Message 12/14
Date: 24-Feb-03 @ 08:18 PM Edit: 24-Feb-03 | 08:24 PM -
RE: Dorian Scale
oh yeah... almost forgot
"If Am as the relative mionr to C, uses the same notes (all the white notes)as C major, then hows this gonna give me different chords to use?"
It's all about context. When you're in a given key, each chord in the scale has a different feeling and "emotion" associated with it, based on the quality of the chord (major, minor, diminished). When you're head is centered on the tonic of a song, the chords will have their own contextual meaning in that key.
1. Well, you would do the same thing in a minor key that you do in the major key, only the root of each mode and the triad you build on it follows the minor scale now. So it would be (in C minor):
Cmin
Ddim
Ebmaj
Fmin
Gmin
Abmaj
Bbmaj
Cmin
As you can see, in the context of a minor key, the modal chords carry different qualities than they do in a major key.
2. But the VI chord (Ab maj) is not the relative major of Cmin because those scales use different notes. Go up a third for the relative major, down a third for the relative minor, if you want a rule of thumb.
3. There are several kinds of minor scales. The one that is the same as the aeolean mode is the natural minor. This follows the key of the relative major. In the example above (C min), notice that the dominant (v) chord is G min. This is a flatted 7th (the Bb in the chord is the 7th interval in a C scale, flatted... yeah, it's confusing that they always reference the major scale when descibing chords) and makes a natural minor scale.
Perhaps more popular is the harmonic minor because it gives a more powerful dominant chord with a raised 7th. Play these chords in progressions and you'll get what I'm talking about.
C,Eb,G (i)
C,F,Ab (iv)
C,Eb,G (i)
G-Bb-D-F (v7)
C,Eb,G (i)
that's the natural minor. Now try this:
C,Eb,G (i)
C,F,Ab (iv)
C,Eb,G (i)
G-B-D-F (V7)<--notice the change to major quality
C,Eb,G (i)
Composers consider the dominant chord to be more powerful when it's made major because of that b resolving up a half step to the tonic. half step resolutions are generally more powerful. But that doesn't mean it's always appropriate.
Once you learn the different chord qualities, you'll find they fall into groups of character, and that certain chords
want to go to others. Then you learn tensions and all that and you can write jazz!
I really need to get out my old theory books so I can copy some important points for you in better words than I can muster.
psy