Quote:
Originally Posted by cisco7
Hello acoustic fellas,
I'm headed towards a new chapter of my guitar journey: Minor Modes and Chords. I love the minor sounding tunes like "summertime", "autumn leaves"
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Those are minor
key tunes, not modal. (Summertime has an arguably modal melody, being blues influenced, but the harmony of both tunes is functional, not modal.)
IOW, it's important to understand - with major keys and modes too - that there are two kinds of harmony and chord progressions, two ways of using chords in compositions: (1) Tonal or functional (major and minor "keys") and (2) non-functional (major and minor modes). In modern music the two are often mixed together, but in standards such as those two the harmony is totally functional. Modes didn't appear in jazz until 1959.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cisco7
and i would like to learn some minor mode related music theory. Does anybody know of some "proper" books with good explanation of the minor modes? Subjects like minor Scales harmonization, chord progressions and cadences would be very interesting. Any suggestion is welcome.
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Here's a very basic guide to how minor keys differ from minor modes - taking key of A minor as an example.
Chords in key of A minor:
Am(6), Bm7b5, C(maj7), Dm(7), E(7), F(maj7), G#dim7
Chords in A aeolian mode:
Am(7), C, Dm, Em, F, G. (Potentially Bdim too, but very rarely used.)
Same chords as key of C major, meaning the Am chord needs more emphasis, and C chord would be used rarely, and only on a weak beat. Typical aeolian sequences would be Am-Dm-Em-Am, or Am-F-G-Am.
Chords in A dorian mode:
Am(7), Bm, C, D(7), Em, G.
Same chords as key of G major, meaning G would not be used often, or used in a weak position. A typiocal A dorian sequence is only 2 chords: Am7-D7, or Am7-Bm7.
Chords in A phrygian mode:
Am, Bb or Gm, Dm. Other chords very rare.
Same chords as F major, and (as with dorian) a typical sequence would be only two chords: Am and Bb, most likely.
As I said, it's quite common for keys and modes to be mixed together, but normally it makes most sense to see the music as being in a
key, but with modal inflections or additions - so you might often see an A minor key tune with a Bm or D chord in it, without it being a wholly dorian tune (because it might also have F and E major chords). House of the Rising Sun is a classic example (Am C D F E). Summertime, too, often uses a minor ii chord in place of a m7b5.