That’s still funny 😁

I practice banjo with this too!

In my experience, when old-time players say "modal" they mean its in a key that doesn't use the standard major tunings.Based on the chords, I'd say she was playing in A dorian which is the second mode of G. The E chord has major third (G#), even though that note is outside the key of G. That's because it resolves more "naturally' to the root (A) that way. Hope this helps @BrianCarroll

@@AfiScruggsplaysbass hey, thanks for your reply! the fiddle player in my trio told me that A-modal in old-timey is the same thing as A nat./rel. minor with a flat seventh, but i can't make sense of that, though he is knowledgable otherwise. i'll take a close look at dorian, but i suspect were looking at some weird mountain hybrid scale, maybe only five notes. i learned a Dm 'modal' scale like this for 'Shady Grove'. i think it's origin has something to do with the banjo. great fun, this music! thanks again for the info.