14 Essential Scales To Improve Your Musical Vocabulary

[@12tone]

Try CuriosityStream free and get Nebula included: www.curiositystream.com/12tone and use promo code "12tone" Some additional thoughts/corrections: 1) I should note that these are all my own opinions on these scales, and your experience with them may vary. Every musician is different, which means something that sounds unpleasant to me might be perfect for you and vice versa. These explanations are a starting point, not a final answer. 2) One reason that melodic minor kept giving us weirder results than harmonic minor is that, because it changes two notes, melodic minor is actually closer to _major_ than minor, so its modes are generally going to resemble major's modes with a flatted note somewhere, whereas harmonic minor's will look more like minor's modes with a raised note. 3) On the topic of melodnic minor, I'm sure some of you were confused by my definition, so here's a bit more depth on that: In traditional practice, melodic minor behaves differently depending on your direction. If the melody's going up, you raise the 6th and 7th, but if it's going down, you revert them to the standard minor notes. It's a nice idea, but for the most part it's limited to classical practice: Jazz musicians tend to treat melodic minor as a single scale with a single set of notes, and since these modal practices are more inspired by jazz than classical, that's the direction I went. Plus, the raising/lowering thing is specifically to set up the root and the 5th, so when we start doing modes it loses its utility. But yeah, if you were taught that melodic minor changes depending on direction, that's not wrong, just... old-timey.

[@MaddesG1]

Neapolitan Minor Modes kick it up a notch. Hungarian Minor is kick ass. To everyone who is new-intermediate to music and wants to keep going deeper... When you also dive deeper into world scales and microtonal tuning/ playing systems you discover a beautiful world of exotic sounds just waiting to surround your ears and change your whole outlook on the world of music. Have fun with them find the di-ads and triads that make them unique and keep going with 7th chords and extended chords and slash(Exe.F#/DMaj) chords. There are amazing things you can do. Take the basics you've learned and just work them out on these new discoveries and you can even find the answers you are searching for yourself. Learn your theory and respect, relish, and rejoice in all that theory. It will be your ultimate tool in your musical endeavors. 12tone in the future I'd love to see you tackle some really out there musical material. You and your channel are a treasure trove for a lot of musicians just coming into the larger part of this musical world. I always enjoy your content and really think that it holds significance. I think probably you and maybe,2 other KZbinrs, at least to me, when it comes to Music Theory and dissecting both song and function make the biggest educational impact for Musical Learning on KZbin.

[@robo3007]

You said you didn't want to talk about it, but isn't Lydian Augmented essentially just the Whole Tone scale with a leading tone? Because it looks like you use it in much the same way, with the added benefit of being able to use the leading tone to keep it grounded to the root.

[@meta04]

ah yes, I love melodnic minor

[@bigweld4328]

I feel like most of these scales could have their own videos

That's kind of what Rick Beato did, but in a different perspective / take. He also did harmonic major, which is awesome

[@Ashadowtotheworld]

Yea waaaaay too much info for one video.

[@doorknobs4484]

@@Ashadowtotheworld exactly i feel like im being hit by a truck of knowledge

[@Frst2nxt]

@ And signals music studio

@@Frst2nxt definitively

[@nouuane377]

When i started watching you i couldnt understand a word you said but now i actually understand a lot of musical stuff because of you thanks

[@anonymouskitten4715]

He taught me music

[@epicgamer-ur1wg]

Wtf same

[@jonaspfister682]

Im still at the "what is this person talikg about" stage.

[@epicgamer-ur1wg]

@@jonaspfister682 Hey, just in case, watching a lot of music theory videos helps you familiarize yourself with the concepts, but unfortunately study and practice are unavoidable if you want the most out of them. Music theory channels like adam neely and 12 tone are pretty hardcore tbh, though sadly it is necessary since music itself is also hardcore compared to other forms of art, at least at a starter level. If you want a general understanding of these topics, 12 tone has a great playlist called "building blocks" i think the functional harmony videos are the most useful imo, but it depends. Andrew Furmanzyc and dr b. music theory have playlists as well, (basics and harmony respectively) which go more in depth for each topic (i think you can see them on my profile) I do advise one thing though. Music is pretty useless. I started because i wanted to play an instrument, and only stayed because i liked it . (i assume that's the case for most people)

[@epicgamer-ur1wg]

@@jonaspfister682 you can't

[@MattMoney]

"Or technically it's an augmented 2nd, but I dont care." LMAO

[@fatguy338]

Enharmonic equivelence is stupid.

