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1. amp web edition x Each scale implies certain chord types that can be built on each degree of the scale Playing the possible chords for these scales using the jazzCittern ModeExplorer is as simple as navigating the ModeExplorer Tree When you select the Diatonic Modes Symmetric Modes or Synthetic Modes from the menu you get a tree containing scale information Clicking on the Component Chords node you expand this node The ModeExplorer will figure out the chords for each degree of this scale Each degree of the scale is designated by a Roman numeral the I being the chord built on the tonic the Il being the chord built off the second note etc These are referred to as the first pa Ti A cee ak l Mit m Diatonic Svnthetic Sym O O ATA g Sat e b 4 Scale Intervals w h w w w w h 2 Component Chords 31 Bb mi Bb mi6 Bb mi69 Bb mifadd 9 2 Root Position Octave Mandolin Mandocello Mandocello Extended Distinct Bottom End 1st Inversion 2nd Inversion 3rd Inversion Bb milma7T Bb mi9 ma7 Bb sus p Cm SC m6 Root Position 1st Inversion Octave Mandolin Mandocello Mandocello Extended Distinct Bottom End g 2nd Inversion Octave Mandolin Mandocello Mandocello Extended Distinct Bottom End 3rd Inversion degree of the scale the second degree of the scale and so on Clicking on the or double clicking on a Roman nume
2. C mi The Field Guides helped you to indentify scales and chords But actually hiding deep within those Scales are all their component chords quietly waiting for you to unearth them and expose them to the light of day You are well equipped for the dig DC mg B C mi7 B C mi add 11 AS ceno C mi7 add 13 fl C sus DC 7sus C 7sus b9 amp C 13sus b9 bil beneath the surface on that degree of that scale Scale Mode Ascending Melodic Minor Jazz Minor e IV E The IV degree of the Ascending Melodic Minor Jazz Minor scale vields the following chord tvpes ma T have these chords How do I hunt down the right notes to play over this thing to make the solo sound right amp G mi7 b5 G G mi9 b5 Root Position our chords and click Add Chord to add them to the list The chord changes define the pool of lay Each added chord narrows down the candidat s Sometimes scale will work for any ge Other times each chord requires 2 change of scale Other progressions yield multiple s There s plenty of big game and no bag limit G ist Inversion Octave Mandolin Mandocello Mandocello Extended Distinct Bottom End f 2nd Inversion Root A Chord type Se mi ma7 Add Chord Clear The Groveland Chordwatcher s Field Guide B natural Db JA mi ma7 the dizzying array of chord spec
3. s intervals shifted to the Toshiba copyright 2013 jazzCittern com All Rights Reserved o Cti ModeExplorer amp web edition right by one The Dorian mode is extremely popular for soloing in Blues Rock and Jazz For many musicians it is the first scale to learn next to the Pentatonic scales It is identical to a natural minor scale Aeolian except its sixth degree is raised Therefore it is often used to play over a minor seventh chord It has the additional benefit of a dominant seventh chord at its fourth and fifth degrees creating a popular i IV V chord progression Dorian is also identical to Mixolydian mode except its third is lowered A solo mixing Dorian and Mixolydian modes essentially alternates the third from minor to major effectively playing the Blues One can add more thirds to the minor seventh chord to obtain extensions Using D Dorian as an example stacking more thirds yields Dm9 Dm11 and Dm13 All these chords would readily suggest D Dorian mode for soloing From the chord is the scale point of view the chord of the D Dorian scale is actually Dmi7 2 4 6 that is a minor seventh chord with the 2 4 and 6 a k a 9 11 and 13 Called the dorian chord shorthand Dmi7 Stacking 3rds on the minor seventh chord obtain Dm9 Dm11 and Dm13 still implying Dorian mode Phrygian Mode The Phrygian mode is the mode based on the third degree of the major scale Its interval sequence is h w w w h
4. All those chords and scales are like pieces of a puzzle And the best way we know to see and hear how the pieces all fit together is with the ModeExplorer As you explore you will discover that a set of Toshiba copyright 2013 jazzCittern com All Rights Reserved m IGEZ gata ModeExplorer amp web edition chords actuallv defines a scale or scales and a scale defines a set of chords Vou ll see that given a set of chords vou can decide what to plav along with those chords to make it sound right And vou ll see how it s all done on jazzCittern We will map it all out for you So What Are These Modes Anyway What is a mode Simply put a mode is an inversion of a scale Each inversion is another scale in its own right with its own set of intervals Starting a scale at points in the scale other than its tonic gives you its modes For the major scale there are seven modes one starting on each note of the scale The played is to analyze what modes natural minor scale is the sixth mode of the major scale scales contain the chords in that for example because it is the same notes of the major scale only starting on the sixth degree One way to determine what can be set and improvise using those scales The Ancient Greeks actually used some kind of modal structure in their tunes realizing that each sequence of intervals evoked a unique emotional response In medieval times you hear a lot of this modal st
5. Sr oa o or r o co cee The Instrument KAA ATA Toshiba copyright 2013 jazzCittern com All Rights Reserved e IGEZ gata ModeExplorer amp web edition Tech Notes Some Technical Background on the ModeExplorers HTML and the State of Browsers The term HTML5 refers to the up and coming specifications for rich and powerful browsing experiences on the web The spec has been adopted at least in part by many browser manufacturers and offers audio and graphic facilities not found in old school HTML This simply makes it easier for web developers to do cool things The jazzCittern ModeExplorer is built using HTML5 which at this writing has gained a lot of support by browser developers But it s still the Wild West From browser to browser and even the same browser on different operating systems produces desired results with varying degrees of success Platform and Software Requirements Having said that we continually test the jazzCittern ModeExplorer on all platforms and find it to behave as desired To run the client for jazzCittern ModeExplorer you must have installed on your computer A browser and OS that supports HTML5 Thank you We hope you enjoy using the jazzCittern ModeExplorer To contact us Other Citternalia and Support For the latest information on the ModeExplorer visit our website at www jazzcittern com WET www jazzcittern com Toshiba
6. 3rd Inversion amp G mili b5 El G dim EN A mi7 b5 EA dim ER DA 7 b5 A 7 5 A 7 b5b9 A 7 5 9 A 7 5b9 missed yOu sre sure to identify a very close relative Choose these scales and ti A Harmonic Minor characteristics and a picture of the beast Happy hunting CS Harmonic Minor Chord type mi ma7 D E Harmonic Major A Melodic Minor A Hungarian Minor C Hungarian Minor A Neapolitan Major mi ma7 A Neapolitan Minor C Neapolitan Minor Phe Minor Raised Seven chord Description This is a minor chord with a major seventh interval ae so occurs 35 E ra cath iarmanic Minor and e What intervals identify a particular scale What chor E on each degree of the What is its signature chord This Field Guide can help distinguish properly identify and use common scales Select 2 scale using the dropdown Scale Mode Ascending Melodic Minor Jazz Minor Melodic Minor ghts reserved Software Lab Intervals are w h w w w w h Description The powerful Melodic Minor scale On its own it e F has a dark and exotic sound yet it only differs GL Ae Lage GE veer from the major scale in that it has a minor third The scale also contains wonderful symmetries 6 intervals of a perfect fourth and one tritone can be found Also it embodies 4 consecutive whole step intervals like a wholetone scale and a
7. 65 Nine naD TE 65 ES www jazzcittern com Toshiba The Instrument KAA ATA sever ea CTT 65 Seven TON O ai EE 65 severnpiiat Five Plat rn GE 65 Seven Sharp Five Sharp MT 65 Sever Tee Five Ee te EE 65 Seven PUB me ntea ECVET EE 65 Nine Augmented Eleven ssikstetizzettinantjt tektek ikliet ei ea fenka 66 Seven Fat Nine Augmented Elever tieren eidele ke jali bieghet 66 Seven Sharp Nine Augmented EIGV E 66 Thirteen Flat d 66 hatte PE a INI NG a e E E AA A E 66 Tarner Augmented ON EE 66 Seven Suspended Flat NINE arecssresissirasi iae E EE E OE EEEa 66 Tarteen ouspended Hat NIMC ie idea a aa 66 TECA Be n E 68 Some Technical Background on the ModeExplorers ek 68 Platform and Software Requirements MM Warepecscsedcosscsssscccsevcccessscsscccussccsscoussensuseseusseneusesenssess 68 TARK VOL En a 68 Other Citternalia ana Support a sabie ee i A oeir EE EEE R EEE 68 Toshiba copyright 2013 jazzCittern com All Rights Reserved oan Cti ModeExplorer amp web edition Thank you for choosing the jazzCittern ModeExplorer Family JazzCittern ModeExplorer is a powerful tool for improvising cittern players Bouzouki players Octave Mandolin players and New Standard Tuning NST guitar players and mandolin players Musicians already appreciate the endless advantages of fifths tuning jazzCittern ModeExplorer makes mandolin family tuning benefits available in the rich voice range of the guitar It s a scale slide rule and
8. Db7 Cma7 or G7 Db7 Cma7 Watch the 3 and 7 and the root as you do this So it would be interesting to do a tritone substitution on the last chords of All of Me Dm7167 Dm7 Db7 Cma7 The Method applied to a Db7 Cma7 yields a C Double Harmonic Minor scale Db7 Db F Ab Cb C major C D E F G A B C Db E F G Ab B ED www jazzcittern com Toshiba The Instrument KAA Of As a Db7 scale that would be Db E F G Ab B C We don t have a name for this and though it sounds fine with these chords and interesting very oriental it contains a couple of unwieldy 1 step intervals and a couple consecutive step intervals Looking at it as a G scale we have G Ab B C Db E F which is actually calls the Oriental scale Jazz players won t use the Double Harmonic scale for a triton substitution Instead a very common device is to flatten out those big 1 step intervallic leaps into whole steps Db E F G Ab B C becomes Db Eb F G Ab Bb C or Db Mixolydian 11 also known as Db Lydian Dominant We saw this scale used on Beast 2 as well These tritone substitutions are also referred to as Sub V s sub fives So there you have it A couple last things Any diatonic chord may be preceded by its dom7 chord Example Any chord from the C major scale can be preceded by the dominant seven chord a fifth above G7 Cma7 A7 Dm7 B7 Em7 C7 Fma7 These are called Secondary Dominants Secondary Dominants always resolve to a
9. Mixolydian 7 VI Aeolian mi7 b6 VII Locrian mi7 b5 From this perspective there is a single unique chord from each mode The largest possible chord is identified by the mode itself and there are also smaller chords scale fragments within that large chord that are unique to that scale For example Mixolvdian s notes comprise a full thirteen chord but MET www jazzcittern com Toshiba The Instrument KAA filg within that thirteen chord is a dominant seven chord tvpe Closer inspection of the component seventh chords of the major scale shows that a dominant seventh chord only occurs on the V of the major scale so it s safe to just call ita 7 chord no matter how far you extend it Shorthand for the thirteen chord would be simply to spell it as a dominant seventh chord because no other mode of the major scale creates that chord from its interval set For example G Mixolydian implies G7 G9 G7sus and G13 lonian always implies a major seventh chord and all its extensions as defined by the notes of the major scale Dorian always implies a straight minor seventh chord and its extensions within the Dorian scale Aeolian always implies a minor seventh with a flat 6 and all its extensions and so on The same philosophy can be applied to Melodic Minor harmony and other scales Selecting Scales from Chords in Context Knowing what chord is implied by a given mode scale is important a single chord doesn t tell in improvising
10. O www jazzcittern com Toshiba The Instrument Woj fi isl Maljalig 1 The JazzCittern com Expedition Outfitters Diatonic Synthetic or rvals w h w w h w w ant Chords imi i mkadd 9 The Growsleed Chard DMA Sequescer IT ee A oe ee rem ve Ce ee ron gp r e 7 Sam n in fibra D H ee fa wn O fe bon om fe ep Cord wem gg ky fe Te Cf Fafe re tee amp e petta tw E oe Fees erg pe ven Sp wm aps ia Ka Zi l si OI l 4 ee gd Ee t PZ re ei b Beet Fe b o See ge a ha swar Te rer fer eg gie Staate Meld Aacending Matz e Mincs Jazz Minar ie m sl sereta ower Jere D r samiu gem tre aos eee rm pr jaye ge P r we r e rs roe nao Ty pm m n pu sagt one siwi fet Cf pp ots fer ta Oe me De Sera o coya ba Pe pet a m pe le ptss ne Or eer fe sase eg ge RL Em zf zeg re e ema rereit tn PE ee CF eg ee ran ta aome rat tat l eg tree ot 6 pe ee of he beet w F mg a nemon E Iren Mare Chord pe a men Pa mamal Ka Ce megaron larer b i lg Mare meet der fer Co newa iijjei Heme mi ma7 The Minor Raised Seven chord Oe weg sunti azzjonat Gwaj Tee a 8 mr Chord eth a major severe mtenval mhed RA EA a Skema ae ane The Groveland Scalewstcher 1 Fishd Guide Toshiba copyright 2013 jazzCittern com All Rights Reserved Symmetric MAN Chord DNA Lab Chord Excavation Scalar Safari Chordw
