Overview of the “Modes” – Lesson 59
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I know Syn put it in his comment.....but wait what? As far as I can tell its the same as with the CAGED and EDCAG. Same shape, different function and even sound due to the musical context.
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Oh man i've been playing guitar my whole life entirely wrong ! it's so damn complicated when you start digging deeper into it 
Ok so I just went into this lesson and I just want to make sure I got this right using the exemple given.
So we established that the D dorian scale uses the same notes as the C major scale. So while just with this exemple they should be the same, the difference will actually be on how they are used! So like mentionned, its all about the tonal center and accent that we give to the notes within the scale!
So if I got this right, the tonal center will be the chord on which the scale will be played on right? Like, for a C major chord, we would play the C major scale and it would sound well on it as we use the notes to accentuate that its in C.
But if we use a Dm chord and therefore use the notes of the C major scale on it while accentuating the notes that are also part of the D Major scale, we would be, in this context, playing D Dorian scale because the Dm is the tonal center established right?
So as he explained, we will be playing the same notes in terms of scale but our brain will register two different things because the context established with the initial chords is different. Can anyone confirm if I understand this right as a start?
So we established that the D dorian scale uses the same notes as the C major scale. So while just with this exemple they should be the same, the difference will actually be on how they are used! So like mentionned, its all about the tonal center and accent that we give to the notes within the scale!
So if I got this right, the tonal center will be the chord on which the scale will be played on right? Like, for a C major chord, we would play the C major scale and it would sound well on it as we use the notes to accentuate that its in C.
But if we use a Dm chord and therefore use the notes of the C major scale on it while accentuating the notes that are also part of the D Major scale, we would be, in this context, playing D Dorian scale because the Dm is the tonal center established right?
So as he explained, we will be playing the same notes in terms of scale but our brain will register two different things because the context established with the initial chords is different. Can anyone confirm if I understand this right as a start?
You're mostly spot on yeah! The only thing I'd say is that if you use notes from the D Major scale over a Dminor chord it's not going to sound in key. So you would still play C major (D dorian) over it.
The way I think of it is that the chord or harmony underneath the scale that you are playing dictates which mode you're soloing in. This is because with any different chord your ear will hear the notes in relation to the Root note of the chord.
Example: You play up C D E F - Over a C maj chord your ear hears - Root, 2nd, 3rd 4th - Because C Major is calling the shots here harmony wise.
Over a Dmin chord your ear hears: b7 Root, 2nd, b3rd (As your ear is now hearing the D Dorian context because of the chord underneath - the chord changes the colours!
Over an E min chord your ear hears: b6, b7, Root, b2 - This is your ear hearing in E Phrygian etc
This is the same idea for any mode. Hope this helps!
It actually does! it shifts perspective for the roles of the individual notes from context to context in the sense that as you said one in a context can be a root but in a nother it can be a 2nd or whatever!
But yeah this is quite a huge chunk of theory and it will take awhile to assimilate and apply completely! Its a work in progress!
Idk haha, I'd say with the D major scale over a Dminor chord you're going to get some semi tone dissonance - between the natural and b3rds, and the natural and b6ths. Also if it's a Dmin7 chord the natural and b7ths will clash. It's just because you're using a scale that you can't build from that chord from in any key 
It's actually its parallel Major scale too.
Mind you, If 'outside' is what you're going for then it could be an interesting choice!
It's actually its parallel Major scale too.Mind you, If 'outside' is what you're going for then it could be an interesting choice!
Went over all the modes, though I must have missed exactly why the Ionian and Mixolydian modes are the only ones to have a dominant chord. I would have thought that the dominant chord would cascade down like the other chords (C Dorian having an F7, C Phrygian having an E7 and Lydian having a D7.
Another thought I had was that the V7 chord resolves nicely with an I or vi. Since Lydian also has an I, V and vi, was thinking that it could have the V chord as a dominant. Is it that this resolution takes away from the Lydian tone and makes it sound Ionian?
Another thought I had was that the V7 chord resolves nicely with an I or vi. Since Lydian also has an I, V and vi, was thinking that it could have the V chord as a dominant. Is it that this resolution takes away from the Lydian tone and makes it sound Ionian?
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