[@nef36]

@@fatguy338 It's useful for contextualising what a changed interval is actually doing in the scale. Minor thirds are considered to be quite consonant, if a little dark, but the minor third in harmonic minor sounds a little jarring, so "augmented 2nd" is a more appropriate name, since augmented intervals are usually dissonant and both 2nd intervals are already dissonant. I'm still calling it a minor third in conversation though

[@thethingthatshouldnotbe3035]

Me: thinks i understood all of the modes and their scales 12Tone: you have never been so wrong about sth in your entire life...

[@khalogqubule5412]

12tone: "The fifth isn't important" 5th: *sad interval noises*

[@free_siobhan]

*sad consonance noises*

[@Lianpe98]

@@free_siobhan 😂

[@KrisCadwell]

For scales with an altered fifth, I tend to just use the perfect fifth while I'm in the tonic and then the altered one for the other chords. These kinds of accidentals give you harmonic flexibility and often force you to write more interesting melodies.

[@rangamsarmah2061]

Ah, the main way I remembered the modes back when I discovered them were by remembering how I familiarized with them, for example, I knew Dorian as the pirate/medieval scale, phrygian as the Spanish one, lydian as the Indian classical scale, myxolydian as the Ireland scale, and locrian as the wtf scale. This actually kinda helped me with improvising with certain modes, since I already familiarized their sound instead of the theory part. "Natural minor with the 6th sharpened" doesnt exactly speak to me for Dorian, as "the pirate music scale".

[@ravenhorn3148]

I'm like 30 seconds in and already 12 is sounding like my old theory professors and I'm more excited for this video than I have been for any other 12 tone video this year [which is saying something as I tend to watch 12tone as soon as I can]

[@veryveryold]

Even as somebody who's been studying theory for 14 years, this helps me so much. Guess that means you're a good teacher or some sappy emotional stuff

[@RetroPlus]

What it means is he can explain complex things simply which does indeed make him a good teacher

[@davidtorres8396]

"Even though these notes are consecutive, they're still a minor 3rd apart. Or technically it's an augmented 2nd, but I dont care. Anyways...." Thank you! Totally agree, whatever helps people use and remember it is just fine, even though remembering multiple names could come in handy when talking to other people.

[@AtomizedSound]

Absolutely, either one is correct. So if it helps you remember, go for the one that helps

[@NilsKimman]

I agree, 3 half steps is 3 half steps

[@randomguy263]

Oh, so that's why you would call a minor third an augmented second!

[@davidtorres8396]

Random Guy Technically, the label depends on what key you’re in and I’m sure this makes a big difference for writing on sheet music but I don’t know much else. I’m sure 12 tone has another video going over music theory “grammar” so to speak. There might be other reasons I’m not aware of but whatever helps us practice and play should come first.

[@leirbag75]

Well, I guess I'm in the minority here-I think the difference does matter. The thing is, even though the actual frequencies are the same, how you think of them makes a huge difference in how they sound. I remember one time, I found an analysis of the songs in Ocarina of Time, a video game where you play songs on an ocarina to achieve certain effects*. One of these songs warps you to a place called the "Shadow Temple," and so as you'd expect, it's pretty dark-sounding. But what was really surprising was that one of the most dissonant-sounding chords in the song was a _normal major triad._ It just sounded so dissonant because it was so out of place in the key of the song. That really drove home to me that context is everything when it comes to harmony, and that's why I'm kind of a stickler for choosing the correct enharmonic spelling for any given note/chord. (*For any gamers here, I know Ocarina of Time is super well-known; I'm just explaining everything because I don't know how many people here are into video games)

[@nino-ciampa]

8:49 I've never heard anyone call this scale "Aeolian Dominant", I always just hear "Mixolydian b6"

[@ruebene2223]

ye

[@barbutahelmet8966]

ah, the Single Ladies scale

[@nino-ciampa]

@@barbutahelmet8966 Ah, a fellow Adam Neely fan I see

[@CaptainBohnenbrot]

My favourite name for this scale is by Heinrich Schenker: Melodic Major .... mmmmmm what a tasty name.