11. diatonic chord The tensions of any Secondary Dominant comes from the base scale in this case C major Be aware when tunes modulate to the bridge for example There are also Extended Dominants This is like a Secondary Dominant only the chord its a dominant of is not a diatonic chord Examples in All of Me would bethe 7 to the A7 A7 is a Il chord of C major made into a 7 chord so it s not diatonic anymore Therefore the E7 before it is not a Secondary Dominant but rather an Extended Dominant The tune All of Me was chock full of Secondary Dominants and Extended Dominants In Summary If we get nothing else we need to get this A chord that has notes outside of the key simply alters the notes of the key A chord that has notes outside of and the original parent scale with the altered notes is the the key simply alters the notes of new scale That s the process we ve seen above the key and the original parent For example if there s a non diatonic chord like G7b5 scale with the altered notes is the simply play aG7b5 mode What s the G7b5 mode Add the new scale That s the process G7b5 notes G B Db F and the other 3 notes from the parent we ve seen above scale tonalitv If the parent tonalitv was D there s a good chance the parent scale will turn out to be D melodic minor D E F GAB CH Db and the net result though no one probably thinks about it is G Lydian Dominant the 4th mode o
12. jazzCittern com All Rights Reserved aa Cti ModeExplorer 9 web edition S Groka THEON Ee el 32 Scales dnd Their Component ChoraS sesiianit abet i 33 selecting Scales from Chords If CONTEXT sisa aa 35 IMprovising ON Dominant Seven CHOMS cccccsscccsscccseccesecencecsucceeeeeucceeeeeeneceeeceeneeseucesseceeuceneueeees 35 Bl Lo B Eege 35 Tne PIO TRICKS rbit 36 SE 36 There are other environments in which the Dominant Seventh chord can show itself Let s trv Oye 2424 gy rey 88 dd Ge aeons er nee ee ee ee ee eee ee eee eee 36 SSE EN 37 The Beasts in Real LIE eesis inna E E E EO E 37 The tonal center is C Cma7 is the chord EEN 37 And then it s followed by an A7 What now 38 Sounds excellent We re onto something here sssssssssressrrssrersrrrsrrrsrrrsreresrreeresrresrersreeseerererse 38 PA A ai ek ee ee ee eee re 38 Leica ere fee 8 E eee EE 39 B ilding CIRCE MN Eu e EE W wt DEEN 41 How to Construct Chords on the Mandolin Whorneeds a chord encyclopedia when you know how to SU YOU e i a GE 41 Constructing jazz chords Here s NOW c peppeccssscssreccusecousrensuscseusrencessscasreccessncusrecusrescuscensesenens 41 MS i o aor torus E EAE EESE E I si beeing ecient dno seiv ern magne ane E arena sed boasaeray cnc N 41 Variations on the minor chord work the same Way csscccssccesecceseeesecceceeseceeuceceeeeuceeueeeueeeeuss 42 And you can do flat fives and sharp fives because the perfect fifth is rig
13. neighboring shape relationships in all cases and it s important to learn them all Toshiba copyright 2013 jazzCittern com All Rights Reserved EW I 7440 tax iageli ModeExplorer amp web edition This is he ara inversionshape This is the oT ne mando with nversionshap d 2 Loerdinversion OT be mando Witr ee k l x y apes com pinec tO he 3 on the bottom A us alls courses f A B7 5 i tet T te Bled BIS EES ES RAR A BER ai Lu i hisisthe is This is the 2rd inversion shap inversionshape nd ist inversior Le En Ts l on the mando with on the nando with shapes combined tw he 7 on the botton he 2 onthe bottom use all 5 course l Copyright 2002 2007 by Groveland Software Labs Inc All rights reserved we www jazzcittern com Toshiba The Instrument Wiki A Changing Scale Tonics f es ee Diatonic Synthetic Symmetric ModeExploration in Various Scale Tonics The Tonic is somewhat synonymous with what we casually call a key but it is not a true key signature Rather it describes a tonal center ora home base You will find that even though seven modes of the major scale all share the same key signature each has a different tonal center Furthermore in the World of Modes scales cannot always be represented with a simple key signature of sharps and flats the Synthetic and Symmetric Modes often contain double flat
14. on the weathered sherpa of numerous fifths tuned expeditions is here to guide you safely from summit to peak And back again Like all ModeExplorers the jazzCittern ModeExplorer displays all the modes of the standard major scale presenting the fingerings graphically on the neck of the jazzCittern in every key and every position on the neck plays those modes for you provides a dozens of useful synthetic scales and symmetric scales figures out all the chords that can be created for all those scales all over the neck of the jazzCittern in all keys and plays them for you The Modetxplorer provides the right gear for the expedition Look for these key features in this Field Guide G Allthe chords derived from all degrees of all the scales in all the keys are demonstrated A8 Ml Each chord is shown in 4 voicing styles Distinct Bottom Mandocello Mandocello Extended and Octave Mandolin Each voicing is shown in 4 inversions That s 16 configurations per chord See the scales and their component chords and hear them too Enter a chord series into the DNA Lab and it tells you what scales you might use for improvising for most every occasion The ModeExplorer Web Service provides additional scales and chords when an Internet connection is available No connection required Real cittern sounds to demonstrate chords and scales Not some fake midi soundcard approximation Cho
15. seventh VI Minor seventh VII Minor seventh b5 Toshiba copyright 2013 jazzCittern com All Rights Reserved ec Gi ai Gi ai Gi Gi ei lt Cii ModeExplorer amp web edition Bigger chords are built by stacking more thirds from the parent scale For example the thirteen chord stacks 6 thirds and if all the tones were played within one octave every consecutive note of the major scale would be played Note Practically speaking the lis degree is omitted due to the ambiguitv dissonance it produces So doesn t alwavs sound pleasing to chords and scales can be seen as the same thing The the ear Some notes in the scale notes are just arranged differentiv Practicallv speaking plaving all the notes of a given scale at once create dissonance For improvising It s very important to remember that what makes a scale these dissonant notes are unique is its intervals Each scale yields its own unique set sometimes called avoid notes of chord types Other scales with other sets of intervals produce other kinds of chords It s up the improviser to identify the scales from the chords given Strictly speaking we can make this simple observation THE CHORD IS THE SCALE AND THE SCALE IS THE CHORD That is to say if you play all the notes of a given scale mode at once that set of its notes yields the scale s signature chord As we saw earlier we actually build a scale s chords by selecting a note from the scale a
16. whole half whole half sequence like a diminished scale The result is component chords built on its scale degrees providing strong dominant 7 alterations as well as other colorful substitutions P O Box 262 Wayzata MN 55391 Copyright 2002 2011 by Groveland Software Labs The notes comprise a mi 2 4 6 ma7 The 4 wm e Mm Copyright 2002 2011 by Groveland Software Labs Inc All nghts reserved Select 2 scale using the dropdown and then select 2 degree of the scale Discover all the chord types laying What exactly makes up a particular type of chord This Field Guide can help distinguish and properly ae r u May encounter in the wild All chords are represented with C as the tonic for clarity but the intervals define the chord type Though there may be the occasional rare bird we Select a chord type using the dropdown We deliver any information we have on file about the habitat and 4 You possess this very powerful tool that unlocks illustrates and demonstrates advanced music theory on the Cittern Much more than a scale or chord dictionary though it definitely shines in these categories the ModeExplorer lets you witness chords and scales like never before In their native habitat You will learn the all important context that makes the chords and scales work together The way we like to say it is The Scale IS the Chord and the Chord IS the Scale
17. 2013 jazzCittern com All Rights Reserved EM IGEZ gata ModeExplorer amp web edition S If you see C7 it s a major triad with a b7 If you see a Cma7 it s a major triad with a major 7 If you see a Cmi it s a minor triad with a b7 If you see a Cmi ma7 it s a minor triad with a major 7 OROROORO That s all there is to it Now get out your field glasses let s do some ChordWatching EH www jjazzcittern com Toshiba The Instrument Kikia aA Major ma The major chord consists of a major third interval with a minor third interval above the root major third and fifth Major Sixth 6 The sixth chord is a major chord with the sixth added There is no seventh 1 This is often used in place of dom7 or ma7 chords to produce 3 ambiguity opening opportunities for the player to interpret the 7th degree and select mixolydian 7 lydian ma7 11 major ma7 scales and others Six Nine 69 A six nine chord is a major chord with an added major sixth interval and an added ninth but the seventh is omitted Add Nine AKA Two Chord add 9 The add nine chord is a major chord with a ninth degree added no seventh However it is sometimes called a two chord as well There is some agreement that a true two chord is an add nine chord with the 3rd omitted as well O Major Seventh ma7 The major seventh chord consists of the root major third and a perfect fifth and a major seventh The major
18. However a single chord doesn t tell the whole the whole musical story We musical story We interpret each chord in the context of the chords interpret each chord in the around it and select a scale based on the set of chords For example we know a mi7 chord by itself could identify aDorian scale based on the idea that THE SCALE IS THE CHORD But if that mi7 is found in the following context Cma7 Ami7 then the mi7 chord is actually the VI chord of the C major scale and the Cma7 chord is the chord A Aeolian might be a better choice than A Dorian in this context context of the chords around On the other hand if the two chords were Cma7 b5 Ami7 then the Cma7 b5 could be the chord of C Lydian making the Ami7 the VI chord of C Lydian In this context A Dorian is appropriate This is a simple example demonstrating how context affects what scales are selected for improvising Any chord should be analyzed within the context of the surrounding chords to determine the scales to be played But in chord progressions the dominant seven chord is by far the most interesting and deserves special attention Improvising on Dominant Seven Chords The Dominant Seventh chord has been described as a slippery beast because it so readily functions as the gateway between tonalities Equipped with some alterations the Dominant Seventh chord gets very restless and becomes a powerful factor in a tune s gravity and principle motivator in a
19. ModeExplorer The ModeExplorer is simple to start and simple to use Login using your username and password Read the License Agreement and click Login The ModeExplorer will begin to download what it needs for the journey Your browser will likely inform you that the ModeExplorer would like to download some files These are sound files so tell your browser it s okay to download these files This may take a minute or two on first use Please wait while we prepare you for your next adventure You are ready to start exploring Most everything can be accessed with a click of the mouse or by hovering your mouse cursor over an item However should you need help exploring instructions about how to use the ModeExplorer can be found in the following chapters plus extensive information on modes chords and improvisation If there are difficulties running the ModeExplorer be sure that 1 Your browser truly supports HTML5 At this writing these browsers are known to work well for the ModeExplorer this may change from release to release and is subject to the machine s operating system Chrome 15 Firefox 7 Safari 5 2 The machine is up to the task See the system requirements posted on the web Machines typically need 2 GB of memory and a couple GHz CPU to comfortably run the jazzCittern ModeExplorer IE www jazzcittern com Toshiba The Instrument KAA Of Plaving Scales ModeExploration of Scal
20. Pentatonic scale and the Minor Pentatonic scale These are scales i a with intervals limited to whole steps and minor thirds A Major Pentatonic scale in C contains C D E G A anda CH rt gt B C Minor Pentatonic scale contains C Eb F G Bb Because these scales are a limited subset of typical seven tone scales they can be used effectively in many contexts and often provide a one size fits all lowest common denominator solution for the improviser when chord progressions become demanding Repositioning the major or minor Pentatonic is powerful For example The 7alt and m7 b5 occur on the 7th degree of melodic minor Play melodic minor a half MET www jazzcittern com Toshiba The Instrument KAA Of step up from the root of the chord The minor pentatonic scale is a subset of melodic minor starting on the 2nd degree 2 4 5 6 1 So for a Zalt or m7 b5 play a minor pentatonic starting a step and a half up from the root of the chord Toshiba copyright 2013 jazzCittern com All Rights Reserved e I 7440 tax iageli ModeExplorer amp web edition Symmetric Scales What are Symmetric Scales A mode of given scale producing the same type of scale as the original scale is said to be symmetric Whole Tone Scale The Whole Tone Scale has only six notes each a whole step apart There are only two Whole Tone Scales The first third and fifth degrees make up an augmented O triad and that makes the Whole To
