have a lot to talk about !

First, there’s a small point to notice : in the column of the chord names, you’ll see parts between parenthesis. That means that if you call that chord name, you can leave that part out. In fact, it is preferred NOT to mention it. So, you say “play G” for instance, and not “play G major”, or “F# diminished” and not “F# half diminished”. These parts between parenthesis are only there for clarification of the chord. (We’ll see later what diminished is).

Now, let’s have another look at the tables. We notice that, just as the modes were major or minor, so are the chords : there are major and minor chords. That’s quite logical, since the chords are built upon the modes, and they include the all important 3rd.

This means that the chords are major or minor by position. What I mean is that in any key :

• chord I which is built on the Ionian mode is always major
• chord II which is built on the Dorian mode is always minor
• chord III which is built on the Phrygian mode is always minor
• etc.

That’s why some music sheets don’t show chords, but roman numbers. That means you can play in any key and you just apply the appropriate chord number, according to the system above. The only thing you have to know is in what key the song is played at that moment.

Secondly, the vast majority of songs will not include all 7 chords belonging to the key. In fact, most bluegrass songs only contain 3 chords : I – IV – V. They happen to be the only 3 major chords ! Some bluegrass and old time songs have only 2 chords : I – V !

On the other hand, there are also a lot of songs that include chords NOT belonging to the system above. E.g. “Salty Dog” in G contains a E (major) in stead of E minor ! There can be a lot of reasons for these “out of key” chords, but that would bring us too far to explain (besides the fact that I don’t always know why !)

But in general, the system above can serve as a useful tool when you are searching for the chords of a song you don’t know. Most of the time, you’ll find the answer there !

Some other points to mention :

• a full guitar chord has 6 notes (one for each string), and a 3-note chord only 3, how’s that possible ?
  Well, yes, when you play a full G-chord on your guitar, you’ll hear 6 pitches, but only 3 notes. If you analyze the chord, you’ll play :
  • 6th string : G
  • 5th string : B
  • 4th string : D
  • 3rd string : G
  • 2nd string : B
  • 1st string : G

You see : only the 3 notes of a regular G-chord. Go ahead, and try to find what notes do you play on the regular C, D and A chords. It will always be the 3 notes of the chord. So yes, it is allowed to play the same note (or its octaves) more than once in a chord.

• Inversions : just as you can play a note more than once in the chord, you can also inverse the order in which they appear. The normal order is 1 – 3 – 5 (as in the G-chord above), but you can also play the first inversion : 3 – 5 – 1 (B – D – G) or the second inversion 5 – 1 – 3 (D – G – B). They’re all the same chord.
  
• As you have noticed, a minor chord is indicated by the name of the chord, followed by a minus-sign “-“ or the abbreviation “min”. A (half) diminished is indicated by the abbreviation “dim”. And that brings us to the question : what is a diminished mode or chord ?
  The answer is simple : not only this mode or chord is minor, but also it has a dropped (or diminished) 5th note.
  Let me explain. Chords I to VI all have what is called a “perfect fifth” : from the root to the 5th is always 3+1/2 steps, even for minor chords.
  
  But for only chord VII that is not the case : it has only 3 steps from the root to the 5th, which is called a diminished 5th.
  
  E.g. the diminished chord Bdim (B – D – F) : 1/2 step from B to C, 1 step from C to D, 1 step from D to E, 1/2 step from E to F = 3 steps.

The diminished chord is a great “passing” chord to go back to the root of the song. So if you play a bluegrass song, and you have a passage where you go from chord V to I, try fitting in the diminished chord VII just before you play the I. It won’t always work, but when it does, it will sound richer.

Mind you, a diminished chord on the guitar is not easy to take on all 6 strings ! I only use the upper or the lower 4 strings.

By playing the diminished VII chord, you substituted the “dominant” chord V chords. The dominant V chord is played a lot of times with a 7th note. That makes it a 4-note chord ! Let’s talk about that in the next Pomodoro !