[@lucianodebenedictis6014]

@@CaptainBohnenbrot i always thought this scales deserved a relative major

[@DSTAR1995]

Lydian #2 has an interesting feature, you can build 3 different triads off of the root, you can make a Major chord (1,3,5) a Minor chord (1, #2, 5) and a Diminished chord (1, #2, #4). You can also use the same idea to build 3 different 7th chords on the 6th of the scale. You have a Minor 7th (6, 1, 3, 5) a Half Diminished 7th (6, 1, #2, 5) and a Fully Diminished 7th (6, 1, #2, #4)

[@GogiRegion]

I’m glad to actually see information on these scales. In my music theory notebook, I have all of these scales listed with notes and chords, but never really found much information on what to expect from these, but now I can finish off the notes with more information on what the scales have to offer.

[@zander9698]

Sonic fans might also recognize Phrygian Dominant from the background music to Oil Ocean Zone and Sandopolis Zone, because Sega was going for a generic Middle Eastern-y sound.

[@chiju]

Zander To me, it's the "Wherever I May Roam" scale, although other scales were also used in that song.

[@aldeayeah]

It's the go-to cliche scale to sound Ancient Egyptian or Middle Eastern. Really common in modern metal. It's in Muse's Stockholm Syndrome too which is an absolute banger of a track

[@jackthesmoltangerine]

I recognize It from Pyramid Song (also two other songs Thom wrote, Analyse and Read The Room)

[@LostSoulAscension]

Definitely gonna be tryna pick this a part over the course of time. Teaching yourself theory is no simple task, but very doable. 😁

[@mysterioussquid906]

Coolest thing about Aeolian Dominant is you can use it in a over a iv - I in major the same way you'd use Melodic Minor over a V - i in minor. Also Lydian Dominant slaps; basically perfect for getting that 'watery/floaty' sound without sounding alien like the Whole Tone scale, and the b7 gives a a bit of a melancholic feel that compliments the #4 beautifully.

[@theblackdeath4398]

One concept that unfortunately faded to the background was the baroque Doctrine of Passions/Affects/Affections (all the same thing), that taught all scales have a different quality. Strictly baroque speaking, theres a reason why all the saddest songs are in D Minor (Bachs Chaconne etc.), all the brightest are in E Major (Spring by Vivaldi, Bach Partita no. 3, Bachs Violin Concerto in E Major, Da Tempeste by Handel), all the most depressing songs are in G Minor (Vitali Chaconne), the godly talk songs in B Minor (Mass in B Minor), etc. Today we just randomly throw around key signatures without thinking of how they make you feel.

[@richardrepp]

Nice. Please consider doing a comparison of the rare scales like Persian, Harmonic Major, Double harmonic major, and Neapolitan (with their modes). I have heard you do some of these, but I would love to see the same kind of comparison.

[@ConvincingPeople]

Seconding this with emphasis.

[@tuhmater2985]

Yess I love harmonic major but I would like to know more about how to use it and how people have used it other than Hunger Games music.

[@michaelfox1432]

Thank you for increasing my scale vocab. Until today, I'd never heard of "Aeolian Dominant". I've always referred to as "Mixolydian Flat 6"

[@krystenindisguise]

I am gonna rewatch this video multiple times because it is helpful, thank you so much.

[@themightymcb7310]

Phrygien Dominant just makes me think of that first lick in the solo of Domination by Pantera. Such a sick sound.

[@tymime]

I find that half-diminshed seventh chords are underutilized, so I try to use them whenever I can.

[@Ryan-rzx3]

Ok I have a (possibly stupid) question: how would you go about making one of those?

[@1000jamesk]

@@Ryan-rzx3 How to make a half-diminished chord? Just play a root, minor 3rd, diminished 5th and minor 7th. In the natural scale this would be B, D, F and A. It's a great dominant chord, you can use it in many different ways.

[@owenjohnson469]

You have one of the most underrated ability at making theory accessible without losing content, I’ve ever seen.

[@soaribb32]

Thanks

[@MultiHappyTrees]

This is one of the most indepth videos I've ever seen about using scales, and that's fantastic! thank you!