21. See Locrian 2 WE www jazzcittern com Toshiba The Instrument KAA filg Svnthetic Modes What are Synthetic Modes The ModeExplorer s definition of a Synthetic Scale is Any Scale not derived from the major scale Synthetic Modes are the modes derived from a Synthetic Scale Using this definition some of the Synthetic Modes are those derived from Ascending Melodic Minor Harmonic Minor Harmonic Major Hungarian Minor Hungarian Major Neapolitan Minor Neapolitan Major Pentatonic Minor Pentatonic Major ORM OM OM OM OM There are of course more The Blues and Bebop scales are considered Svnthetic Scales because they are invented and not part of classical theory A large number of Synthetic Scales thousands of combinations of the 12 tones of the chromatic scale can be constructed using just intervals of minor major and augmented seconds Using the jazzCittern ModeExplorer you can experiment and save your own scales and component chords share them and test them out Melodic Minor Harmony As we Saw before Aeolian mode is also called the natural minor or pure minor There are two other minor scales derived from natural minor to provide more color tension and movement The natural minor scale presents challenges Its fifth degree produces a minor seventh chord and we would like to hear a dominant seventh chord there to do all the wonderful things a dominant seventh at the fifth degree of the scale does for mo
22. T m7 1 5 b3 1 i 5 b3 7 1 5 b3 7 1 5 b3 6 Copyright MODA2 2004 by Groveland Software Labs ina Al rights reserved And you can do flat fives and sharp fives because the perfect fifth is right there handy When a chord calls for a flatted five b5 or a raised five 5 you modify the note on the third string accordingly Note that when you see a 11 in a chord name it is the same note as a b5 Also note that if you see a b13 in a chord name it s the same noteras a 5 bi 5 1 5 3 7 1 b5 3 7 1 5 3 7 Copyright 2002 2006 by Groveland Software Labs inc All rights reserved And the nines can be found on the fourth string When a chord calls for a nine 9 flat nine b9 or a sharp nine 9 you modify the note on the fourth string accordingly This may not sound so great with this nine note on the bottom of the chord but with inversions you can find 3 other ways to play it More about this later aw www jazzcittern com Toshiba The Instrument KAA filg 7 9 7 b9 1 5 3 7 9 5 3 7 b9 5 3 7 9 5 3 7 Copyright 2002 2006 by Groveland Software Labs inc All rights reserved Notice that the nine chords as shown here don t have a root because we modified the note on the fourth string This is common to sacrifice the root in favor of other chord tones The root is still understood and is probably being played by another instrument anyway The name of the cho
23. Thank you for choosing the jazzCittern Modetxplorer Family ccccccccccecccssceceeseeeceeseeeeuseeeeeeeneeeenss 10 So What Are These Modes Anyway ccsscccssecccsseccesececescecensceeeneceeeceeenceseeececeucessuececensesenseeeeneeteneeeeees 12 The jazzCittern ModeExplorer is Our Guide 13 TINE eege 14 UIC He SU TAS B E A 15 ORINE MOGE el e e EE 16 PWNS SCANS i AE E E AE 17 ModeExploration of Scales MOdES arearen EE 17 Click on the neck to hear the note Mouseover a finger position to see the name of the note 17 Oe le i ee a b ee ee 17 ite lt POSION S ret arte Cee e Meer rarer ee ere ee eer 17 Other Fretboard Or ani atlon eegenarteg a ta iair air tkebbeb ie RESNE ES 18 e a MM E 18 E a EE 19 BEI a ue ge E 20 ModeExploration of Component ChordS seesssssessseserersresssrrsrrrsrererrrssrresrersrrrsrerereeseeeserrsrereseresresseresne 20 Chane NE Scale TONICS arenei E EN 23 ModeExploration in Various Scale TONICS cccesccsseccssecceeeenecceuceaseceeucceeseeeueeseneeeneceeuceseeeeaucenneeeeeees 23 The JazzCittern com Expedition OUUTITElS cccisciescccssiaassececcentenssisccduenbesarnedssccevaadeveanedseansvacardncetesadasosaseeeets 25 Open Chords Two Finger Chords Three Finger Chords AnvOone 7 ss ss eessanenzennenzzennnzaennzanznzznntnzza 26 Mode mNOV SN ME 30 Navigating Improvisaton 30 FE SP Tue 30 Majorana ae 31 Modes Work NEE 31 Lal E 31 Toshiba copyright 2013
24. a chord calculator a handy composing tool and a great way for the musician to organize scales and chords and invent new ones It s educational It s fun And the content is presented in a familiar explorer design navigated in an intuitive and easy to use tree So prepare to embark ona Thrilling Expedition The jazzCittern ModeExplorer is your guide across vast musical landscapes where you will enjoy exploring and discovering thousands of new ways to get from here to there expanding your horizons to encompass the entire fretboard Witnessing chords and scales as never before In their native habitats e www jazzcittern com Toshiba The Instrument KAA Of Wiere vi0i wg si ni EA TS A Diatonic Synthetic Symmetric Expeawion Outfitters Hein IP 4 i SERJA 3 Kroy Sepp T FAR The Groveland Chord DNA Sequencer eal i Max EEA Se SA e d Ascending Melodic Minor Jazz Minor 4 chord an inversion or the greater context holds some clues as to what it really is Ever encounter a cluster of notes and not know what to call them There s a good chance that s a partial Scale Intervals w h w w w w h SN l 5 G mi9 b5 contains Root 9 bj Select the notes in question in the box on the left CTRL Command left click and click the Get Chords H Component Chords H button Then explore all the possibilities for that chord fragmenti EH cu
25. above In fact stacking thirds to the largest chord possible eventually uses every note of the scale And therefore fellow ModeExplorers say The Scale IS the Chord and the Chord IS the Scale to give us a major triad only we add an additional major third on the top creating the interval of a major seventh between the lowest note root and the highest Hence the name major seventh chord We can actually continue to stack more thirds until we hit the interval of the 13 and we begin to see redundancies In fact stacking thirds to the largest chord possible eventually uses every note of the scale And therefore fellow ModeExplorers say The Scale IS the Chord and the Chord IS the Scale Chord Theory Crash Course Basically here s how the chord building process works You start with a scale any scale and apply these steps Step 1 A scale is made of intervals Forexample the major scale is defined by the intervals w w h w w w h Step 2 Starting on any note those intervals w w h w w w h will land you on notes Those notes when played will yield a major scale Ifyou start on C those notes will be CDEFGAB and C again Step 3 Chords of a scale are found by picking a note from the scale skipping a note then picking a note and skipping a note picking a note etc Step 4 Starting on C this pick skip would yield CEG That s a C major chord Starting on D it should be DFA or a D minor c
26. ale represents a tonic of a chord or many chords that can be built on that note using only the notes within the scale Hidden in each scale is a finite set of chords unique to the particular intervals that define that scale ED www jazzcittern com Toshiba The Instrument KAA Of Within each chord are hidden multiple inversions or ways of playing the chord starting on various notes of the chord Within each inversion there are multiple ways of fingering the inverted chord And in each fingering of each inversion of a chord there are the notes of the scale each performing their function in that chord So you can see how to drill down into the scale the chords the chord the inversion the fingering and the note is the best way to explore Quick Start Tips Here are some tips to help you on your ModeExplorations Click on the signs to drill down into the chords for the scale Click on Scale Intervals to reveal the scale in violin positions JazzMando com s FFcP or all positions of the displayed scale Click on Component Chords to get all the chords for that degree of the scale Mouse over the dots on the neck for note names in scales Click on the dots to play the note em B When a chord shape is displayed mouse over the dots to get the role of the notes in that chord Toshiba copyright 2013 jazzCittern com All Rights Reserved ns Cii ModeExplorer amp web edition Start the
27. alf steps in an octave Most scales we use have only a subset of these 12 tones usually 7 and the intervals between each of these ranges anywhere from one half step to four half steps We call an interval between two notes in a scale a half step whole step when it s two halves or a step and a half for three half steps Of course on standard Cittern each fret represents a half step The half step interval is also expressed in terms of minor second and a whole step is a major second Three half steps comprise a minor third four half steps a Major third that is two whole steps and so on step 1 semitone minor second G 1step 2 semitones major second 1 steps 3semitones minor third 2steps 4 semitones major third 2 steps 5semitones perfect fourth 3steps 6 semitones tritone sometimes augmented fourth or diminished fifth 3 steps 7semitones perfect fifth Asteps 8 semitones minor sixth A steps 9semitones major sixth 5Ssteps 10 semitones minor seventh 5 steps 11semitones major seventh IMET www jazzcittern com Toshiba The Instrument KAA filg If anv major minor or perfect interval is expanded bv a half step bv changing an accidental the flat or sharp indication on the note the interval is called augmented If it is reduced bv a half step bv changing an accidental the interval is called diminished Major and Minor Scales The most basic scale for discussion
28. and they all are ways of playing that chord GBD is a G set of chord types Other scales chord and so is BDG and so is DBG and GDB And with other sets of intervals GBGGDDBGBDDGDBB impossible to play of course These are produce other kinds of chords all voicings and inversions of the G chord It s up the improviser to identify the scales from the So we see that given any scale we can break it upinto what we chords given might call its component chords By the same token given a set of chords we can tell what scale or scales thev belong to Scales and Their Component Chords The Chromatic Scale is the set of 12 tones in traditional Western music All other scales are subsets of those 12 tones usually 7 out of the 12 and the characteristic intervals between the notes are what make a particular scale The intervals in a scale define what chords can be constructed from in that scale using the stacking thirds process described above Therefore given a set of chords it should be clear what scales could produce that set of chords And that s the set of scale choices the improviser has to work with for that set of chords For example if the major scale consists of intervals w w h w w w h and a chord consists of stacked thirds and we stacked 3 thirds we would find the following seventh chords can be built on each degree of the scale Major seventh ll Minor seventh lll Minor seventh Major seventh V Dominant
29. atcher s Field Guide Scalewatcher s Field Guide The jazzCittern ModeExplorer provides you with the Expedition Outiftters A set of tools that will help you chart your course navigating through a veritable sea of harmonic and scalar possibilities From a few notes you can identify the chords to which they might belong From a few chords you can identify what scales would sound best in that context And the JazzCittern com Field Guides will tell you exactly what each chord and scale looks like in its natural habitat Let s take a look at what these tools can help you discover about the World of Modes IGEZ gata ModeExplorer amp web edition vs The JazzCittern com DNA Sequencer Ever encounter a cluster of notes and not know what to call them There s a good chance that s a partial chord an inversion or the greater context holds some clues as to what it really is Select the notes in question in the box on the left CTRL Command left click and click the Get Chords button Then explore all the possibilities for that chord fragment Open Chords Two Finger Chords Three Finger Chords Anyone The Groveland Chord DNA Sequencer Ever encounter a cluster of notes ancl not know what to call them There s a good chance that s a partial chor an inversion or the qreater context hokls some clues as to what it realty ts Select the notes in question in the box on the left CTRL Command kt ancl clic
30. aximum tension and subsequently the most satisfying resolution in this context that means they will absolutely sound the best After all the C major scale is what the E7 chord is deviating from and would want to return to you might say So we perform the following steps to discover the full E7 chord with all its tensions and subsequently the best scale because as ModeExplorers know the chord IS the scale C major Base C D E F G A B E7 Chord BGH B D r 3 5 7 E F G A B C D r b9 3 11 5 b13 7 Fill in the tensions diatonic to C major vieldidz an E7 b9b13 chord The E scale is h wh h w h w w the 5th mode of A harmonic minor w h w w h wh h The scale is the chord the trick is to find the full 7 chord with all its tensions and the scale naturally follows We found an E7 b9b13 was the chord and therefore the scale is the 5th mode of A harmonic minor The tensions were derived from the C major scale producing the most satisfying resolution Just for fun let s see what the E Mixolydian scale would have produced C D E F G A B Which would have been 3 notes out from C major perhaps not our first choice Beast 2 There are other environments in which the Dominant Seventh chord can show itself Let s try bagging another WE www jazzcittern com Toshiba The Instrument KAA ATA Examining Bb7 to Fma7 F major Base F G A Bb C D E Bb7 Chord Bb D F Ab r 3 5 7 Fill in the tensions diatonic to F ma
31. b5 The minor seven flat five chord is also known as the half diminished chord It consists of the root minor third and a flatted fifth and a dominant seventh The minor seven flat five chord is found at the seventh degree of the major lonian scale and the second degree of the minor Aeolian scale The minor seven flat five chord is built from the root of Locrian mode By the same token this chord is powerful as the ii of a ii vi l or ii vi passage Minor Nine Flat Five mi9 b5 This is a minor nine chord with the five lowered a half step Minor Eleven Flat Five mill b5 This is a minor eleven chord with the five lowered a half step AM s n r n d Diminished www jazzcittern com Toshiba The Instrument KAA filg dim The diminished chord is built entirelv of minor thirds It consists of the root minor third and a flatted fifth It is often extended as a diminished seventh chord which adds another minor third at the top vielding an interval of a sixth from the root Diminished Seventh 07 The Dimished Seventh chord consists of three minor third intervals vielding the root minor third flat five and sixth This chord is useful for transitioning between other chords It is particularly interesting because lowering any tone of Diminished Seventh chord a half step yields a Dominant Seventh chord Diminished Seventh Add Raised Seven o7 add ma7 The diminished seventh chord with an added major seven in
