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I have previously come across the idea that it can be easier to generate the sounds of the major modes simply by starting the major scale (ionian) fingering patterns on notes/degrees other than the usual first note/degree of those patterns instead of thinking in terms of completely separate ‘mode fingerings’ e.g. begin a major scale (ionian mode) fingering pattern from the fifth note/degree rather than the first note/degree in order to obtain a mixolydian sound when playing over the V chord, or use the same fingering pattern starting from the second note/degree in order to get a dorian sound when playing over the ii chord. What are your own thoughts on this matter?
Another way in which I’ve heard the same idea explained – again to avoid thinking in terms of separate ‘mode fingerings’ – is to use major scale (Ionian mode) fingering patterns over diatonic chords in a major key to obtain the major mode sounds as follows:
Use a C major fingering over a D minor 7 chord to get a Dorian sound
Use a C major fingering over an E minor 7 chord to get a Phrygian sound
Use a C major fingering over an F major 7 chord to get a Lydian sound
Use a C major fingering over a G dominant 7 chord to get a Mixolydian sound
Use a C major fingering over an A minor 7 chord to get an Aeolian sound
Use a C major fingering over a B minor 7 flat 5 chord to get a Locrian soundIn each case the advice has been simply to shift one’s orientation/perspective within the same fingering pattern rather than to think in terms of a completely new ‘mode fingering’ i.e. see the second degree of the major (Ionian) fingering as ‘home’ when aiming for a Dorian sound, the third degree of that fingering as ‘home’ when aiming for a Phrygian sound etc.
What are your own thoughts on this matter?
This practice is known as Modal Super-Imposition and I introduce it in Module 6 (or p.81 of the Lesson book) when introducing the Super Locrian Mode.
This practice is usually ineffective in jazz, unless you are very advanced and have years playing and understanding the individual modes from their original perspectives. Pat Martino comes to mind…he is one of the few masters at this.
This is the reason why many players that come from a Rock background and try to play jazz using this practice, sound like they are just running a bunch of scales. If you strip away the changes and leave them soloing without the accompaniment, you have no idea what progression they are soloing over. On the other hand, a player who is aligning his target resolution notes to the given harmony will outline the harmonic progression through the melody alone. See Guide Tones and Voice Leading (Module 1) and Anatomy of a Bebop Line (Module 2).When you are using super-imposition, you have no idea where your guide tones, upper extensions or “avoid notes” are. Therefore you are not using the 7th chord arpeggio of the moment as the framework to construct your line. As a result, you can’t use approach notes properly and you will often end a line on an “avoid note'(ouch!).
If super-imposition truly worked for the beginning jazz improviser, everyone would be playing jazz in no time and sound great. The advanced player can use super-imposition because from years of experience he’s come to understand the true underlying relationship of the notes he is playing to the chord of the moment. This of course, still does not lead to great bebop lines. It is more conducive for modal progressions of the post bop era, and even then it is mixed with the traditional bebop approach.
Our goal in this series is to learn bebop. I was fortunate to have Red Rodney (trumpet player with Charlie Parker) as one of my mentors. I learned that Bird, Diz and all the bebop greats did not think in modes. Remember, the arpeggio is the foundation and the scale/mode only dictates where the guide tones, extensions and avoid notes lie when aligned to the chord they are soloing over. Without this understanding you are flying without a radar. In other words, you rely exclusively on your ear but have no understanding of how to consistently construct a grammatically correct jazz phrase. It’s hit and miss, capish?
I’ve been doing Modal super-imposition my entire jazz guitar life (about 8 years now.) I can see very clearly how Ritchie’s approach of arpeggio shapes is superior for creating connected lines across chord changes…particularly when sticking close to one region of the neck. The trick for me is to internalize the seven fingering patterns in real time through a tune. My old habits are getting in the way!! This would be so much easier if I didn’t have to go to work…I want those hours to practice! 🙂
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