[@Lodestone8]

I really love niche weird scales like this, like I think my favorite might be a C Gypsy Minor/Hungarian Minor/ Nawa Athar/ Nihavent. Or maybe a C Hungarian Major.

[@seanstolliker4562]

Your Offspring example was awesome! Could you do a video where you show us other specific examples of these scales in music? That was very helpful. Great video!

[@bioico8458]

Phreygish (another name for phrygian dominant) shows up a ton in Jewish folk music. It is because of this that the popular song "Hava Nagila" feels "Jewish".

[@PieceOfDuke]

Know major modes well. Know harmonic minor. Know Phrygian Dominant. Love mixing it with regular Phrygian. Understand the derivation of modes. And this video hits me and says: GO PRACTICE.

[@Will-sh8kl]

This subscription was an easy decision. I just play the vids at half speed and it's perfect! Thanks!

[@maxonmendel5757]

12tone: plays a dominant 7 chord Also 12tone: doesnt resolve the chord!

[@jackthesmoltangerine]

He’s a blues guy

[@moonman57]

i was JUST thinking about scales thanks 12tone

[@AaronRotenberg]

I ❤️ that weird chord progression at 5:30

[@jasonjrsp]

What you said about the locrian mode not having a stable 5 just cleared some composing problems I´ve had forever man!!I´ve been playing with that scale for 20 years and that which you said just made my life better!Thank you so much for that!!! :)

[@ravenecho2410]

interesting, nice to see the diminished/augmented scale tie ins, be trying to play those for a little while, really just getting chord movements down within the normal modes (without destabalizing the tonic)

[@alexisgomart3671]

10:15 Lydian #2 is the scale used by George Harrison on the Beatles' "Blue Jay Way"! Really cool but unusual scale, could not really find any other examples though.

[@ojslayz4346]

Listening to you talk makes me feel like I’m in a college class when I’m in 7th grade

[@cowsaysmoo51]

Acknowledging that it's technically an augmented second and then following it up with "but I don't care" is literally me playing music lmao

[@grreguss]

I probably won't use these any time soon, mostly because I can't memorize half of them, but exploring them with you was fun, as always :)

[@Fluxus_Lux]

you can memorize one of them...

[@matt.goodall]

dude you've opened my eyes tremendously with your videos. thank you

[@huntervowell2778]

lydian #2 is used by Tigran Hamasy some, one example is Fides Tua specifically the chord at 1:04

[@WingsStrings]

I had heard Aeolian Dominant before and been fixated on it for years and only now learned its name through this lecture. Thomas Newman used it in 1917's "Night Window" and Road to Perdition's "Road to Chicago" and they have this hauntingly beautiful dance between major scale notes below the fifth and minor scale notes above it, like crossing through a threshold of the unknown

[@abdulalshibly3930]

If you want to listen how these can be used melodically just go to Rick Beato's channel he does a great job of explaining a lot of these modes

[@mimikal7548]

I immediately thought of Rick Beato when lydian augmented came up.

[@abdulalshibly3930]

@@mimikal7548 oh I loved that video I will recommend you to see the lydian #2 video the piece in the end is brilliant

[@AtomizedSound]

He’s done videos on all the modes I Believe or close to them all.

[@abdulalshibly3930]

@@AtomizedSound I think so too and he's redoing them because the videos are a bit old but still the videos are a goldmine of theory

[@pogchamp7983]

No he just plays piano shred that sounds like crap and doesn't even demonstrate what the mode sounds like.

[@josep43767]

locrian natural 2 is probably my favorite scale. the major 7th chord and the ability to make the 2 chord augmented, diminished, or lydian gives you a lot of options for resolution and thwarted expectations.

[@nemegto]

I love love LOVE this channel oh so sooooo much You literally get as much info as you would from six or seven theory books all summarized into ONE VIDEO. HOW AMAZING IS THAT. Thank you sooooo much for making these videos, I was always very confused about scales, but now I understand them perfectly! Thank you again

[@Gnurklesquimp]

I found a very simple solution to using some (not all) scales without a natural 5: Don't use it on the 1 chord! Having only a 1, a 3, a 6 or 7 and 9 can sound relatively stable depending on your style of harmony, for example. It may still feel like the sharp 5 is kinda implied, but if you lead away from it on the chords returning to 1 it's pretty smooth, in my experience.