32. cale the fourth is an avoid note bringing ambiguity to the sound where Lydian provides a raised fourth degree and no ambiguity and hence no note to avoid When a major seventh chord is played you can choose between the major and Lydian scales Note George Russell built an entire system of improvisation based on the strength of the Lydian mode where a ma7 11 chord is the chord built on the first degree of the scale The Lydian Chromatic Concept http www georgerussell com From the chord is the scale point of view the chordof the F Lydian scale is F ma7 4 i e has 2 A and 6 Mixolydian Mode The Mixolydian mode is based on the fifth degree of the major scale and its interval sequence is w w h w w h w whichis the Lydian mode shifted right by one and similarly lonian major shifted to the right by four intervals In the key of C no sharps or flats Mixolydian CH starts on G G A B C D E F The seventh degree is lowered a half step as compared to the major scale This creates an interval of the dominant seventh so it is great to play this mode over the ever present dominant seventh chord just as one would choose to play a major scale over a major seventh chord It has the additional benefit of a dominant seventh chord at its fourth degree and a minor seventh chord at its fifth degree creating a popular l IV v chord progression Dorian is also identical to Mixolydian mode except its third is low
33. cesatneaterve E eetevanaeetecutalews E cose enrubensuauees 59 Maor Te CON sects tetra e A o 60 Sy SMTA scapes a aq 60 VI d EE 60 TACEN U a sce asset ed cs nas sie oe en E E E E T E 60 Toshiba copyright 2013 jazzCittern com All Rights Reserved EUTM Cti ModeExplorer 9 web edition S Vulle Le 60 IVINS GE 60 IVIIMOL SC TING E 61 Minor ee Bu Ui EE 61 Minor SEVEnt e ie oaneedoeanecbesadacee sea att anryeesesadencserseueaeaerces 61 Minor seventh Ada BIC VON E 61 Minor Seventh Add Thirteen sssssnsssssssssersssrrssrersssresssrrsssreesssresssesssrressrersssereseressrresseresseresseressee 61 ITI ei i Ia l EE ET A 61 Mi MO leg SE E 61 Minor TANTES BE 62 MINORS E E 62 Minor Nine Raised Seven E 62 Minor Seven Flat L A 62 MimoE INS Fat TEE WE 62 Minor Eleven Flat Five 00 AEON EEN 62 Diminished E O E P oa A OPER EE 62 Diminished Seventh ss ennnnnne MALL EE 63 Diminished Seventh Add Raised Seven 63 GIERENS 63 SEENEN EEN 63 Seven SU Se e e a i a 63 NIE RE ene EE 63 Trimteem U DENE O E 63 Maor sevembiat FIVE e E E i 64 Majoro even sharp RE 64 Major seven Augmented EJevem serrrarrereiresoieiin nE E EEE 64 Major Nine Augmented Eleven sssssssssesssessessrrsrrssrrsresrrrsressresresrrssrrsrerresseeseresersreerersresreesersrresersrren 64 Major Thirteen Augmented Eleven ccccssscceseccssecesecceeceesecceuceceeeseuceseneeeneeeeeceeeceeuceseeetaeeseneeees 64 SA E GE 64 PIV l E E A E E E 64 SN TNE a E A
34. d chunks It provides the player points of reference when navigating the expanse of frets and strings and provides maps of patterns and recognizable landmarks Violin Positions Violin positions have been around for ages are well documented and are historically pretty universally recommended for getting the lay of the land on fifths tunes instruments There are seven positions plus a half position These kinds of positions are highlighted in jazzCittern Modetxplorer for all keys Toshiba copyright 2013 jazzCittern com All Rights Reserved E Cti ModeExplorer amp web edition modes and scales as they apply to the Cittern and other fifths tuned instruments like cello violin mandolin Half position goes from open C to the F on the C string to the 6 fret This provides what might be described as typical open position playing First position goes from open C to the G on the C course to the 8 fret This covers a lot of territory and is designed for full closed position playing plus leveraging open strings Second position covers from the 3 fret through the 9 fret starting on D and extending to A on the C course Third position covers from the 5 fret through the 11 fret starting on E and extending to B on the C course Fourth position covers from the 7 fret through the 13 fret starting on G and extending to CH on the C course Fifth position covers from the SI fret and extends through th
35. dian Dominant resembling the major scale with a raised fourth like Lydian mode and a lowered seventh like Mixolydian mode From an A Melodic Minor perspective Lydian Dominant starts on B D E F G A B C As we saw earlier Mixolydian mode is used with a dominant seventh chord and the fourth step was considered an avoid note The Lydian Dominant scale raises the fourth eliminating the avoid note and works well on a dominant seven chord The signature chord of the Lydian Dominant scale is the 7 11 chord Because it s the 4th mode of Melodic Minor and there are no avoid notes you can simply play Melodic Minor a fifth up from the root of the 7 11 chord Fifth Mode There is no common name for this mode the fifth mode of the Melodic Minor scale w w h w h w w This can be used over the V chord in a minor key ii V i progression oO The 5th mode of Melodic Minor is rarely used Its signature chord would be a 7 b13 Because it s the 5th mode of Melodic Minor and there are no avoid notes you can simply play Melodic Minor a fourth up from the root of the 7 b13 chord When two dominant 7 chords occur a whole step apart Fifth Mode of Melodic Minor may be appropriate on the root of the upper dominant 7 chord Toshiba copyright 2013 jazzCittern com All Rights Reserved e Cti ModeExplorer amp web edition Locrian 2 The sixth mode of the Melodic Minor scale with the interval set w h w h w
36. e 14 fret starting on G and extending to D on the C course Sixth position covers from the 10 fret and extends through the 16 fret starting on A and extending to E on the C course Seventh position covers from the 12 fret and extends through the 18 fret starting on C and extending to F on the C course This is identical to the Half position an octave higher on the neck a a o MG MM The positions are really derived from the key of C as itroccurs on the neck no sharps or flats Sharps and flats are accomplished within each position by altering the placement of appropriate finger up or down a half step fret This is equivalent to playing a black key on the piano The positions are designed to accommodate chromatic alterations to the C major scale presented by other keys and the various scales The position approach to visualizing the fretboard is very tightly bound to the C major scale and making alterations to it It is not the only way to organize the fretboard Other Fretboard Organization FFcP There s great benefit in thinking more in terms of movable intervallic patterns than positions The positions are really sections of one big pattern of intervals that actually slides up and down the neck as key signatures change Breaking these intervallic patterns down into reusable movable bite size chunks gives you something that looks more like FFcP the Four Fingered Closed Positions see JazzMando com Ted Esc
37. e fepresente with C as the tonk for clarity but the intervals define the chord type Though there may be the occasional rare bird we missexl you are sure to klentif a very close rebtivel What exactly makes up a particular type of chord This Field Guide can help distinguish and properly identify the dizzying array of chord species you may encounter in the wild All chords are represented with C as the tonic for clarity but the intervals define the chord type Though there may be the occasional rare bird we missed you are sure to identify a very close relative Selecta chord type using the dropelown We delwer any information we have on file about the habitat and characteristics ancl a picture of the beast Happy hunting Chord type mal3 11 ei mal3 11 The Major Thirteen Augmented Eleven chord Description Like the Major Thirteen chord mna13 with the 11th E degree added and raised Select a chord type using the dropdown We deliver any information we have on file about the habitat and characteristics and a picture of the beast Happy hunting Copyright 2002 2011 by Groveknd Softyare Labs Inc AI nghts reserved a Ji The Groveland Scalewatcher s Field Guide x The perfect companion for the Grovelanel Chorhwatt her s Fiekl Guide What intervals klentif a parocular sak Whatchorls occur on each degree of the sale What is its signature chorl This Fiekl Guele can help distinguish properly cl
38. entfy ancl use common scales The JazzCittern com Scalewatcher s Field Guide Selecta sak using the chopelawn Scale Mode Ascending Melodic Minor Jazz Minor v Melodic Minor The perfect companion for the JazzCittern com Chordwatcher s Field Guide What intervals identify a particular scale What chords occur on each degree of the scale What is its signature chord This Field Guide can help distinguish properly identify and use common scales gt Intervals are w h w w w w h Description The powerful Melodic Minor scale On its own it has a dark and exotic sound yet it only differs from the major scale in that it has a minor third The scale also contains wonderful symmetries 6 intervals of a perfect fourth and one tritone can be found Also it embodies 4 consecutive whole step intervals like a wholetone scale and a whole half whole half sequence like a 3 diminished scale The result is component chords built on its scale degrees providing strong dominant 7 alterations as well as other colorful substitutions oO The notes comprise a mi 2 4 6 ma7 The v E Ilu gt ME www jazzcittern com Toshibe II Copyright 2002 2011 by Groveland Software Labs Inc Sil nghts reserved The Instrument KAA ATA Select a scale using the dropdown Toshiba copyright 2013 jazzCittern com All Rights Reserved EM Cti ModeExplorer amp web edition Modes
39. er Locrian Altered Scale scale yields the following chord types For more information see The Groveland Chordwatcher s Field Guide Copyright 2002 2011 by Grovelanel Software Lalas Inc All rights reserveel we LE OAT The Groveland Scalar Safari T have these choris How do I hunt down the right notes to phy over this thing to make the solo sound right Name your chorls and click Aded Chord to add them to the list The chord changes clefine the pool of notes to phy Each achle chord nanmows down the canclklat sales Sometimes one sale will work for any entre passage Other times each chorl requires a change of scale Other progressions kl multiple solutions There s plenty of big game and no bag limit Root Ce Chord tvpe Ob C milma7 F mi7 bS Choose these scales and their modes to improvise over the set of chords vou selected C Harmonic Minor w h w w h wh h C Neapolitan Minor h w w w h wh h Copynght 2002 2011 by Grovekanel Software Labs Inc All nghts reservect Toshiba copyright 2013 jazzCittern com All Rights Reserved Le Cti ModeExplorer amp web edition solutions There s plenty of big game and no bag limit The JazzCittern com Chordwatcher s Field Guide The Groveland Chordwatcher s Field Guide x What exactly makes up a partcubi type of chord This Fiekl Gukle can help distinguish anel properly klentif the clozying amay of chord species you may encounter in the wikl AIl chores ar
40. ered A solo mixing Dorian and Mixolydian modes essentially alternates the third from minor to major effectively playing the Blues As with the major scale the fourth degree is an avoid note except when a suspended version of the seventh chord is used or an eleventh chord From the chord is the scale point of view any chord simply noted as a 7 chord dom7 can be played as a 9 chord 11 chord or 13 chord with no alterations i e no 5 b5 9 b9 Toshiba copyright 2013 jazzCittern com All Rights Reserved EM I 7440 tax iagtli ModeExplorer amp Webedition vs Minor Scale Aeolian Mode The Aeolian Mode is based on the sixth degree of the major scale and its interval sequence is w h w w h w w It is also known as natural minor and it can be played over a minor seventh chord oOo From the chord is the scale point of view the chord of the A Aeolian scale is actually A mi7 with a 2 4 and b6 a k a 9 11 and b13 Because the mi7 chord implies a natural 2 4 and 6 the Aeolian chord is Ami7 b6 Locrian Mode The Locrian mode is based on the seventh degree of the major scale and its interval sequence is h w w h w w w In the key of C no sharps or flats Locrian starts on B B C D E F G A The seventh chord built on this scale is ahalf diminished seventh chord or m7b5 minor seven flat five A good substitute for Locrian mode on a half diminished chord is Locrian 2 from Melodic Minor harmony
41. ervals node and the Component Chords node The Scale Intervals show the unique configuration of whole steps w half steps h and steps and a half wh characterizing the scale Click on the Scale Intervals node and Voila The scale is drawn on the Cittern neck Click on the highlighted positions on the next to play the notes of the scale Click on the Component Chords node to expand it to chart out the vast harmonic landscapes locked in the Scale Intervals This includes all major chord types and fingerings of those chords for each degree of the scale Drilling down into the resulting tree you can click on the resulting chords and witness the enormous variety living in the scale What s up with this tree The tree metaphor depicts best how scales and chords work To drill down into GI 91 ei Gi Gi ei the scale its chords the chord its inversions possible fingerings and the notes of the fingering ModeExplorers group scales into families because some share a common characteristic e e e Diatonic Modes are scales built from the Major scale Svnthetic Modes are scales that use interval sets other than that of the Major scale Symmetric Modes are synthetic scales that are comprised of a single symmetrical repeated pattern Within each of these categories there are sets of intervals that exhibit the characteristics of these families These sets of intervals define scales Each note of a sc