The hidden power of Modes

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In the previous Pomodoro, we learned quite some stuff :

1. A scale or key is called “major” or “minor” solely on the ground of it’s third ! If the third is major (2 steps), then the whole scale or key is major. If it’s minor (1 + 1/2 steps), then the whole scale or key is minor.
2. There are 3 minor scales :
   1. The natural or relative minor scale, which is the ordinary diatonic scale, but starting from the 6th note.
   2. The harmonic minor scale, which is the natural minor, but with the 7th note raised. This scale is used in jazz only for making chords in minor keys.
   3. The melodic minor scale, which is the same as the major key of the same root, but with it’s 3rd lowered from major to minor.
3. The natural or relative minor scale is used to determine in which key a piece of music is written. Thus, the key signature of a song can signify a major key, or the relative minor key. E.g. 2 flats means : the key of Bb major OR G minor !

So, the relative minor key plays an important role. And as we know, the relative minor key is just the diatonic scale starting from the 6th note as being the root.

That’s why there are discussions about this “scale”. Some people say that the relative minor is not a scale on its own, but only a derivative – or mode - of the major diatonic scale. Other people will argue that the relative minor is a scale in its own right, because it uses another pattern than the major diatonic scale, in other words : it stacks the tones and half-tones differently.

It’s certainly not up to me to decide who’s right or wrong (it’s a matter of semantics anyway). The only important thing to remember is that you can start the diatonic scale on any of its notes as the root, and that this is called a mode.

Since there are 7 notes, there are also 7 modes. Each mode has its own name, and will be either major or minor according to its 3rd interval. Just a warning ahead : the names are a bit strange ! (source : Wikipedia)

Name	Starting from note	Example in the key of C	Particularity
Ionian	1	C – D – E – F – G – A – B – C	this is the “normal” major key
Dorian	2	D – E – F – G – A – B – C – D
Phrygian	3	E – F – G – A – B – C – D – E
Lydian	4	F – G – A – B – C – D – E – F
Myxolydian	5	G – A – B – C – D – E – F – G
Aeolian	6	A – B – C – D – E – F – G – A	this is the relative minor key
Locrian	7	B – C – D – E – F – G – A – B

So, let’s try an example in another key. What notes would you play in the Lydian mode in the key of D ?

Think about it for a minute (and write it down) before you read the answer below…

Well, the key of D is : D – E – F# – G – A – B – C# – D
The Lydian mode takes the 4th note as root, which is G.
So, the Lydian mode in the key of D is : G – A – B – C# – D – E – F# – G

Do you want another one ? Ok, how about this : the Dorian mode in the key of G ?

Answer : A – B – C – D – E – F# – G – A. Why ? The Dorian mode start on the 2nd note, which is A in the key of G. And since we are in the key of G, we must play F#.

Now, the first question you probably ask yourself, and it’s a very pertinent one, is : what is the use of modes ?

To be honest, I’m a bit confused myself on the subject. For me however, they serve 2 purposes : a harmonic and a melodic one.

As far as the harmonic use is concerned, modes will come in very handy when we’ll start talking about building chords in the next Pomodoros. Indeed, you can see them as “chord-specific scales”.

On the melodic field, I’m a little less confident. So far, I used them to look for variations for melodies or solos. I’ll explain that a bit later, so please just read on, and I think you’ll find lots of fun using modes.

First, let’s look at another important question. And that is whether the mode is major or minor. As we know, a scale or key, is major or minor depending on its major or minor third. The same goes for a mode.

Let’s take the key of C as an example (see table above).

The Ionian mode is the “normal” key with the interval C – E as the third. It’s a major third, so the Ionian mode is a major mode. This comes as no surprise, because it is the major key !

The Dorian mode is a minor mode, because the interval D – F is a minor third.

The Phrygian mode is also a minor mode, because of the minor third E – G.

And so on and so forth. Try to figure out for all the modes if they are major and minor yourself before you read the answer below :

Mode	Major/minor
Ionian	Major
Dorian	Minor
Phrygian	Minor
Lydian	Major
Myxolydian	Major
Aeolian	Minor (of course ! It’s the relative minor !)
Locrian	Minor (diminished)

The major/minor characteristic of a mode is NOT dependent of the key ! For instance, the Lydian mode (mode IV) will always be major, in the key of C, G, Bb, or any other key !