[@lottieluna123]

Hey 12tone, I'm a big fan of these videos, and this one is extremely well done, but I can't help but shake that "list" feeling from it. It's probably the best musical scale list I've heard/seen. But it still does feel like a list. Might just be a mental block that I'm in because you said it at the beginning. Doesn't take away from the quality of it though, keep on rocking!

[@marks4982]

If you play session mode on Rocksmith, one of the band set ups is called prog metal. It’s default is in A minor but the chord progression does this really cool thing that switches the scale to E Phrygian Dominant.

[@kjl3080]

I think that’s Phrygian major from your description

[@marks4982]

@@kjl3080 oh? Ok

[@SgtFloofy]

I think “Blue Jay Way” by the Beatles uses Lydian #2 or Lydian #2 with a major second added.

[@Teuthida]

The verses are definitely in Lydian #2. One of the cool things about that scale (which I feel like 12-tone didn't touch on much) is that you can have both a major and diminished I chord (well, a diminished chord 'faked' with an augmented second and fourth, but close enough), which George took full advantage of in the song.

[@fromnotestomusic1406]

Awesome video! I've been watching your videos since you started uploading and have really found your content educational. It has had a big impact on helping me as a composer! Keep up the awesome work man!

[@peterbailey9503]

I know this is a month old video, but I just wanted to give a quick thanks - this really helped me with a comparative music paper, where one of the pieces I was analyzing using Dorian #4. Thanks a bunch!

[@GiveZeeAChance]

Is "Comfort Eagle" by CAKE in Phrygian Dominant? Settle an argument between me and my music theory teacher circa 2009

[@1000jamesk]

The only intervals are basically b2, major 3rd and perfect 4th. Why wouldn't it be phrygian dominant?

[@GiveZeeAChance]

@@1000jamesk The synth plays the entire scale if you listen to the background (the line starts with E, resolves to B in the first phrase and G# in the second phrase which imo amounts to outlining the tonic triad). My teacher argued that it was in A harmonic minor, because he felt the song wanted to resolve to A. I can't hear it that way, though. E is so heavily established that I can only hear it as E phrygian dominant (though I didn't know a name for the scale then, I actually asked him if there were modes of the harmonic minor scale).

[@GiveZeeAChance]

To be fair I can't remember if he knew the song or if I just played the synth part for him

[@1000jamesk]

@@GiveZeeAChance I agree with you, if there's no resolution to harmonic minor then phrygian dominant is the key.

[@Si1v3RfaNg]

Thank you SO much for providing a good music theory learning platform, and for free at that. You rule dude and I understand so much theory cause of you, you're creating better musicians man and that's fucking awesome!

[@DoubleATam]

4:40 "it's just like " *draws Bart*

[@pedroabreu005]

Just like Bart

[@thaumaTurtles]

Simpsons creator Matt Groening retires from The Simpsons, gives show to McElroy brothers! "They're better at Bart than I am," he admits.

[@HipsterShiningArmor]

Lydian Augmented is just the Whole-Tone Scale for normies

[@dylanbradshaw8706]

lmao

[@georgeeldridge7954]

Wb Lydian augmented dominant??😂😂

[@b51waterclub51]

More like Whole-Tone is Lydian Augmented for normies

[@NyanGeneral]

Lydian augmented is absolutely fantastic for music that sounds like forced happiness or depression. Weezer - Undone and Rik Schaffer - Hollywood use a similar sound and those songs have addicting harmony and atmosphere.

[@Wind-nj5xz]

Locrian natural 2 is just the diminished scale for normies

[@veryveryold]

mixolydian minor gave me big tame impala "why won't they talk to me" vibes, even if that's not the *exact* mode he uses

[@rasuamuvasquezperez3416]

i literally stoped the video every timea scale showed up and tried to understand it in every single instrument i own, thats, like 4. So, this really was a long video for me, and a very important one too, thank you very much!

[@dezthescentlessapprentice]

Thanks!