42. es Modes IE ee 1e e Mit m Diatonic Svnthetic 00 of MIR Fy AP AR EA Playing scales using the 5 pp guppies Ne Phd jazzCittern ModeExplorer is as Ascending Melodic Minor Jazz Minor Scale Intervals w h w w w w h simple as navigating the i SPE ModeExplorer Tree When the First Position ModeExplorer starts the Tree is ae ei urd Position populated with items We call Foul Posiion them nodes Fifth Position Sixth Position Seventh Position Note the on each node If you All Positions click on this the node will expand Ft EROS Second FFcP to yet more mode nodes Any Wee node with a has alreadv been Fourth FFcP expanded Component Chords CR SI Clicking on the node expands it to Cmi reveal the intervals that define the scale w h w w w w h in the illustration That is whole step half step whole step whole step whole step whole step half step 3 C mp amp Root Position S Lat Inversion Octave Mandolin Click on a position or an FFcP node and all the notes of that position are plotted on the Cittern neck Click on the neck to hear the note Mouseover a finger position to see the name of the note On Positions Musicians playing stringed instruments have long benefited from getting familiar with the standard positions on their instruments Doing so divides the fretboard with all those notes distributed across all those strings into manageable bite size
43. f D melodic minor Or if the tonality is Ab there s a good chance the scale will turn out to be the G Altered Dominant scale the 7th mode of Ab melodic minor or G Ab Bb Cb B Db Eb F And so on We can see it as playing a G7b5 plus the other 3 notes from the parent scale tonality Or playing that Toshiba copyright 2013 jazzCittern com All Rights Reserved ES Cii ModeExplorer 9 web edition S set of notes as the mode it actually is but it s effectively the same because a scale is just a big chord anyway ED www jazzcittern com Toshiba The Instrument KAA Of Building Cittern Chords How to Construct Chords on the Mandolin Who needs a chord encvclopedia when vou know how to build your own Constructing jazz chords Here s how Because the Cittern is tuned in fifths it shares chord shapes with other mandolin family instruments As you ve seen jazzCittern ModeExplorer has four different voicings of each chord and four inversions of each voicing How does it do that The fifths tuning allows it to build effective mandolin voicings in the mandocello range and the octave mandolin bouzouki range Aside from some alterations that may be specific to longer scale lower range instruments it s all the same They are all tuned in fifths So let s take a look at a simplified 4 course view of the chord construction technique Once we learn it on the GDAE strings it s simple to apply the same to the CGDA strings It s Ea
44. hliman Getting into Jazz Mandolin This more modular approach serves improvisation well as the patterns can be learned once and the relocated all across the fretboard as the key and harmony dictates regardless of position The ModeExplorer presents the fretboard from an FFcP point of view as well MET www jazzcittern com Toshiba The Instrument KAA ATA GSPE Another excellent approach to mapping out the fretboard of fifths tunes instruments is JazzCittern com s Symmetrical Perceptual Economy jcdcSPE This approach is designed to leverage the symmetrical nature of fifths tuning to simplify navigation The way it works The ascending and descending intervals of the Dorian Mode are w h w w w h w No other diatonic mode of the major scale has this characteristic You can easily see this symmetry on a keyboard Observe the mirror image of black and white keys on a piano keyboard with D at the center This mirror image is very apparent on fifths tuned instruments as well Dorian Mode is certainly not uncommon in modern music often used for improvising in jazz rock and many other genres Therefore The Dorian Mode becomes the center of the musical universe so far as GSPE is concerned There s great benefit in thinking When plotted out on the neck of a 5 course fifths tunes instrument like the jazzCittern or an NST Guitar the navigational efficiencies become dramaticallv apparent more in terms of movable intervallic pattern
45. hord Starting on E EGB or an E minor chord Starting on F Guess what FAC an F major chord Starting on G Hey GBD a G major chord Starting on A ACE an A minor chord Starting on B BDF or a B diminished chord Step 5 The basic chords triads of the C major scale are C major Il D minor Ill E minor IV F major v G major vi A minor VII B diminished WE www jazzcittern com Toshiba The Instrument KAA filg Step 6 Vou just saw this in C major all white kevs on the piano no sharps no flats but vou can do this starting on any note Like G but the pattern of wwhwwwh will land you on an F instead of F Vou will alwavs vield major minor minor major minor diminished chords from the notes of the the major scale Step 7 Vou don t have to stop at 3 notes triads Vou can go up to 7 pick skips before the pattern starts repeating That s where vou get those big chords like G13 There are sometimes special rules but we won t get into that Step 8 The major scale is only one set of intervals There are other sets of intervals which yield other component chords The itinerarv of future ModeExplorations It s very important to Once you know the notes of the chord you can play them remember that what makes a anywhere in any combination that you can grab on your scale unique is its intervals instrument Some sound better than others but they re all Each scale yields its own unique legal
46. ht there handy 42 And the nines can be found on the fourth String 00 00 see senennnnnnnzanenzanenzzntenzantenzanenzzenzzzannnzzana 42 Constructing Inversions Here s how 43 Mix and match Build your own 45 ScaleWatcher s FieldGuide Modes of the Major Scale 47 Major cale Net Ee Re TEE 47 Dorian Kee 47 PAREN MOTE ien a E E E 48 Ean MOE a i 49 MKO NOE EE 49 e www jazzcittern com Toshiba The Instrument KAA ATA Minor Scale Aeolian Mode EE 50 LOCcri MOGE ois tacts E saat oe ances ad anea seater ee eeeaceecserseeeaeaesees 50 SV RUNS tie MODES centr d E E 51 What are Synthetic lee EE 51 Melodic Minor eg e EE 51 PA CIE 52 Re ele ERNEIEREN 53 Eva PGT NV erste actos carseat se saeseseete ease Gea 53 Stan Belle TE SE EOG I l eare ee er tere te ee rer re eee eee er tes eee ne te S 54 PICT OC e 54 FOTIA CONIC aE ia 54 SWIM SN CSS eebe 56 Men an gg Lee a a 56 Whole Tone Scale 6 eenanenennnnn na A OR nn NR EE ann ENER EEN n artna nnarennnnan ENNEN 56 The Diminished Scales ma p engt E ll ie leg nnnenenanennanenenen ann enenn 56 ChordWatcher s FieldGuide i A A M nn nnnnnnnnnnnnenenanannenenanann ena KENNEN 57 Nonie RUE L en E 57 Name EE EN 57 Name RUIG en 57 Viel a RULO cence nets E E TE 57 IA l a gai es pg ge sce ater nen 59 Vue Te E 59 BIX NIE ii d E EE A E E E E 59 Ada NING AKA TWO En o ee EE 59 DVO even i i 59 Malor Seven ad Tinirteehitta ME 59 MOr IN VS eects carted ers e
47. ifv scales and chords But actuallv hiding deep within those scales are all their component chords quietly waiting for you to unearth them and expose them to the light of day You are well equipped for the dig Select a scale using the dropdown and then select a degree of the scale Discover all the chord types laying beneath the surface on that degree of that scale The JazzCittern com Scalar Safari have these chords How do hunt down the right notes to play over this thing to make the solo sound right Name your chords and click Add Chord to add them to the list The chord changes define the pool of notes to play Each added chord narrows down the candidate scales Sometimes one scale will work for any entire passage Other times each chord requires a change of scale Other progressions yield multiple IF wl aun mi b5 v natura The Instrument Wiki AT The Groveland Chord Excavation The Fieki Guiles helpect you to mengt scales ancl chords But actually hiding deep within those scales are all den component chorls quieti wating for you to unearth them ancl expose them to the light of clay fou are well equipped for the cig Selecta scale using the dropelown ancl then selecta cleqree of the sale Discover all the chord types Bying beneath the surface on that degise of that scale Scale Mode Super Locrian Altered scale EI AV v The XIV degree of the Sup
48. in Improvisation Navigating Improvisation Improvisation in modern western music is based on The improviser recognizing the chord progressions and a chord progression is a scales possible in a given set of sequence of chords usually harmonizing a melody chords now possesses the rules by Often the chords in a tune last between a half a measure to a couple measures The improviser often works off a chart which has the chords of a tune written above the staves of the sheet music indicating the harmony to be implementation of those rules used for that part of the melody which to play the improvisation The original melody was just one The scales implied by the chords on the chart are most important in improvising even more important that the chords themselves or the melody The scales implied by the chords represent all the possible melodies latent in the chord progression The improviser recognizing the scales possible in a given set of chords now possesses the rules by which to play the improvisation The original melody was just one implementation of those rules It s All Intervals The basics In our traditional Western music there are 12 tones called the Chromatic Scale C CH Db D D Eb E F F Gb G G Ab A A Bb and B This sequence repeats each repetition being an octave higher than the preceding Each step in the Chromatic Scale is called a half step so we see in Western music we have a possible 12 h
49. ing only an octave higher Notice the fourth string note is being transferred to the first string two octaves higher Knowing all the inversions of chords allows you to play entire tunes in basically one position on the neck with very little physical movementifind better sounding voicings of chords for different purposes and put together chords whose voices lead well from one chord to the next For example when choosing a 7 chord voicing it is often desirable to have the 3rd and the 7th at the bottom of the chord This is often found in the first and third inversions of the root position of the 7 chord This formula works on ANY chord Of course once the formula brings an inversion above the 12th fret rotate the inversion back down to the bottom of the neck When working with these things we have to e e know that all the 4 notes don t need to be played at one time watch how the 3 and 7 move from chord to chord at all times because that tends to be the essence of the chord and be aware the sound is the bottom line ED www jazzcittern com Toshiba The Instrument KAA Of Mix and match Build your own Mix and match these alterations as required by the tune you re playing like try a C7 5b9 a k a C7 b9b13 Don t be afraid to omit the root Copyright 2002 2008 by Groveland Software Labs inc All rights reserved Chances are really good that you won t encounter a chord that you can t build on your ow
50. inor Aeolian scale Mixolydian mode is a good choice for improvising on a dominant seventh chord as well as blues scales with a minor and major third Altering the b9 9 11 or b13 of the dominant seventh chord yields wonderful passing chords lowering any tone of Diminished Seventh chord a half step yields a Dominant Seventh chord Ninth 9 The ninth chord is a major chord with a ninth interval added but unlike the two chord it has a dominant seventh interval Thirteenth 13 The thirteen chord is a sixth chord with minimally a dominant O seventh interval added and most often the ninth is also included The eleventh is dissonant and rarely used or is raised See also the 13 11 chord Thirteen Augmented Eleven Minor mi The minor chord consists of the root minor third and a perfect fifth It is found at the first and fifth degrees of the minor Aeolian scale ES and the second and sixth degrees of the major lonian scale Minor Sixth www jazzcittern com Toshiba The Instrument KAA ATA mi6 Minor Six Nine mi69 Minor Add Nine mi add 9 Minor Seventh mi 7 A minor chord with the interval of a sixth added This chord occurs on the 2nd degree of the major scale dorian but is more often associated with the 1st and 2nd degrees of the Melodic Minor scale or the 4th and 6th degrees of Harmonic Minor A minor sixth chord with the interval of a ninth added A minor chord with the ninth or ma
51. ith a mandocello This effectively makes the Cittern into a mandocello The shapes used are selected and adapted from the JazzCittern com s Mando ModeExplorer Octave Mandolin uses the upper four courses as you would an Octave Mandolin a k a OM This effectively makes the Cittern into an Octave Mandolin or Bouzouki The shapes are selected and adapted from the JazzCittern com s Mando ModeExplorer Mandocello Extended leverages the fifths tuning advantage jazzCittern ModeExplorers call adjacent shapes For example if you play a root position mandocello shape somewhere on the neck the chord s second inversion can be found one course over The same is true of the first inversion and the third the second inversion and the root position and the third inversion and the second Move one course over from the one play the other and you have the same chord JazzCittern com Adjacent Shapes How is Mandocello Extended accomplished The fifths symmetry makes the most sense for chord building if you don t need to rely on open string tunings There are tons of efficiencies that come from extending the standard mando tuning down another fifth For example you can find typical mando 4 string chord shapes right next to each other on the neck and combine them out to 5 string if desired Here we re doing it with the first and third inversions of the 4465 shape B7 to get the 3 and 7 on the bottom but you can find these
