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  • Intermediate Bass 1: Diatonic Modes and Chords

    One of the first things I do with an incoming student at Belmont University is to make sure they understand the diatonic modes and chords, and can play them on their instrument. Simply put, the modes are from Classical Music and were used in Gregorian Chant (hence their other name: Church Modes).

    Jazz Musicians, starting with Miles Davis and John Coltrane, incorporated the modes into their compositions and soloing and Rock icons, such as the Allman Brothers and the Grateful Dead, have used modes as springboards for
    their improvisations. While modes are not the be-all and end-all of improvisation, they are very useful for learning the bass neck and increasing technical facility. We'll learn the modes in the key of C as well as the diatonic chords they generate.

    In general, you can extract the chord arpeggio from any scale by taking the first, third, fifth, and seventh notes from the scale. This will give you the root-third-fifth-seventh configuration of a seventh chord. I've done so in the musical examples.

    There are many ways to play the scale shapes. A good way is to start with all of the roots on the A string. You can mark your starting points by playing a C major scale up the A string (fingering is not important for this, use your ears and the knowledge of a major scales construction: whole steps between every note except 3 & 4 and 7 & 8, which are half steps). Remember, a whole step is 2 frets on a bass guitar and a half step is 1.

    When you've found your starting points, you can plug in the scales. Here are some suggested fingerings. All of the scales are on these three strings: A/D/G.

    C Ionian: 2-4/1-2-4/1-3-4
    D Dorian: 1-3-4/1-3/(back 1 fret)1-2-4
    E Phrygian: 1-2-4/1-3-4/1-3
    F Lydian: 2-4/1-3-4/1-3-4
    G Mixolydian: 2-4/1-2-4/1-2-4
    A Aeolian: 1-3-4/1-3-4/1-3
    B Locrian: 1-2-4/1-2-4/1-3

    Remember, these 7 modes are all made up of the same 7 notes:

    CDEFGABC
    DEFGABCD
    EFGABCDE
    FGABCDEF
    GABCDEFG
    ABCDEFGA
    BCDEFGAB

    Modes





    In the following series of lessons, we'll look at how to transpose this material and some exercises to build speed, dexterity and musical awareness with them. For right now, however, take the time to learn the raw material I've presented here. For those interested, a great reference for scales and modes is The Melodic Bass Library by my good friend Jimmy Haslip (CPP/Belwin).

    Peace and Low Notes,
    Roy C. Vogt


    20100311 0600 BL
    Comments 10 Comments
    1. TroyJames's Avatar
      TroyJames -
      So, basicially, a mode is a different starting point in a major scale?
    1. Elmeaux's Avatar
    1. slejhamer's Avatar
      slejhamer -
      NNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!

      Wellington very specifically states he is offering a NON-MUSICAL definition of modes. It's a trick for learning the order of the notes.

      MODES ARE SCALES. They are major AND minor even though they are built off the same starting point (in this case, a major scale.)

      If you are playing something in A Minor, you're probably not thinking, "I'm playing C Major starting on A." The piece will have a minor feel, and the tonal center will be A. A Minor is the same as A Aeolian in modal terms. Same notes as C Major, but very different!
    1. Elmeaux's Avatar
      Elmeaux -

      Oh...okay. LOL

      I guess I took the wrong message from that video then. I'll edit my YEP response out of my answer.

      Thanks, slej.


    1. TroyJames's Avatar
      TroyJames -
      Not seeing any of the replies?
    1. TroyJames's Avatar
      TroyJames -
      Thanks Elmeaux. That rocked, made things VERY clear.

      On another note(heheheh) I had to "reply" to be able to see the other posts from you and Slejhamer in this topic. Don't know if my computer is messing up or if there is a glitch with the this post on the website (as if any of that makes sense!).
    1. Elmeaux's Avatar
      Elmeaux -

      I know Patrick was doing some tweaking earlier. Maybe your glitch happened while he was working on it. If it continues, we'll let him know.

      I can see the posts OK.

    1. slejhamer's Avatar
      slejhamer -
      Quote Originally Posted by Elmeaux View Post

      I guess I took the wrong message from that video then.
      It's his fault, lol!

      Learning the modal patterns is helpful, and that's what he's teaching there. Same with Roy's article, which is teaching the mode patterns as an extension of the diatonic chords.

      Beyond that, you're suddenly in the deep end of music theory!
    1. Bass4Gsus's Avatar
      Bass4Gsus -
      If you stay in C for all the modes, you will see how cords are formed and the qualities of those cords, such a minor, major etc.

      The second cord in the C scale is Dm, and the ii cord is always minor.

      If you look at the C scale starting on D it is

      D E F G A B C

      The First Third Fifth and Seventh notes are

      D F A C

      The F is a flatted third interval from the D, and the A is the fifth interval, and the C is a flatted seventh interval, giving us a minor seventh cord. This is also known as the D Dorian mode, so when you arpeggiate the Dmb7 cord and also fill in the rest of that scale, ie the 2nd, 4th, and 6th you are also arpeggiating the D Dorian. This is why the ii cord is always minor.

      If you go through the rest of the modes off of C you will see how all the other cord qualities are formed.

      If you play the C scale starting on D, you will sound different than if you started on C even though they are the same notes, you can play the Dm7 over the C cord but if you play it like a Dm7 it will give you a very different tone, and vibe. If you arpeggiate the 1,3,5 notes of the scale they will actually be different notes C vs Dm7 but they are all still in the scale of C. That is why modes feel and sound different.

      Now, how and when to play modes (other than as the cords they are), like the Dm7 over a C cord as a bass player is a whole other discussion. In my role as bassist when I see a C cord I see a C cord, and when I see a Dm7 cord I see a Dm7 cord, and construct my line accordingly. The fact that I know how cords are created via the modes, or the same way as the modes gives me the tools I need to developed a smooth line, and hopefully a more melodic and interesting line.
    1. Elmeaux's Avatar
      Elmeaux -
      Slow down! I can't take notes that fast!



      Thanks for the info. Very helpful.
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