[@loganwilbur5131]

Note extremely rare 12tone correction at 13:40 and immediately after! Also: Why does he keep drawing Battletoads? Did I miss something? Why do I remember what they are? Now about that Lydian #2... I think Rick Beato also called it Super Lydian (because of the raised supertonic?), and it is awesome. It has some really complex emotions in it. It's one of the few scales with a major and minor third in it, giving it an unapologetic duplicity. Under the circumstances, the #4 and 5th seem to rest uncomfortably against each other (tritone v. perfect 5th?). One never seems to find home in this key, which can be wonderfully freeing, considering how obsessed most music is with establishing a tonal home.

[@99kylies15]

Idek know what a mode is. I understand nothing, and these vids are the only ones I have to actually play at .75 speed just to catch everything. Great vid tho I love all the example music. Thanks, mr. Tone.

[@bluelake2308]

12tone love this! Thankyou for the great content, you make lockdown bearable

[@chromaticswing9199]

I think it interesting to note that dorian b2 and lydian dominant have the minor and major pentatonics hidden in them respectively. In dorian b2, just take out the b2 and natural 6. In lydian dominant, just take out the #4 and b7. Cool stuff!

[@jeffrogers210]

Great fun stuff! I want to show this to my non-musician friends and say " When I'm looking off into space, this is what I'm thinking about" :-)

[@dhpbear2]

5:05 - Check out "Pretty Ballerina" by The Left Banke :)

[@prefixcactus5221]

I thought I was going to gain more understanding from this video... but instead my head exploded. I've gained a hefty list of things to learn, though. Maybe I'll come back a month or two later after learning all about modes...

[@mikaoleander]

I love playing around with these scales. one of my band's songs is built (mostly) on locrian natural 6, phrygian natural 6 and the sideways scale from one of your random scale challenge videos and I love the sound

[@Smoph04]

Dude what does KZbin’s algorithm suddenly have against you? you used to be recommended to me all the time? agh that must be so frustrating on your end too. Anyway, nice video!!! I’ll use these scales for sure

[@hegedisa]

Hi, i kind of liked the video. I would have enjoyed it more if you splitted this video up in two videos, major and minor modes. And rather just playing notes of the scale and talking about it, some chord progression would be played to get a feeling of the scale.

[@PtakubJ]

2:48 >despite being a tritone above the root, moving the 4th away from the 3rd actually makes the scale sound more stable. Wait... Really? I won't even ask why I don't hear it that way, but rather: why is ionian called the natural then? Why do we think G7 naturally resolves to C instead of F or don't resolve CM7 to get to F lydian, if lydian mode is the most stable?

[@davidespanti]

Normally the notes that generate more tension are the one a half step above a chord tone. That's why playing a sharp 4 over a major chord sounds cleaner then a natural 4 (and also why natural 4s are much more common over minor chords). For why ionian is considered natural, I found a lot of debate but I think is mostly a cultural thing of eurocentric music that evolved around the stronger resolution of a V-I. This is the strongest resolution in the major scale because of the leading tones of the dominant chord that creates tensions and drag the hear to resolve to the I chord. The third and the seventh of G7, for example, create a dissonant tritone that resolve perfectly to the tonic and the third of C by sliding the B a half step up and the F a half step down. You don't get such a resolution between Cm and F or any other chord of the major scale. So I think that's why the scale built over the I chord is normally considered the starting point, because in context is more stable. But, taken singularly, a #4 is considered stabler in a major scale.

[@jkf9167]

Phrygian Dominant is my scale. I kind of located it on my own as something to play over a 1/flat 2 vamp, and now I just smear it all over the place.

[@therealandrew185]

Who else got really excited and picked up their instrument while watching this video? Especially with the "that Lydian #2's got some real potential", I was playing that mode right as he said that.

[@CMM5300]

Check out Lydian #2#6 1#23#45#67 Hungarian minor mode 4 There's a lot of root chords. Major, minor, dim, All 7 or b7 Maj dim 13b57 Dom dim 13b5b7 Really cool sounding scale works over almost any chord except aug and dim7 (1b3b5bb7)

[@therealandrew185]

@@CMM5300 sick!

[@CMM5300]

@@therealandrew185 once you go there you realize..... hmmm I wonder what Ionian #2 #6 Sounds like? Which is a secret parent scale all of its own and a charted out all the modes to it. I guess you can't do mixolydian #2 #6 because the b7 Mixolydian #2 then raise the 4 and you have Hungarian major 1#23#456b7 (Queens of the stone age?)