52. jazzCittern com s jazzCittern Modetxplorer A Field Guide to ModeExploration amp web edition copyright 2013 jazzCittern com All Rights Reserved IGEZ gata ModeExplorer 9 web edition S i www jjazzcittern com Toshiba The Instrument KAA ATA This document is the Users Manual distributed solely by jazzCittern com with their ModeExplorer musical instruction software products available at www jazzcittern com This document is not to be sold or redistributed except through jazzCittern com Author C Schmoller 2013 jazzCittern com All rights reserved No part of the document may be reproduced stored in a retrieval system or transmitted by any means electronic mechanical photocopying recording or otherwise without written permission from JazzCittern com Company and product names mentioned herein are the trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners Names such as company names trade names service names and product names appearing herein may be registered or unregistered trademarks or service marks whether or not identified as such All such names and all registered and unregistered trademarks service marks and logos are used for identification purposes only and are the property of their respective owners Toshiba copyright 2013 jazzCittern com All Rights Reserved aa IGEZ gata ModeExplorer 9 web edition S WEG www jazzcittern com Toshiba The Instrument KAA ATA Itinerary
53. jor Bb C D E F G Ab r 9 3 11 5 13 7 The Bb scale is w w w h w h w the Lydian Dominant scale the 4th mode of F Melodic Minor w h W W W W h Beast 3 Examining G7b5 to Abma7 Ab major Base Ab Bb C Db Eb F G G7b5 Chord G Cb B Db F r 3 b5 7 Fill in the tensions diatonic to Ab major Ab Bb Cb B Db Eb F G r 9 3 11 5 13 7 The G scale is h w h w w w w the Altered Dominant scale the 7th mode of Ab melodic minor w h w w w w h Notice this The three examples shown yielded three scales the Fifth Mode of Harmonic Minor the Lydian Dominant Scale and the Altered Dominantscale And wouldn t you know it these three scales used this way are mainstays of jazz improvisation Maybe were onto something here The Beasts in Real Life Let s take a real world example with a familiar set of changes All of Me by Simone amp Marks Cma7 Cma7 E7 E7 A7 A7 Dm7 Dm7 E7 E7 Am Am D7 D7 Dm7 G7 The tonal center is C Cma7 is the I chord What s up with the E7 This is review C major base C D E F G A B E7 chord E G B D r 3 5 b7 Fill in the tensions diatonic to C major E F G A B C D r b9 3 11 5 b13 b7 yields E7 b9b13 as the full chord The E scale to play is h wh h w h w w the 5th mode of A harmonic minor w h w w h wh h Toshiba copyright 2013 jazzCittern com All Rights Reserved EEI Cti ModeExplorer 9 web edition And then it s followed by an A77 What now Let s a
54. jor second added no seventh The minor seventh chord consists of the root minor third and a perfect fifth and a dominant seventh The minor seventh chord is found at the second third and sixth degrees of the major lonian scale and the first fourth and fifth degrees of the minor Aeolian scale e r eae Dorian mode is a good choice for improvising on a minor seventh chord Minor Seventh Add Eleven mi7 add 11 Minor Seventh Add Thirteen mi7 add 13 Minor Nine mi9 Minor Eleven A minor seventh chord with the eleventh or fourth added A minor seventh chord with the thirteenth or sixth added A minor seventh chord with the interval of a ninth or major second added e 8 o Toshiba copyright 2013 jazzCittern com All Rights Reserved IGEZ gata ModeExplorer amp web edition mill A minor seventh chord with the interval of a ninth or major second and eleventh or fourth added Minor Thirteen mi13 A minor seventh chord with the interval of a ninth or major second and thirteenth or sixth added Minor Raised Seven mi ma7 This is a minor chord with a major seventh interval added It occurs at the 1st degree of Harmonic Minor and Melodic Minor and therefore is a signature sound for those scales It is also found at the 6th degree of Harmonic Minor Minor Nine Raised Seven mi9 ma7 This is a minor nine chord with a major seventh interval added Minor Seven Flat Five mi7
55. k the Get Choris button Then explore all the possibilities for that chorl fragment Bmi9 b5 BC DbDFA Brmiii bs BC DbDEFSA Do7 add ma DFG AL B C Db C 7 b9 C Db D F G AL B C 7 b5b9 C DbDFGB C 7 5b9 C DbDFAB G7 11 G B C Db DF GO Il G4BC Db DF C 7 b9 11 C Db DF G G A4b B G7 b9 11 G G 4b B C Db DF G7 OXIL G 4 Bb B C Db DF C 13 b9 C Db DF G Ab 4 Bb B E13 b9 EF G 4b B C Db D G1i3 11 GABC Db DEF Get Chords Copynght 2002 2011 by Grovelanel Softvare Labs Inc All rights reservect On Cittern it s often desirable to keep some open strings ringing for that open string sound The JazzCittern com Chord DNA Sequencer can help find all the possibilities and give you their names For example the open strings on a Cittern are C G D A and E Feeding combinations of these notes to the Chord DNA Sequencer can list a host of possibilities In this example we said What chords contain the open D A and E string That s like saying what chords will get if leave all the string open and onlv thange the notes on the C and G strings There are tons Of course with the bigger chords some notes will be omitted because you can only play five notes at a time Try it with two or one open string The open chord possibilities are endless e www jjazzcittern com Toshiba The JazzCittern com Chord Excavation As vou will see later the Field Guides will help vou to indent
56. le a scale starting on D and having a set of intervals w h w w w h w is called D Dorian But a scale starting on sav Af with the same w h w w w h w configuration of intervals is called A Dorian It s all about intervals not notes or black and white kevs Chords Maybe the most simple way to put it is a chord is a set of notes played at the same time A particular tvpe of chord forms a unique harmonic relationship amongst its component notes Two notes sounded together can produce a harmony but that s not a chord Technically the basic chord is the triad It s composed of three notes each an interval of a third apart a minor third is 1 steps a major third is 2 steps A major triad is constructed from three notes an interval of a major third between the first and second note and an interval of a minor third between the second and third notes Toshiba copyright 2013 jazzCittern com All Rights Reserved a Cti ModeExplorer amp web edition A minor triad has a minor third at the bottom and a major third at the top A diminished triad contains two minor third intervals and an augmented triad contains two major third intervals This we need to know because we can actually extend the basic triad by adding more thirds above the triad That s how we get the chords beyond the basic major minor diminished and augmented triads A Major Seventh chord would be constructed from the major third minor third we saw
57. lt by stacking thirds on the degree of the scale And as we have seen for all modes the mode inversion of the Melodic Minor scale can be played over the chord built on that degree of the scale For example the fourth degree of A Melodic Minor yields a D7 chord and a D Lydian Dominant scale This means that over a D7 the D Lydian Dominant scale can be played However knowing all the chords and modes built on each degree of a scale may not be particularly helpful or practical in improvisation on the fly So practically speaking given any combination of the component chords created from a scale one only needs to know and play the parent scale from which the chords were built For example if presented with Cma7 5 D7 E7 Ami ma7 one would not have to go through the excercise of playing and thinking C Lydian Augmented D Lydian Dominant E Fifth Mode and A Melodic Minor This would be unwieldy A quick analysis of the chords shows that they are all derived from A Melodic Minor and to improvise on these chords in the simplest case only A Melodic Minor notes are played over these particular chords so allother issues aside the player would need to know one scale not four Note Because Cittern is very pattern and shape oriented often Citternists mistake a particular position or pattern on the neck of a Cittern for a scale A scale or mode is not defined in any way by a position on the neck of the Cittern or by a single positional
58. ly within an octave from C to C the ear tells us that the tonic is NOT C but that the tonic is F To remove this dissonance and strengthen the C as the tonic the F is sharped yielding Lydian mode See also the ma13 chord Major Thirteen m ott e lo e Seven Flat Five 7 b5 Participates in Melodic Minor harmony occurring at the 5th and 7th degrees of the Melodic Minor scale Nine Flat Five 9 b5 Participates in Melodic Minor harmony occurring at the 5th degree of the Melodic Minor scale www jazzcittern com Toshiba The Instrument We dal Maljatig 1 Seven Sharp Five 7 5 Participates in Melodic Minor harmonv and Harmonic Minor harmony Occurs at the 5th degree of the Harmonic Minor scale Occurs at the 5th and 7th degrees of the Melodic Minor scale Occurs at the Nine Sharp Five 9 5 Participates in Melodic Minor harmony occurring at the 5th degree of the Melodic Minor scale Seven Flat Nine 7 b9 Participates in Harmonic Minor harmony occurring at the 5th degree of the Harmonic Minor scale Seven Sharp Nine 7 9 Occurs in some Symmetric scales and some more exotic scales such as Harmonic Major Hungarian Minor and Hungarian Major Seven Flat Five Flat Nine 7 b5b9 Participates in Melodic Minor harmony Occurs at the 7th degree of the Melodic Minor scale Seven Sharp Five Sharp Nine 7 5 9 Participates in Melodic Minor harmony Occurs at the 7th degree of the Melodic Minor scale Seven Sharp Fi
59. might be the C major scale which is not encumbered by accidentals in the key signature and can be demonstrated as all white keys on the piano The notes are C D E F G A B However scales are not characterized by the particular notes in the scale rather they are characterized by the intervals between the notes A major scale has the following intervals w w h w w w h where w is a whole step and h is a half step By the same token a minor scale is characterized by w h w w h w w Using C major as a reference point you ll notice that the intervals of the C major scale shifted to the right by two give us the minor scale intervals This would mean that all the white keys on the piano starting on A give us the minor scale That also means that A minor is the relative minor to C major Modes Work the Same Way Similarly by shifting the intervals of the major scale to the left or right we get the seven diatonic modes of the major scale The modes of the C major scale would all share the same key signature no sharps or flats and they would all share the same notes GD E F G A B They all just start on different degrees of the scale C lonian w w h w w w h D Dorian w h w w w h w E Phrygian h w w w h w w F Lydian w w w h w w h G Mixolydian w w h w w h w A Aeolian w h w w h w w B Locrian h w w h w w w oobobbkkb Of course vou can perform this exercise in anv kev signature For examp
60. n this way Allowing for naming conventions personal taste and other idiosyncrasies Also be on the lookout for for chord shapes that when used in various positions yield multiple chord types For example the 7 5b9 above will also serve asa m6 chordin another context and as a 7 b5 in another With a limited number of learned chord shapes you can cover the vast majority of musical territory Note There are a couple of naming considerations that should be highlighted here On the piano there is a well defined root position where the root third fifth and seventh are played each a third apart Starting on the third the piano yields the first inversion of the chord starting on the fifth is the second inversion and on the seventh is the third inversion of the chord However on Cittern in standard tuning the voicing for this sort of root position first second and third inversion does not occur On Cittern any voicing with the root at the bottom is not a true root position but simply some voicing that happens to have the root at the bottom Because of this Cittern players tend to simply refer to the voicing that yields the root at the bottom as the root position the voicing that yields the third at the bottom as the first inversion the voicing that yields the fifth at the bottom as the second inversion and the voicing that yields the seventh at the bottom as the third inversion Furthermore because the Citte
61. ne Scale an easy economical way to play over augmented chords and chords containing strong tritones The Diminished Scales There are two diminished scales the Half Whole Half or alf Whole and Whole Half Whole or Whole Half used to play diminished seventh chords and a variety of altered dominant chords WE www jazzcittern com Toshiba ChordWatcher s FieldGuide Ever wonder how chord naming works Ever wonder exactly what notes and intervals define a chord The Modetxplorers have spelled out nearly every useful chord imaginable in this FieldGuide to assist you in identifying just about every genus and species you ll encounter in the wild There are 57 here There s no mystery to chord naming and if done using this tried and true convention there s no ambiguity confusion or miscommunication It can all be expressed in four simple rules Naming Rule 1 Any degree named above 7 implies the existence of a 7 like 9 11 13 Any name below a 7 implies there is no 7 like 2 4 and 6 The same rule applies to b2 2 b9 and 9 The b2 and 2 mean there s no 7 The b9 and 9 means there is a 7 Naming Rule 2 If the 5 is not there in the chord you can have a b5 or a 5 Otherwise you have to use the alternative that is 4 or b6 Naming Rule 3 If there is a 7 in the chord then any 4 becomes a 11 and any b6 becomes a b13 Naming Rule 4 All diatonic degrees of the chord below the highest degree specified are im
