If you ever tried playing any mode you might have asked yourself something along the lines of "how is this different from regular Major scale?" or "what is the best chord sequence for this particular mode?", etc. These are all valid questions. These charts address these questions and help you practice playing modes modally, so that you don't sound like you're playing in a regular Major/Minor scale or in a Tonal Harmony style. We'll be focusing on the concept of lateral chords (a.k.a. modal cadential chords) which are found on either side of the root chord. In the following paragraphs, I walk you through why they work step by step.
First, let's get on the same page with the terminology:
- Tonal Harmony is when you write songs using Major or Minor scale and apply regular cadences such as Authentic Cadence (V-I) or Plagal Cadence (IV-I)
- Modal Harmony is when you use any other scale except Major and Minor and cannot afford the luxury of using or having of the aforementioned regular cadences
- A lateral chord simply means a diatonic chord which is built on a scale degree which comes right after the root of the scale or right before it. Taking any 7-tone scale as an example, such chords are built on the 2nd and 7th scale degrees respectively. You can visualize them as follows: 7⇆1⇆2 (2nd degree is above the root, and also to the right, and 7th degree is below the root, and to the left)
So why 2nd and 7th scale degrees? Why not 3rd, 4th, etc.? Let's take a closer look.
To achieve modal sound in Modal Harmony we approach diatonic chords the following way:
Scale degrees 1, 3 and 6. Chords on the 3rd and 6th scale degrees are Tonic-type of chords (stable) in Tonal Harmony because each of them shares 2 notes in common with the actual Tonic. E.g., in C-Major, Tonic chord contains notes C-E-G; the chord on the 3rd degree contains notes E-G-B (notice how E and G are also found in the Tonic chord); the chord on the 6th degree contains notes A-C-E (here C and E are common). Being stable they do not provide enough tension to create a cadence back to the root chord (or a sense of movement in general). Imagine that you only lean to the side but never actually make a step sideways. The idea is you didn't change your position, in other words you didn't "leave the house" (the root chord) to return to it later. This is why scale degrees 3 and 6 are not great options for modal cadential chords.
Scale degrees 4 and 5. Chords on the 4th and 5th scale degrees are the backbone of Authentic and Plagal cadences, which means that they are very cadential, so much that they take us out of the Modal Harmony and back into the circular nature of Tonal Harmony which is what we want to avoid when we aim to play modally. Tonal music is based on "circular" movements of chords which means going in 5ths as in the case of ii→V→I (e.g., Dm→G→C, Dm is a 5th above G, and G is a 5th above C, so we descend in 5ths), which is one of the reasons why Circle Of Fifths is so popular and useful. However, you want to avoid such movements when you're playing modally to decrease this tonal effect. So again, scale degrees 4 and 5 are not great options for modal cadential chords.
Scale degrees 2 and 7. And lastly we're left with chords on the 2nd and 7th scale degrees (lateral). There is enough tension between these chords and the modal center, it does feel like we've "left the house" and the resolution of this tension (back to the root) does not sound like we're in Tonal Harmony which is exactly what we want. These 2 chords form the basis for lateral or stepwise movement (as opposed to circular around the Circle of Fifths) and are the main focus of this reference chart.
Features to get the most of these charts
Visually lateral. To make it easier to see the lateral nature of these chords I've positioned them conveniently to the left and right of the root chord. All other diatonic chords are removed for clarity and focus.
Parallel roots. When you try playing different modes back to back it really helps to hear the difference more distinctly when they all start with the same root note, e.g. C-Dorian, C-Phrygian, C-Lydian and so on. This way you have the same fundamental pitch that your ears get anchored to as a reference and then all sudden alterations in patterns of whole and half steps become very prominent.
So I've incorporated this simple but very effective idea into the charts—all modes start with the same root note C. And in this case we say that modes are "parallel" one to another.
Characteristic tone. Every mode has its unique tone that makes it sound different from the others. This reference comes in 2 variations: chords-only and chords plus notes which constitute them.
- The chords-only variation shows which of the chords contain this characteristic tone. This helps you create a chord sequence which not only sounds modal but also highlights the character of the mode.
- The chords-plus-notes variation shows where exactly this characteristic tone is in the chord—on the root, the third, etc. or is not present at all, making it a weaker candidate for being a modal cadential chord.
In addition, I've listed the characteristic tones separately for convenience. Note that there are more 7th chords which include the characteristic tone than there are triads for the same set of 14 lateral chords because 7th chords have more notes and hence more chances of including the characteristic tone. And vice versa, there are fewer triads which include the characteristic tone than there are 7th chords.
No bias. Given chart lists all lateral options without bias for you to do your own experiments. E.g. Locrian mode is unstable and does not behave in the manner other modes do, but I've included it for completeness. Chords with a tritone are included as well even though they are not recommended when creating chord sequences that you want to sound modal. The reason is—when chords with a tritone are resolved they give a strong sense of Tonal Harmony which is what you want to avoid when playing modally. As an example, let's say you're in D-Dorian. A G7 chord (or B-diminished triad chord) with a tritone between F-B will resolve inwards to notes C-E which is a C major chord, which is the "parent" scale of D-Dorian, not the D-Dorian which you intended to resolve to.
Quick guide. The charts also have a small guide with all the essentials to help you navigate the reference, avoid distractions by not looking elsewhere, have a focus and spend quality time with the topic you're studying.
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