[@armandogiordano1226]

At 10:37 there' s a B chord that should' ve been a B flat I guess. LOVE THE CHANNEL!

[@WillayG]

This channel never fails to inspire me.

[@ConvincingPeople]

On the topic of Aeolian dominant/Mixolydian b6, one of Adam Neely's Q&A episodes heavily featured an analysis of the harmony in Beyoncé's "All the Single Ladies", which just so happens to be in E Aeolian dominant and lean *hard* on that C+maj7.

[@ShaharHarshuv]

I just watched it bit by bit and made notes and paused to play so I can get the material... Very nice tutorial. I do feel like it was a bit fast though

[@iLikeTheUDK]

Now we just need to find the Dorian Electra mode

[@fran6b]

A lot of cool, but condensed information. Listening at 0.75 x speed help to get every bit of it. Nice content!

[@trudywretched]

Yes. I don't understand why it needs to be so fast. Why?

[@Christopher-md7tf]

I thought that the raised sixth in Melodic Minor came about because the augmented second between the sixth and seventh scale degree in Harmonic Minor was really difficult for singers to pull off.

[@matheuscastello6554]

this kind of video is so inspiring!! thanks as always 12-tone :)

[@7177YT]

super inspirational, thank you!

[@vicopujia]

Super cool video. How to make simple what's complex. Thx!

[@graydonschilds1832]

Oh man, this was my whole last semester of private lessons. Maybe a video regarding tetra-chords and how you can smash them together to make your own scales would be a good follow up to this?

[@ifer1280]

So lydian dominant is that thing Ayreon uses so much!

[@chasebethersonton5169]

I have watched so many of these videos, and I still don't understand how to incorporate these scales into a normal song.

[@blacksaltscotland]

Hey 12tone, even though I'm a metalhead I've always been interested in how lose yourself by eminem works musically, can we get an understanding lose yourself? Love the vids keep them coming!

[@pogchamp7983]

It's just a perfect cadence in a minor key lol Edit: I was thinking of his song 'the way I am', lose yourself is a similar concept. It's a minor key and goes 2 bars of Dm, then a bar each of Bb and C. You can also say it goes from 2 bars of the i chord, 1 bar of the VI chord and then 1 bar of the VII chord. Read about functional harmony to understand why this works. You said you're a metal head, so you've probably heard this progression 1000 x before cos it's used a lot, think every iron maiden song you ever heard.

[@gesir-music]

​@@pogchamp7983 You can also just answer " Hey, it's what we call perfect cadence in minor, check it out" and people stop thinking that music theory nerds are arrogant people. Also I guess there may be more to it than just the chords, you have timbre, rythm, melody, etc .. but 12tone doesn't focus so much on this maybe

[@JMutt88]

@@pogchamp7983 I'm confused. How is it a perfect cadence? The song is in D minor and the chords are Dm-Bb-C, so i-VI-VII. Shouldn't a perfect cadence in a minor key be v-i, so Am-Dm in this case? If anything, it could be interpreted as a deceptive cadence if you were to consider the song being in F major. In this case, Bb and C become the IV and V chord and Dm would be the vi chord but it's still not ''a perfect cadence in a minor key lol''.

[@JMutt88]

I'm not a theory expert but I'm trying to learn too so I hopefully can shed a bit of light in terms of why the guitar riff sounds good. It starts with the notes D and A over a Dm chord, which are the root and the 5th of the chord and these will always sound good. Then the chord progression moves to Bb and the guitar plays a D and a Bb, in this case the D is the 3rd of Bb major and Bb is obviously the root, the chord is inverted creating the illusion of a D augmented power chord. This repeats over the C chord, creating tension since the D is the 2nd and the Bb is the minor 7th. Right before going back to the Dm, still over the C the guitar hits a D and a G once. The D still acts as a 2nd to the C chord adding some spicyness, the G being the 5th of C, helps transitioning to the Dm in a smoother way. As I said, I'm still learning so I hope someone can correct me if I said anything stupid.

[@jakeelsen3285]

El Bufi you’re right it’s not a perfect cadence however the flat bVI bVII i is a pretty common cadence in minor keys

[@aaronclift]

I wrote a rock song in Lydian Dominant mode, and it produced some really cool sounds.