62. ose from eight violin positions w half position for visualizing scales in manageable chunks or all scale notes at once The jazzCittern ModeExplorer has FFcP support All scales can be broken down into JazzMando com s 1st 2nd 3rd and 4th FFcP All diatonic modes of the major scale and synthetic scales like harmonic minor melodic minor the Altered scale Locrian 2 For all tonics ModeExploration is NOT a destination It s a journey Your musical journey begins right here Let the expedition begin Toshiba copyright 2013 jazzCittern com All Rights Reserved e Cii ModeExplorer amp webedition The Tour What s ModeExploration like It s like being on a Scalar Safari It s like participating in a Chord Excavation hunting for musical treasure It s like the microscope in the lab discovering Chord DNA The tools of the expedition are your handy ChordWatcher s and ScaleWatcher s FieldGuides It s fun When you start the jazzCittern ModeExplorer it contacts the ModeExplorer web service to receive the latest collection of scales There are three species of modes supplied in the menu The Major Scale Modes the Synthetic Modes and the Symmetrical Scales Under each of these is either a list of modes for that group or a family of modes which in turn expands into a list of related modes Under each Mode are two nodes containing all the information you need to know about that mode The Scale Int
63. pattern It is characterized by its intervals and spans the entire neck of the Cittern Phrygian 6 Lacking a universally accepted name the second mode of the Melodic Minor Scale is characterized by the intervals set h w w w w h w As a mode of A Melodic Minor the notes would be B C D E F G A As the name implies this is the same as Phrygian mode with a raised sixth degree Use this mode over a sus b9 chord as a substitute for Phrygian mode Because it s the 2nd mode of Melodic Minor and there are no avoid notes you can simply play Melodic Minor a seventh up from the root of the sus b9 chord a www jazzcittern com Toshiba The Instrument KAA Of Overtone Lvdian Augmented The Lvdian Augmented scale is the third mode of the Melodic Minor Scale identified bv the interval set W W w w h w h oO The name Lvdian implies a raised 4th degree and augmented implies a raised 5th degree Relative to A Melodic Minor Lydian augmented would start on C C D E F G A B When a ma7 5 is played the Lydian Augmented scale is appropriate The ma7 5 chord can thought of as a major triad with the b6 in the bottom Because it s the 3rd mode of Melodic Minor and there are no avoid notes you can simply play Melodic Minor a sixth up from the root of the ma7 5 chord Lydian Dominant The fourth mode of the Melodic Minor scale with the interval set w w w h w h w is often called the Ly
64. plied to be in the chord That is to say if the chord specifies a 13 the 11 9 and7 are implied If the 11 is specified the and 7 are implied If the 9 is specified the 7 is implied In practice the 11 may be omitted due to dissonance Of course partial voicings may omit any voice as needed Note The 7 s cited above can be either b7 s or 7 s Same thing applies to both Note Just because you re not playing a note in achord doesn t mean it s not implied The scale context function surrounding chords and other instruments will imply notes even if omitted Here are other important concepts to be aware of The function must be clear above all else and the form is left to the improviser Chord symbols should NOT prescribe form They should designate function only M7 MAI mai maj7 or a triangle all represent a 4 note major triad with a major 7 on top The word major in the name refers not to the 3rd but to the interval of the 7th The major third is communicated because the chord is not specified as minor m mi MI Absence of a minor designation defaults to major The 7 alone always designates the b7 An ma refers to the major seventh interval as opposed to a lone 7 which refers to the b7 interval A mi always refers to the third No designation at all will default to major ORO So If you see a C alone it s a major triad Ifyou see a Cmiit s a minor triad Toshiba copyright
65. pply the context The A7 is actually leading to a key change from C to D It s a V i So we have to figure the A7 in that new context where it s going to D minor D minor base D E F G A Bb C A7 chord A C E G r 3 5 b7 Fill in the tensions diatonic to D minor A Bb C D E F G r b9 3 11 5 b13 b7 yields A7 b9b13 as the full chord The A scale to play is h wh h w h w w the 5th mode of D harmonic minor w h w w h wh h Now there s another E7 Where are we C D Neither What s the context The E7 is leading to an Am chord this time and it looks like a V i again this time the tonality is changing to A So applying the context A minor base A B C D E F G E7 chord E G B D r 3 5 b7 Fill in the tensions diatonic to A minor E F G A B C D r b9 3 11 5 b13 b7 yields E7 b9b13 as the full chord The E scale to play is h wh h w h w w the 5th mode of A harmonic minor w h w w h wh h Sounds excellent We re onto something here The last chords D7 D7 Dm7 G7 Cma7 can probably be played simply D mixolydian on the D7 G major scale D dorian on the Dm7 C major scale and G mixolydian on the G7 C major scale Beast 4 But just for fun there s a device called the Tritone Substitution Because the 3rd and 7th of a dominant seventh chord are a tritone away from each other those tones will also be found in a dominant seventh chord a tritone away That s why instead of playing for example G7 Cma7 you can play
66. ral reveals a fantastic sampling of the component chords built from this particular degree of the scale The ModeExplorer knows about 57 different chord types This particular example demonstrates the chords built from the first degree of the Bb Melodic Minor scale Im www jazzcittern com Toshiba The Instrument KAA Of The Inversions There are 4 inversions of each chord root 17 m 3 and 4 different voicings of each inversion So if you drill down you will find 16 different ways to play each chord Clicking on the chord name will play and display the first position fingering of the chord by default on the Cittern neck The example demonstrates the chords built from the first degree Bb of the Bb Melodic Minor scale and a Bbmi add 9 chord is selected in Root position and the voicing is the Octave Mandolin voicing The Voicings The voicings for each inversion are Distinct Bottom End Mandocello Mandocello Extended and Octave Mandolin The Cittern covers a lot of territory On the lower courses it voices the same notes as a mandocello that is CGDA The upper four courses are voiced like an Octave Mandolin or Bouzouki that is GDAE That allows the Cittern expanded voicing options Distinct Bottom End separates the lower course from three higher voices by not using the G string This gives a chord of a good wide range Mandocello uses the lower four courses ae you would w
67. rd is still named after the implied root even though that note is not played Constructing Inversions Here s how Okay continuing on How do we get the next inversion of a chord on a fifths tune instrument It turns out in fifths tuning you can take any voicing at all and by applying the following steps construct the next inversion of that chord To get the next inversion of any chord Play any voicing on the fifths tuned instrument like G ma7 G B D F Take the first string fret and add 2 to it Play the third string on that fret Take the second string fret and add 2 to it Play the fourth string on that fret Take the third string fret and add 5 to it Play the second string on that fret Take the fourth string fret and add 3 to it Play the first string on that fret ORO OM Toshiba copyright 2013 jazzCittern com All Rights Reserved 43 I 7440 tax iaptli ModeExplorer amp Web edition Root Position First Inversion si Inversion Third a to to Firstinversion Secondinversion Third inversion RootPositlon Inverting ma Copyright GD002 2008 by Groveland Seftmare Labs ke All rights reserved With a little practice you can find the next inversion up from any chord on the fly with very little effort Notice that steps 1 amp 2 are really the same thing applied to strings 1 and 2 This simplifies things a bit Notice that step 3 is just getting the third string note on the second str
68. rn is limited to voicing at most four notes simultaneously certain chords may entirely omit the root and fifth in favor of the ninth eleventh thirteenth extensions and flat and sharp alterations Because of this you may see jazzCittern ModeExplorer use identical fingerings for say the root position of an Emi7 and the root position of a D13sus Toshiba copyright 2013 jazzCittern com All Rights Reserved 45 IGEZ gata ModeExplorer 9 web edition S ue www jjazzcittern com Toshiba The Instrument KAA Of ScaleWatcher s FieldGuide Modes of the Major Scale Major Scale lonian Mode The major scale is associated with a major seventh chord For example in the kev of C the C major seventh chord notated Cma7 is C E G B These notes identify a chord built upon the tonic of the C major scale and the C major scale is appropriate for improvising over it in the simplest O case Building a chord on a note of a scale is accomplished by selecting the root note moving up an interval of a third to the next note that occurs in the scale that could be a major or minor third depending on the scale then moving up another interval of a third to the next note that occurs in the scale and continue this process until redundancies occur For more on building chords see Chords Note also that the major in a major seventh chord refers to the interval of the seventh as being major not the interval of the third Stacking ye
69. s and double sharps In some cases it might be a challenge to classify a scale as major minor diminished or augmented Therefore the ModeExplorer always emphasizes tonic that is the tonal center of the scale To change the ModeExplorer s Tonic select from the Tonic dropdown list and click the natural sharp flat radio buttons for the chromatics When you select a tonic from the dropdown list the ModeExplorer Tree collapses itself and all the information in the scales is refreshed This is because all the names of all the degrees of the scales need to be recalculated for the new tonal center Not all tonics create real key signatures For example there is no legitimate scale named Cb minor but there is a Cb major scale If you select Cb as a Tonic and then examine the lonian Major scale it will appear as a Cb Major scale But then examine the Cb Aeolian Minor scale Its tonic is Cb but we get a Db Ebb Fb Gb Abb and Bbb in the scale We leave this as it is for informational purposes but there is no real key signature for it and it would better be renamed as aB minor scale The following chart defines legitimate key signatures for Major and Minor Toshiba copyright 2013 jazzCittern com All Rights Reserved 2z o Cii ModeExplorer amp Webedition Major Ionian no of flats no of sharps gt lt 161 5141312 0 1 21 3 F4 S 6 3 GbDbAbEbBLFEFCGDA BE B F C G Af RH OESCH AR Minor Aeolian
70. s than positions Visualizing Patterns Perceptual Economv The symmetry is actually discovered on the second degree of the major scale shown in red above which is the tonic of the Dorian Mode the ii of themmajor scale ModeExplorers that use GSPE call this the pivot This yields the Dorian intervals going up the scale from the pivot w h w w w h w and the same pattern going down from the pivot w h w w w h w The predictability eliminates a lot of work That s why we refer to it as perceptual economics Le symmetry simplicity lack of symmetry complexity Symmetry Good Complexity Bad The marker in red designates the pivot C 0 0 0 0 0 G Ernest EE EE leescht E lt Body Nut gt The symmetries are easily recognized on citterns with the extra course than the four course instruments It s easier to see how these things play out on the five courses Certainly this phenomenon does not exist in any other tuning The entire GSPE travels around the fretboard as required as modes and keys change GSPEs overlap covering the entire fretboard providing a single unified view of the fretboard Toshiba copyright 2013 jazzCittern com All Rights Reserved 19 GE gedo ModeExplorer Plaving Chords ModeExploration of Component Chords
71. s the root and stacking thirds from the scale on that root For example if we stack 6 thirds from the mixolydian mode we will get a Thirteen chord with a 4 degree included Of course from that chord you can find subsets that make smaller chords scale fragments if you will So it can be said that the Thirteen chord is the Mixolydian Chord and onmthat tvpe of chord you would solo in Mixolydian Mode Practically speaking playing all the notes of a given scale at once doesn t always sound pleasing to the ear Some notes in the scale create dissonance For improvising these dissonant notes are sometimes called avoid notes When soloing or comping accompanying these notes are used mainly as passing tones and it s best not to terminate a phrase with or linger on an avoid note For example when soloing in a straight major scale it is best not to end phrases on the 4 degree of the scale which is an avoid note for the major scale To most of our ears the sound will be unsettled and unresolved like it wants to go somewhere Similar to ending a sentence with the word and However what constitutes this dissonance is largely subjective and cultural and there is not always agreement as to what sounds acceptable Expanding on the idea that THE SCALE IS THE CHORD the following signature chords are identified by their diatonic modes I lonian ma7 Il Dorian mi7 Ill Phrygian sus b9 IV Lydian ma7 b5 v