So, modes I, IV and V are major, and II, III, VI and VII are minor. (Lame joke alert : the majority of modes is minor). The VII mode, Locrian, is even more than minor, it’s diminished, but we’ll talk about that in the next Pomodoro.

Now, before we see how we can use modes to look for variations in melodies or solos, there’s a last point, and that’s the “lingo” musicians use.

As a shorthand, musicians will say “G Lydian”. What they mean is : play the Lydian mode, with G as the root of the mode. Since Lydian is the 4th mode, we know that G must be the fourth note in the major scale. That major key can only be D (there are no other keys with G as the 4th note !). That means that you play : G – A – B – C# – D – E – F# – G. (The key of D has 2 sharps : F# and C#).

What they DON’T mean with “G Lydian” is : play the Lydian mode of the key of G. The 4th note in the key of G is C. That would give : C – D – E – F# – G – A – B – C. Totally different !

Now that we gathered all this knowledge, let’s start applying it. Like I said, my experience with modes is limited, so far I only used it to experiment and find variations for melodies or solos. But it is fun ! Let’s take the example of “Happy Birthday”.

This is the normal version (in the key of C) :

In order to find a variation, in the first complete bar, in stead of playing C Ionian (the “normal” major mode), you could play C Myxolydian. Since Myxolydian means starting from the 5th note, we have to look for the key in which C is the 5th note, which is the key of F. The key of F has 1 flat note : Bb. So, you could play this :

I changed only 1 note : the 3rd note in the first bar. In stead of the plain root C, I changed into a more colorful Bb, which comes from the Myxolydian mode.

If you play this, and you listen carefully, this tiny variation asks for another change : the 3rd note of the 3rd bar. There you can change the D in B :

No, you didn’t use another mode, you stayed in the Ionian mode.

But what we get here is a “chromatic” pattern as the transition between 2 bars : from bar 1 to bar 2 we use Bb – B, which is a half-step distance. And from bar 3 to bar 4 we use B – C, again a half-step distance. Using half-step patterns like this (upwards or downwards) is called “chromatic”, because the chromatic scale consists of only half steps !

Wow, all this because I changed only 1 little note using a different mode ! That is indeed the melodic power of modes.

But why did I choose the Myxolydian mode, and not any other ?

Well, like I said, my experience is limited. What I do is switch a major mode for a major mode, and a minor for a minor. Let me explain with the example above. The first bar is in a major mode : Ionian, the normal major key. So I have only 2 other major modes I can use : the Lydian and the Myxolydian. There were a couple of choices available : changing the G to F# (Lydian mode), the A to a Bb (Myxolydian mode) or changing the C to Bb (also Myxolydian mode). I tried them all, and it was the last variation that sounded best to me. Like I said : lots of fun !

Being a bluegrass banjo player, my experience so far is limited to major modes, but jazz musicians use the minor modes a lot. And that shouldn’t come as a surprise : with 3 minor scales, and 4 minor modes to choose from, it almost seems you can’t play a wrong note in minor !

Now, the last bit of this extra-long Pomodoro is how you can easily learn the various modes. If you see “D Dorian”, how do you know practically instantly what notes are involved ?

Well, you could do the arithmetic as we did above several times. But I use an mnemonic, called LIMDAPL. This mnemonic is based on the fact that for the same root, there’s only 1 note that changes per mode. The modes are ordered from the “most major” to the “most minor” :

Mode	Example with root C	Change in relation to Ionian (“normal” major)
Lydian	C – D – E – F# – G – A – B – C	augmented 4
Ionian	C – D – E – F – G – A – B – C	--
Myxolydian	C – D – E – F – G – A – Bb – C	dropped 7
Dorian	C – D – Eb – F – G – A – Bb – C	dropped 7, dropped 3
Aeolian	C – D – Eb – F – G – Ab – Bb – C	dropped 7, dropped 3, dropped 6
Phrygian	C – Db – Eb – F – G – Ab – Bb – C	dropped 7, dropped 3, dropped 6, dropped 2
Locrian	C – Db – Eb – F – Gb – Ab – Bb – C	dropped 7, dropped 3, dropped 6, dropped 2, dropped 5

If you take the first letter of the modes, you get the acronym “LIMDAPL”. But more importantly, you can use this to immediately figure out what notes you have to play. Say for example “A Dorian”.