[@nautilusmagellan7263]

Hey mister, ur real good at musics.

[@ronchiles399]

As a beginner/intermediate pianist, which mode would be a good learning scale for songs in major scales using a lot of minor chords?

[@caterscarrots3407]

Um, diminished sevenths aren't more rare than the half diminished. If anything they are more common, at least in the classical music that I listen to. In fact, I often hear a half diminished seventh progress to a fully diminished seventh before resolving, giving a significant tension release kind of like that of the I64 -> V7 -> I progression but amplified by the fact that all the notes are tendency tones, not just two. Even in major, I rarely hear the half diminished without a fully diminished immediately following it and in minor, the half diminished is like nonexistent outside of modulations to major keys and even then, very, very rare. It's like the half diminished has some potential but doesn't have enough tension due to the minor seventh, so the seventh gets flattened a half step to add that needed tension for a satisfying resolution. I have tried resolving the half diminished seventh chord with no intermediate chord between it and the tonic and it just doesn't work that well for resolution. A tense ambience, yes definitely, but the only seventh chord in a progression that resolves, no, not really. On the other hand, these are the seventh chords that I can resolve with no intermediate chord and be satisfied with: - Major seventh - Dominant seventh - Diminished seventh

[@obamadoescare9351]

Amazing video!

[@pilchardpliskin9381]

I think lydian #2 could work as a dorian sounding scale. the augmented 2nd is enharmonic to a minor 3rd and it also has a major 6th, which are two of the notes that give dorian its distinctive sound.

[@pogchamp7983]

Easy way to use Locrian/altered etc is to just not use the b5 in the voicing, or to go horizontal harmony instead of block chords

[@SpektralJo]

Aeolian dominant is my favourite scale

[@oravlaful]

will you make a video on the modes of harmonic major?

[@mfcrocker]

I regret to inform you I will now be requiring all demonstrations of scales in the form of the riff from Come Out and Play, thank you in advance.

[@pafnouticlavipiano]

I wonder if there isn't an elegant way of studying scales and their properties using discrete math tools (group theory, graph theory, combinatorics in particular).

[@rex3782]

Good timing, I was just about to start trying to use weird scales more

[@donotoliver]

thank you! did you mention major-minor? (mixolydian b6 i think) if yes, please lemme know bc i prolly missed it, it's one of my fav scales and I don't see it around too often

[@nino-ciampa]

8:49

[@phillipotey9736]

I like how when you say scale you don't mean whole scale or any other scale for that matter.

[@Bronze_Age_Sea_Person]

I'm creating some playlists which have musics in these modes. I've started with Dorian #4 but I plan to create one for every single mode except Phrygian Dominant,since you can just put arab or egyptian music and it will be in the mode 9 out of 10 times. It helps knowing the names of the scales in other music traditions in order to find musics made in the modes,like how Phrygian Dominant is also called Freyglish,Maqam Hijaz or Raga Bhairav. Dorian #4 for example is Mi Shebeirach and also Maqam Nikriz.Both the Maqamat system and the Raga system deals with many weird and cool scales,and the way they deal with melody is also interesting to know and It helped a lot in my compositions. Also,one thing I've discovered is that Dorian#4 and Lydian #2 sound quite Similar and don't sound like their counterpart modes in the Major Scale,they have this flavor which I call it "Nikriz" flavour,especially if you descend from the octave to the #4 and jump to the b3/#2. So It helps you give a bit of love for the major second in Dorian #4 and major third for the lydian#2 in the melody in order to differentiate their sounds from each other. It is good to learn how to use them even to improve your musics in Phrygian Dominant,since it's common to go to a bII or a bvii from the Root in this scale,so you can use them as Chord Scales in the mode. BTW,if you don't play the b2 in the Phrygian Dominant,It will sound dreamy,like how Mixolydian b6 sounds.It's cool when you want to drop the "arabic" feel in the mode for a bit and make it more "spacey".Not as "Spacey" as Lydian Dominant though.TBH,I've been using way more modal harmonies than functional ones for the last months.Major and Minor are too boring.

[@bioico8458]

I was gonna comment on how he missed calling it phreygish and how common it is in Jewish folk music. It even shows up in Hava Nagila, which is what gives that song its distinct "Jewish flavor"