72. seventh chord is found at the first and fourth degrees of the major lonian scale and the third and sixth degrees of the minor Aeolian scale Ionian mode is a good choice for improvising on a major seventh chord However much attention has been given to Lydian mode over a major seventh chord implying the ma7 11 chord major seven raised eleven major seven sharp eleven mm Major Seven Add Thirteenth ma7 add 13 This chord contains both a major seventh and a sixth interval no ninth EN Major Nine Toshiba copyright 2013 jazzCittern com All Rights Reserved EM Cti ModeExplorer amp webedition mat A major seventh chord with the interval of a ninth added Major Thirteenth ma13 Like the major seven add thirteen with the ninth present O This is really all the notes of the major scale with the dissonant 11th degree omitted The chord illustrates some of the reasoning behind the Lydian Chromatic Concept If you play all the white keys on the piano within an octave from C to C the ear tells us that the tonic is NOT C but that the tonic is F To remove this dissonance the F is removed See also the ma13 11 chord Major Thirteen Augmented Eleven Seventh 7 The dominant seventh chord is a pivotal chord of most modern music It consists of the root major third perfect fifth and dominant seventh The dominant seventh chord is found at the fifth degree of the major lonian scale and the seventh degree of the m
73. sy One consistent and easy way to construct jazz chords Take a standard open mandolin G major chord shape from low to high G open D open B fret 2 G fret 3 That would be the 1 root the 5 perfect fifth 3 major third and 1 root again Move that whole structure up at least one fret That gives us a generic closed voice major chord and eliminates the open strings so we can make some_easy and consistent modifications to it For 7 chords and ma7 chords you modify the E string note which is the root the 1 down to the specified 7 What this means is for the ma7 lower it a half step 1 fret For the 7 lower it a whole step 2 frets And as you might guess lower it a step and a half 3 frets and you get a 6 chord a k a ma6 by some stralght major 6 1 5 3 1 1 5 3 7 1 5 3 7 1 5 3 6 Copyright 2002 2006 by Groveland Softmare Labs inc All rights reserved If for example the chord you re looking for is a Bb ma7 chord you d move the structure with the modified 7 up to the third fret where there is a Bb on the 4th string giving you a Bb ma7 chord Toshiba copyright 2013 jazzCittern com All Rights Reserved al Cti ModeExplorer 9 web edition S Variations on the minor chord work the same way The minor chord works like the major chord but the 3rd is dropped one fret Like the major example above the purple dots show the same 7ths and 6th on the first string straight minor mi
74. t another third from the C major scale on top would yield a Cma9 C E G B D another third on top would yield a a Cma11 C E GB D EI and another third gives a Cma13 All these chords were constructed with C as the root and entirely from the notes of the C major scale Therefore the C major scale is ideal to play over these chords We apply this principle to every degree of the scale to derive its component chords and given a set of chords we can reverse engineer a scale to improvise over the set of chords The basic seventh chords derived from the C major scale are Cma7 Dmi7 Emi7 Fma7 G7 Ami7 Bmi7 b5 and then Cma7 again From the chord is the scale point of view the I chord of the C major scale is actually C ma7 2 4 6 that is a major seventh chord with the 2 4 and 6 a k a 9 11 and 13 Stacking another third from C major on top C E G B D yields Cma9 Stacking another third adds the 11 but because the F is dissonant it is rarely used Adding another third gives a Cma13 But C ma7 is shorthand for them all See also the Lydian Mode where the dissonant 4th 11th is raised to resolve dissonance Dorian Mode The Dorian mode is built on the second degree of the major scale Using the C Major Scale as the parent scale the D Dorian mode would be built from the notes of the C major scale starting on D D E F G A B C Accordingly its sequence of intervals would be w h w w O w h w that is the major scale
75. terval Augmented This chord consists of two major third intervals Suspended SUS The sus chord consists of the root a fourth no third and a fifth Seven Suspended 7SUS The same as a seventh chord with the third omitted and the fourth added Nine Suspended 9sus The same as a nine chord with the third omitted and the fourth added AKA an eleventh chord Thirteen Suspended 13sus The same as a thirteen chord with the third omitted and the fourth added r pa m e a e Toshiba copyright 2013 jazzCittern com All Rights Reserved e IGEZ gata ModeExplorer amp web edition Major Seven Flat Five ma7 b5 Closely related to the ma7 11 chord only omitting the perfect fifth Major Seven Sharp Five ma7 5 Notably a product of Harmonic Minor harmony and Melodic Minor harmony In Harmonic Minor and Melodic Minor occurs on the 3rd degree of the scales Major Seven Augmented Eleven ma7 11 Closely related to the ma7 b5 chord only adding the perfect fifth Major Nine Augmented Eleven ma9 11 Occurs on the 4th degree of the Major scale making it a Lydian chord Major Thirteen Augmented Eleven ma13 11 Like the Major Thirteen chord ma13 with the 11th degree added and raised This is really all the notes of the major scale with the dissonant 11th degree raised The chord illustrates some of the reasoning behind the Lydian Chromatic Concept If you play all the white keys on the piano simultaneous
76. tune s direction How do we best select improvisation options for the Dominant Seventh chord and its alterations Using ModeExploration we can chart the course to bagging the slippery beast Beast 1 Toshiba copyright 2013 jazzCittern com All Rights Reserved 35 Cii ModeExplorer amp web edition Given a hypothetical tune that has a Cma7 followed by an E7 chord Assuming Cma7 is the chord what do we play against the E7 The C major scale yields an Emi7 chord as the III chord not an E7 so the E7 chord is one note outside of C major it contains a G Based on THE SCALE IS THE CHORD we might think we play an E Mixolydian scale because E7 is the chord for that scale and that would probably sound fine But there may be a better choice based on the context which is in this case the C major scale The Plot Thickens First of all in this case we are saying the Cma7 identifies the of the C major scale We followed it by an E7 outside C major scale by one note a G We know that the full chord actually has 7 notes 1 9 3 11 5 13 7 and the E7 has only identified 4 of those notes We have to find the remaining notes the 2 4 and 6 which are called tensions and because we know the rule is THE SCALE IS THE CHORD once we discover the full chord we know EXACTLY what to play against it So where do the missing 3 notes come from The base scale or in this case C major Why Because these notes are the ones that will provide m
77. uff going on BUT The historical use is quite different from modern use espoused by the jazzCitternist involved in ModeExploration Today modes are a part of apopular technique for determining what scales to improvise against a set of chords and what chords can be derived from scales This technique of improvisation is most often associated with Jazz although It is certainly not unique to Jazz The study of these relationships is called Chord Scale Theory How exactly are modes useful When an improvising musician has a set of chords on a sheet of music the player needs to know what notes can be played with those chords so the solo sounds right One way to determine what can be played is to analyze what modes scales contain the chords in that set and improvise using those scales For simple tunes the diatonic modes of the major scale may be adequate The major and minor scales for traditional songs Dorian and Mixolydian modes for Blues Rock Gospel and some Jazz and perhaps Phrygian for a Spanish flavor For more complex harmonies the synthetic and symmetric modes may be required Modes are also useful tools for composing as well Some composers have worked out entire systems based on the characteristics of modes for example George Russell s Lydian Chromatic Concept http www georgerussell com ae www jazzcittern com Toshiba The Instrument KAA Of ModeExploration The jazzCittern ModeExplorer is Our Guide Count
78. ve Flat Nine 7 5b9 Participates in Melodic Minor harmony Occurs at the 7th degree of the Melodic Minor scale Seven Augmented Eleven 7 11 Participates in Melodic Minor harmony Occurs at the 4th degree of the Melodic Minor scale si ve zf ed Toshiba copyright 2013 jazzCittern com All Rights Reserved IGEZ gata ModeExplorer amp web edition Nine Augmented Eleven 9 11 Participates in Melodic Minor harmony Occurs at the 4th degree of the Melodic Minor scale Seven Flat Nine Augmented Eleven 7 b9 11 Occurs in some Symmetric scales Seven Sharp Nine Augmented Eleven 7 9 11 Occurs in some Symmetric scales and various exotics Thirteen Flat Five 13 b5 Participates in Melodic Minor harmony Occurs at the 4th degree of the Melodic Minor scale Thirteen Flat Nine 13 b9 Occurs in the Symmetric scale half whole half and the Diminished scale whole half whole Thirteen Augmented Eleven 13 11 Participates in Melodic Minor harmony Occurs at the 4th degree of the Melodic Minor scale Seven Suspended Flat Nine 7sus b9 Found in Diatonic Harmonic Minor and Melodic Minor harmony It is found on the 3rd degree of the Major Scale It occurs on the 5th degree of the Harmonic Minor scale and the 2nd degree of the Melodic Minor scale Thirteen Suspended Flat Nine 13sus b9 Participates in Melodic Minor harmony Occurs at the 2nd degree of the Melodic Minor scale www jazzcittern com Toshiba
79. vement and strong resolution its first degree produces a relatively uninteresting minor seventh chord also By raising the seventh degree of the natural minor scale we get the Harmonic Minor Scale which gives us a dominant seventh chord at the fifth degree and a minor raised seventh and a minor sixth chord at the root The Melodic Minor Scale provides that too plus it eliminates the augmented second interval between the sixth and seventh degrees Both Melodic and Harmonic minors are used heavily in jazz Often players will be more familiar with the Dorian mode than with natural minor Aeolian mode due to the heavy use of Dorian in Rock Blues and Jazz Melodic Minor is a very close relative of Dorian mode It is Dorian mode with a raised seventh degree providing that strong leading tone at the seventh degree In this regard it can be said that Harmonic Minor is to Aeolian as Melodic Minor is to Dorian Just as with the modes of the major scale there are component chords built from each degree of the Melodic Minor scale by stacking thirds The seventh chords derived from the Melodic Minor scale are the following Toshiba copyright 2013 jazzCittern com All Rights Reserved a Cti ModeExplorer amp web edition mi ma7 mi7 ma7 5 7 7 mi7 b5 mi7 b5 ei ai ei ai Gi ei Each degree of the Melodic Minor scale also vields a mode that is an inversion of the scale Each degree of the scale yields a specific chord bui
80. w w is often called Locrian 2 also half diminished scale identical to the Locrian mode with a raised second step F Locrian 2 scale is o based on Melodic Minor scale and consists of FH G A B C D E Play Locrian 2 over a mi7 b5 chord as a substitute for Locrian mode Because it s the 6th mode of Melodic Minor and there are no avoid notes you can simply play Melodic Minor a 3rd up from the root of the mi7 b5 chord Altered Scale The seventh mode of the Melodic Minor scale is also called the Altered scale diminished whole tone scale or Super Locrian and is a uniquely powerful scale in improvising It combines elements of the diminished and whole tone scales it has a b9 9 11 and b13 Altered in everv possible way It so happens that this scale contains what can be the root third and seventh of a dominant seventh chord as well as the flat five and sharp five and the flat nine and sharp nine What this means is the scale is well suited for dominant seventh altered chords Think of it as a Melodic Minor scale played a half step above a dominant seventh chord for example a G 7 5 9 chord with an A Melodic Minor played over it Given an Alt chord play the Altered scale over it Because it s the 7th mode of Melodic Minor and there are no avoid notes you can simply play Melodic Minor a half step up from the root of the Alt chord Pentatonic Scales The two basic Pentatonic scales are the Major
81. w w which is the Dorian mode shifted right by one and similarly lonian major shifted to the right by two QO intervals In the key of C no sharps or flats Phrygian Starts on E E F G A B C D This scale s intervals are similar to the natural minor scale except that the second step in the Phrygian mode is lowered by a half step The Phrygian mode can be used with a minor seventh chord but often you will hear it used over its first three component chords A minor seventh followed by an major seventh a half step above followed by a dominant seventh chord a step and a half above Phrygian mode produces a very Spanish sound From the chord is the scale point of view the chord of the E Phrygian scale is Esus b9 An E mi7 with a b2 4 and b6 chord can be found here as well but the mi7 name has been applied to the dorian chord see Dorian mode am www jazzcittern com Toshiba The Instrument KAA ATA Lvdian Mode The Lvdian mode is based on the fourth degree of the major scale and its interval sequence is w w w h w w h which is the Phrygian mode shifted right by one and similarly lonian major shifted to the right by three intervals In the key of C no sharps or flats Lydian starts on F F G A B C D E o Similar to the major scale only with a raised fourth degree this scale has been said by some to be a strong alternative to the major scale over a major seventh chord This is because in the major s

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