The normal Ionian mode would be : A – B – C# – D – E – F# – G# – A.

But with Dorian mode I know : dropped 7, dropped 3.

So that makes : A – B – C – D – E – F# – G – A.

That’s why some teachers will insist that you don’t only practice the “normal” scale on your instrument, but also the modes for the same root (e.g. C Lydian, C Ionian, C Myxolydian, C Dorian, C Aeolian, C Phrygian, C Locrian) to get them into your “muscle memory”.

Well, this is all I know about modes. I’m pretty sure there are other areas in which you can use them, but I haven’t explored them yet. If I ever do, I’ll make sure to brag blog about it !

In the next Pomodoro, we will make use of the modes to build chords. I promise, it will be a much more simple topic !

Minor keys and scales

Click here for the general overview

In Pomodoro 5 and Pomodoro 6, we learned about building keys in the diatonic scale, using the Circle Of Fifths and the Circle Of Fourths.

What I didn’t say then was that we were building major keys. In this Pomodoro we will see how to build minor keys.

First, let us establish what we mean with a major and minor key.

And to do that, I need to talk about intervals.An interval is the audible distance between any two notes. If you play a D (4th string) and then a B (2nd string), you’ll hear a distance between them, in this case a sixth. Then, if you play G (3rd string) and then E (1st string), the notes are different, but their relative distance, the interval, remains the same : a sixth.

Hearing the intervals between notes is a fantastic and indispensable tool if you want to play music, and there are plenty of software programs available on the Internet that you can use to train your ears.

Let’s start with the easy part : finding the name of the interval. To find it, you just count the notes that span the interval and you make it an adjective. It doesn’t matter in what order you count : ascending or descending. It also does not matter if the note is sharp or flat.

• The interval between 2 adjacent notes, is called a second (2nd). E.g from C to D, from G# to F#, from D# to E, from Bb to A.
• 2 notes with 1 note in between is a third (3rd). E.g. from E to G, from F# to D, from Ab to F, from B to D.
• 2 notes with 2 notes in between : a fourth (4t). E.g. from G# to C.
• 2 notes with 3 notes in between : a fifth (5th). E.g. from Db to G.
• 2 notes with 4 notes in between : a sixth (6th). E.g. from Gb to Eb.
• 2 notes with 5 notes in between : a seventh (7th). E.g. from C to B.
• 2 notes with 6 notes in between : the octave ! E.g. from C to high C.

and you can go even further with 2 octaves :

• 2 notes with 7 notes in between : a ninth (9th), e.g. from C to high D.
• etc…

(Little secret : to find the name of the interval, I just count on my fingers from one note to another : e.g. from F# to C : F(1) – G(2) – A(3) – B(4) – C = 5 ! So, it’s a fifth ! Notice that I didn’t even bother to take the # into account.)

But all these intervals come with “flavors”. That’s where it’s becoming a bit more difficult, because you do have to take into account all the possibilities. For example : from C to D is a second, and it’s a whole tone apart (2 frets). But from B to C is also a second, but it’s only a half step ! Such a second is called a “minor second”.

I’m not going into details here. If you want to know all the possible intervals, here’s a list (source Wikipedia).

But there is ONE interval that is important to make the distinction.

That interval is the third. Here, you have to make the distinction between a major third, which is 2 steps, and a minor third, which is 1 + 1/2  steps. For example, C – E is a major third (2 steps), but D – F is a minor third (1 + 1/2 steps).

Why is it so important ? Because the third determines the entire “mood” of the key, and thus the song that is written in it ! This interval is so important, that the whole key is called “major” or “minor” according to it !

A major third evokes a happy, optimistic mood, and a minor third a sad, melancholic mood. Wanna hear for yourself ? Well, first, play this major version of “Frère Jacques” in the key of C (no flats or sharps in the key signature) :

Now, play it in minor :

Quite a difference, isn’t there ?

What changed ? Well, in the key of C, the third is E. The only thing that changed was going from the major third E (2 steps) to a minor third Eb (1 step + 1/2 step). This small change makes a whole lot of difference.

So far so good. Now, the bad news. Until now, we’ve seen only 1 major scale, which is the diatonic scale. But there are 3 minor scales.

The first is an easy one, because it’s really the diatonic scale, but starting from another root : the 6th note. So if you start playing the diatonic scale in the key of C, but starting from A (which is the 6th), then you’ll have the A minor scale : A – B – C – D – E – F – G – A. It’s a minor key because it has a minor third A – C.

Another example : in the key of G, the 6th is the E. So, the key of E-minor is :
E – F# – G – A – B – C – D – E.
Why F# ? because the key of G was our base !

I suggest you try some other keys, starting from the 6th note. For instance, what notes would you play in D minor ?

Try to find them on the guitar, I’ll wait a minute…

The answer is : D – E – F – G – A – Bb – C – D. Why Bb ? Because D is the 6th note in the major key of F, and in that key we play Bb !

Because this minor scale is so intertwined with the major diatonic scale, it is called the “relative” or the “natural” minor scale. Moreover, those two scales share the same key signature !

This is really important ! We talked about key signatures, and how we can use them to deduce the key in which the song is written. But in fact, there are always 2 keys linked to it : the major and the minor relative key.

So, if there are no sharp or flats, the song is either in C major or A minor ! Another example : if the key signature is 2 sharps, you’re either in D major or B minor. If the key signature is three flats, then the key is Eb major or C minor. Mind boggling, isn’t it ?

So, how do you know if the song is major or minor ? Well, you don’t. Not by the key signature anyway. A good tip is to look to the end note. If it’s the 1st, 3rd or 5th note of the major key, it’s probably major. If it’s the 6th, it’s probably minor. But the whole “feel” of the song should tell you.

Another interesting little fact is that the natural or relative minor scale is very much used in medieval music. In fact, the notes A – B – C – D – E – F – G suggest that the first scale ever written down was probably the natural minor key.

Okay, let’s move on to the second of the three minor scales. This one is called the “harmonic” minor scale, and it’s only used for, well making harmonics, or chords if you like. The harmonic minor scale is almost exactly like the relative minor scale, but the 7th note is raised.

So, if you take the natural A minor : A – B – C – D – E – F – G – A

The harmonic minor scale would be : A – B – C – D – E – F – G# – A

If you play this scale, you’ll have an “eastern” feel to it, because of the unusual interval of 1+1/2 step between the 6th and the 7th note.

Unless you’re a jazz musician who wants to build chords in minor scales, you shouldn’t pay too much attention to this scale.

The third scale is a bit more interesting for singers. It’s called the “melodic” minor scale, and it has not only the 7th but also the 6th note raised. So in A minor this gives :
A – B – C – D – E – F# – G# – A.

This melodic minor scale is quite close to the major scale of the same root. The only difference is the minor third in stead of the major third. Indeed, for instance the major key of A has 3 sharp notes : F# – C# – G#. In the example above, we detect the F# and the G#, but the major third C# has become the minor third C.

This scale is called melodic, because singers like to stick to the easy “sing-able” notes of the major key, even if the song is in minor.

In reality however, if you listen to songs in minor keys, especially in jazz, you‘ll find that soloists use all three minor scales to develop their solos, often intermixed.

And they’re using a fourth way of getting minor (and major) scales. That fourth way is modes. We’ll talk about them in our next Pomodoro.

Building even more keys in the diatonic scale

Click here for the general overview

In the previous blog, we discovered the Circle Of Fifths, and how use it to build other keys in the diatonic scale, by adding sharp notes, starting with F# :

• F# : key of G
• F# + C# : key of D
• F# + C# + G# : key of A
• F# + C# + G# + D# : key of E

Another way to look at the Circle of Fifths is that you add tetrachords (the miniscales of which the diatonic scale is made) to the “right” of the 2 original tetrachords of the key of C :

So, the 2nd mini-scale in the key of C acted as the 1st mini-scale in the key of G, etc..

But what if we reversed the direction ? What if we took the 1st mini-scale in the key of C and let it act as the 2nd key of another key ? In other words, what if we build the tetrachords to the “left” of the original key of C ?

Well, let’s try that. Below you’ll find the diatonic pattern we’re looking for, and the 1st tetrachord in the key of C acting as the 2nd tetrachord in the other key :

First question : in what key are we here ? Well, as we know from the definition “a scale is a pattern to go from the root note to the octave”, and the octave is F in this case, then the root note is also F, so we are in the key of F !

Ok, now we know that, let’s fill in the notes, and see if they fit !

OMG, they don’t fit at all ! At first sight, it seems impossible to build the diatonic scale this way. Well, don’t despair just yet, let’s have a closer look. The 2nd mini-scale is ok, and that’s because it’s the 1st tetrachord of the original key of C.

But then, the 1st mini-scale has 3 whole steps in stead of 1+1+1/2, and the connecting interval between notes 4 and 5 is only half a step in stead of a whole step.

But isn’t the connecting interval the real problem here ? If we lower the B half a step, making it B-flat or Bb, then not only the correct interval is restored, but we got a correct 1st mini-scale as well ! So, here’s the corrected diagram :

So, we come to the conclusion that in the diatonic scale, the key of F has 1 flat note : Bb. Put even more strongly : there is only 1 key which has 1 flat note. That key will be F, and the flat note will be Bb.

Ok, now that we have the diatonic scale back, how about repeating the same process to the left, and using the 1st mini-scale as the second mini-scale in search of the next key.

Again the first question is : in what key are we in. And looking at the octave the answer is : Bb.(BTW this is the 4th note in the key of F, as was F in the key of C).

Ok, let’s fill in the missing notes :

Just as with building mini-scales to the right (Circle Of Fifths), this method of building to the left also reveals an ever recurring problem. It’s situated in the connecting interval. Indeed, between E and F there is only half a step difference, but the scale requires a whole step. And again, the solution is simple : we only have to lower the E by half a step, resulting in Eb, to have the problem fixed :

So, now we have 2 flat notes : Bb (from the key of F), an Eb in the key of Bb. Or put more strongly : there is only 1 key with 2 flat notes, and that is the key of Bb. Those flat notes are : Bb and Eb.

I think, with all the practice that you have building keys in the previous blog, and with the above examples, you should be able to answer the following questions :

• What would be the next key that you build ?
• Where do you expect to run into a problem ?
• How do you think you would solve that problem ?
• And last question : how many flat notes do you expect that key to have ?

Think about those questions for a while before reading the answers below.

Well, the next key I would build is the key of Eb. Why ? Because it’s the 4th note of the current key, which is Bb. I would expect to have a problem in the connecting interval (between the 4th and the 5th note). Indeed between A and Bb, there is only half a step difference, but it should be a whole step. The solution is to lower the 4th note from A to Ab. My conclusion would be : there is only 1 key with 3 flat notes. That key is Eb, and the 3 flat notes are : Bb, Eb, and Ab.

And again, you could continue building other keys “to the left”, that comes down to using the 4th note as the root. That’s why this process is called the “Circle Of Fourths”.

You may be wondering what is the use of building keys in Bb or Eb or Ab. Aren’t the keys of C, G, D, A and E enough ?

Well, like I said in the previous blog, when you are playing folk or bluegrass music, they probably are. But the “flat” keys are the realm of jazz !

Why ? Very simple : brass wind instruments are for the most part tuned in those flat keys ! And since these instruments are used a lot in jazz, it’s obvious that songs would be written in those keys.

Conclusions

I think it’s time for some conclusions.

A. Getting the key

• If there no sharp or flat notes, then you’re in the key of C.
• Sharp notes always start with F#, and you continue adding 5ths to it :
  • F# : key of G
  • F# + C# : key of D
  • F# + C# + G# : key of A
  • etc.
• Flat notes always start with Bb, and you continue adding 4ths to it :
  • Bb : key of F
  • Bb + Eb : key of Bb
  • Bb + Eb + Ab : key of Eb
  • etc.

Try to find a mnemonic that helps you remembering those rules quickly. I have such a mnemonic, but I won’t tell you, because it’s better that you find your own !

B. A flat note is not a sharp note !

Like I mentioned in the previous blog, a sharp note and a flat note can sound the same, but by no means they are the same !

Take for instance Db. It sounds the same as C#, but the two notes have a whole different function. The first time you encounter a C#, it acts as the 7th note in the key of D. The first time you encounter Db, it acts as the 4th note in the key of Ab. You will quite agree with me that those are totally different keys !

Another thing to notice : a key has either sharp notes, or flat notes. Not both !

C. Key signature

When you look at a music sheet, in many cases you will see the “key signature”. A bunch of sharp or flats at the beginning of each line of the sheet.

The key signature serves 2 purposes. First, it tells you what key to use. So, if there isn’t one, you know you’re in the key of C. Otherwise, look at the sharps or flats, and you know it what key the song is written. In the example above, the piece is in the key of …. well, I’ll let you figure it out !

The second purpose of the key signature is to make life easier for musicians, more particularly composers. In stead of decorating every sharp or flat note in the key with the appropriate symbol, they just say : “Hey, look at the key signature, I wrote it once there, and it goes for the entire line !”. So, in a musical sheet with the key signature “F# – C#”, every F and every C is to be played as F# and C# (unless otherwise noted).

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So far, we have gained a lot of knowledge about scales and keys. But we’re not there yet ! However, for the moment we’ll leave the notes for a while and we’ll direct our attention to another very important phenomenon in Music : Time !

We’ll talk about that a bit more in the next Pomodoro. Hope to find you there !

Building other keys in the diatonic scale

Click here for the general overview

In the previous blog, we saw how we could find the notes on the guitar neck using the diatonic scale in the key of C.

We also found out about sharp and flat notes : a note that is raised half a step is called “sharp” (e.g. F#), and a note that is lowered half a step is called “flat” (e.g. Bb). We did also see that a sharp and a flat note can sound the same, e.g. C# and Db, but I re-assure you that they are not the same. The current blog, and the next one, will explain why.

But now, it’s about time we set out to build other keys in the diatonic scale. And you can do this in 2 ways : "the wrong way, or my way" as Oliver Hardy would have put it.

The "wrong" way would be to apply the diatonic scale to a random note, say B. It's not "wrong", in that if you apply the pattern, you will eventually get the scale. But it's a cumbersome, not well thought out manner.

There is another method - I won't reveal the name of it yet - that yields results much faster and efficient. So, let's take that route !

Have a look again at the pattern in the key of C :

or in a more schematic way :

If you look closely, there's a sub pattern hidden there. That sub pattern is :

or “1 step – 1 step – 1/2 step”.

It's also known as a tetrachord. There are 2 tetrachords in the diatonic scale, connected by a whole note, like this :

It seems that the diatonic scale is built on 2 mini-scales !

Now, if I were to ask you to build the diatonic scale in another key, in other words, starting on another note, what note would you choose ? D ? E ? Any other ?

Well, I would choose G.

Why ? Because I’m lazy !

Let me explain : the diatonic scale has 2 “mini-scales”, 2 tetrachords. If I start the diatonic scale on G, I already have 1 “mini-scale” for free : it’s already there ! There’s no other note in the key of C that offers that advantage !

Ok, so let’s start with G, and write down the notes we know in the key of C :

 

 

There you have it. “Houston, we have a problem.”

 

If we play the notes of the key of C starting on G, we don’t get the pattern of the diatonic scale !

 

Let’s analyze this more closely. The first “mini-scale” seems ok, I mean, that’s why we started on G in the first place. Also, the connecting interval (between the 4th and the 5th note) is a whole tone, as required.

 

The trouble is in the 2nd tetrachord. In stead of the pattern “1 step – 1 step – 1/2 step” we get : “1 step – 1/2 step – 1 step”.

 

Let’s lay this problem out on the guitar. Luckily, we have a G-string (3rd string) we can use to play the scale from the open string to the 12th fret :

 

 

Now, that you see it on the guitar, isn’t the solution obvious ? What do we have to do in order to make the F half a step closer to the octave G ?

 

Right ! You have to raise it half a step ! So, in stead of playing F, you play F#, like so :

 

 

Schematically, this is the result :

 

So, if you play an F# in the key of G in stead of F, everything is ok !

We could put it even more strongly, and state that there's only 1 key in the diatonic scale that has 1 sharp note, and that's the key of G !

In other words :
If you have 0 sharp notes, you are in the key of C.
If you have 1 sharp note – which always will be F# – then you are in the key of G.

Okay, let’s move on !

Now, building on the key of G, if I were to ask you to play another key, in other words, choosing another note to start playing the diatonic scale, what note would that be ?

Well, I would choose D. And for the same reason : the first mini-scale I need already there ! Starting the diatonic scale on D, I have 1 “mini-scale” for free !

If you write down the notes of the key of G, starting on D, then you get this :

 

Again, we run into trouble : the pattern is broken !

After a quick analysis we find that it’s the same problem as with the key of G : it’s the 7th note, in this case C, that causes the problem.

Let’s see this on the guitar. I’ll use the 4th (D) string to play the scale from open string to the 12th fret :

Notice that I play F# and not F, because our base was the key of G, not C !

Also, notice that the solution is again very obvious ! Don’t you see it ? Of course you do : if you raise C to C#, you regain the diatonic pattern :

Or schematically :

 

So, the key of D requires 2 sharp notes : F# (coming from the G-key) and now the C#.

 

Let's recap what we have :

no sharp notes : key of C

1 sharp note F# : key of G

2 sharp notes F# + C# : key of D

 

Now, let me ask you these questions : what key would you build next ?

And on what note do you expect a problem ?

And how do you think you can solve that problem ?

And last question : how many sharp notes would you have in that key ?

 

Think about this for a while before you read the answers below….

 

Well the answers are :

 

the key I would build next is the key of A, because the first mini-scale would already be there.

 

I expect to have trouble at the 7th note, which in this case would be G.

 

I would solve that problem by raising the G half a step to G#.

 

So, the key of A has 3 sharp notes : F# (coming from the key of G), C# (coming from the key of D) and now my own G#.

 

So, again let’s recap :

 

0 sharp notes : key of C

1 sharp note F# : key of G

2 sharp notes F# + C# : key of D

3 sharp notes F# + C# + G# : key of A

 

Using this method, you can continue to build other keys. And I suggest you do that one more time. (What key would you have ?)

 

If you continue after that, you’ll end up eventually raising all the notes, even the B to a B# ! And, eventually, you would come full circle : from the key of C, you would end up in the key of C.

 

Here’s another thing to notice : every time we started a new key, we used the 5th note :

from C we took the 5th note G to build the key of G

from G we took the 5th note D to build the key of D

from D we took the 5th note A to build the key of A

etc..

 

So, there is a very appropriate name for this method we used to build keys. It’s called :

 

“The Circle Of Fifths” !

 

How great is that ? Now you know what is meant by “The Circle Of Fifths” ! It’s the method of building keys on the 5th note of the scale, adding more and more sharp notes as you go.

These sharp notes will always be in this order : F# + C# + G# + D# + ….

Also notice that the distance between those sharp notes are also 5 notes, e.g. between F# and C# (F# – G – A – B – C#).

 

If you’re main interest is to play folk or bluegrass music, then the keys that we’ve built in this Pomodoro are all you need : the keys of C, G, A, D and sometimes E cover almost all of the folk and bluegrass songs !

 

But if you are into jazz, you’ll have to learn to build more keys. And that’s what we’ll do in the next Pomodoro.