Explained! "What the Modes Really Sound Like"

[@murftown]

I had never heard that concept of pairing each mode with its "relative", I love it. I had already thought about how D Dorian is the 'relative minor mode" of F Lydian. But I really really like how you took it further and paired Mixolydian with Phyrigian. And I love that that gives you the "Brightest" / "Middle" / "Darkest" categorization of the 3 majors and 3 minors. Genius brother

[@maxkonyi]

Happy it makes sense to you as well!

[@KeithCopeland778]

This video makes the modes sound like music and not just exercises!!!

[@tonyrapa-tonyrapa]

This what most modes videos miss out. Music, ultimately, is about listening; how can you truly understand the modes without comparing and contrasting audibly.

[@maxkonyi]

Agreed!

[@wdanielmurphy]

This changed my perception of Locrian. It sounded so wistful and distracted. I really enjoyed that.

[@maxkonyi]

I agree on the sound, but as I mentioned in the video, I'm not convinced that the sound we enjoy is an actual Locrian sound. Rather, it sounds like F Phrygian to me...

[@wdanielmurphy]

@Max Konyi I've thought about that, yes. That could be why it struck me as an unconventional Locrian sound, but even my gf perked her ears up and said, "Is that Locrian?" She is not musical by any means, but we've really bonded over Locrian somehow. There have been worse mutual interests, surely.

[@maxkonyi]

@@wdanielmurphy Ha! Nice.

[@BloodSavedMe]

Definitely the best music theory channel on KZbin.

[@maxkonyi]

🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼

[@DevinC_]

Great video and beautiful melody. Also, i would love to see you flesh it out more.

[@maxkonyi]

Thanks Devin. Yeah, I've considered that so thanks for the suggestion!

[@FrioVentus]

New music challenge for me! MAGIC MODE! Really like the content you made Max! Thank you!

[@maxkonyi]

Thank you so much Frio!

[@1macirone]

I really enjoyed this composition/experiment. As always your music is pleasant as well as inspiring! Thanks for the nod towards Mathieu's "Harmonic Experience", I somehow stumbled across his "The Listening Book" almost 30 years ago at the beginning of my musical journey, I shared it with many of my friends and band mates. His words and his method were such a big influence on my development as a musician and a writer. I can't wait for my copy of "Harmonic Experience" to arrive tomorrow! Love your work, thank you for everything you do and offer!

[@maxkonyi]

Wow thanks! That's great to hear. I also love The Listening Book. Bridge of Waves is also wonderful. So glad you're enjoying the videos 🙌 Enjoy the book!

[@RunarLundvall]

Really great stuff, never seen this material presented in such a way before! Gonna check out your Udemycourses now

[@maxkonyi]

Oh thanks! Hope you enjoy 🙌

[@maxime5693]

BIS :: Excellent job Max, and nice melody & arrangements also. Congrats!

[@maxkonyi]

Thank you Maxime!

[@deejayvu6539]

wonderful material, excellently explained and delivered professionally, thanks a lot 🔥👍🎶🎵😁 especially for Magic Mode

[@maxkonyi]

Thanks Deejay! 🙏🏼 ✨✨✨

[@regnm]

Good work!!

[@stranger5312]

the magic mode version just blew my mind

[@maxkonyi]

🙌🤯🙌

[@Rohorg]

Thanks Max for the video! Very interesting! I can feel the different moods of the modes, but I can't really put an adjective on them. Can you learn to recognise the mode of a piece? If yes, are you using the "mood" of the mode? And is the "mood" cultural? Are minor pieces "sad" to me because I've been trained to feel that way? Thanks!

[@maxkonyi]

Glad you liked it! You can absolutely learn to recognize the mode of a piece. However, most music does not stay strictly within one mode. Borrowing between parallel modes is extrememly common. In these cases, it's possible to recognize the current modal quality, which then may change in the next moment. This comes from being familar with overall feel of each mode via exploring it melodically and harmonically. All ear training is based on feeling-states. As you say, you can feel the different moods. It is those feelings that are learned through experience, and labels (dorian, lydian, etc) are attached to them for categorization and recall. Even technical things like interval distances and time signatures produce specific feeling-states that we can learn to recognize. The use of modes definitely has a cultural aspect. Not all minor music feels sad - only a subsection. The particular shades generated in my experiment here are not the be-all-end-all of each mode, just one flavour of each. There are many nuances to the way a particular mode can feel due to many factors: melody, harmonic progression, tempo, instruments, genre, etc. However, there is an overall quality that subsumes all the individual flavours. Sorry for the long comment 😅

[@Rohorg]

@@maxkonyi thank you very much. I definitely want to learn more.

[@randomlifeunit]

I'm wondering if the sunburst is a theme for you? I noticed it in the last vid and behind you in this one.

[@maxkonyi]

I guess it is to a certain extent! I no longer have that wall hanging behind me but whenever I use a smiley emoji, it's the sun one... 🌞

[@randomlifeunit]

@@maxkonyi nice! That's cool.

[@oldharryproductions2338]

If locrian doesn’t have key center, where and why is it used? Can you switch modes in the same song?

[@maxkonyi]

"Where and why is it used?" I'm not sure that it really is! People do think about using or writing in locrian, but I'm not convinced our ear perceives it that way, at least not mine. Some people might think of a locrian mode when improvising over a iim7b5 in a minor key, but that's just a mental tool in my opinion... You can absolutely switch modes in the same song! You can keep the current tonic but switch modes or change both mode and tonic. These are some of the best moments in music if you ask me

[@pekop3kopeko]

Love the video! Are there any guidelines for tempo automation near the end?

[@maxkonyi]

Thanks! Not sure what you mean. Are you asking if I have recommendations regarding tempo automation?

[@pekop3kopeko]

@@maxkonyi Yes. Why you do the tempo automation the way it is?

[@maxkonyi]

@@pekop3kopeko I do it like that to try and get a more flowing, organic quality, like a real orchestra might. I'm not very good with it but I'm learning as I go, trying things to see what works. My technique is to take the melody and sing it over and over until I find a pacing that I like. From there, I use the tempo automation to try and match the flow in my mind.

[@pekop3kopeko]

@@maxkonyi Thanks! Really appreciate for sharing!

[@stephenfozard7467]

No. My point is that the title of the clip we're talking about didn't appear to be reflected in the content since only one mode was played rather than them all.

[@maxkonyi]

I can see how it would be confusing! The words are in quotes because they refer to a different video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/ap-QgGxrn5Voja8si=duUJTy2CW9qJuLcM

[@greenvelvet]

So I think the problem is you think you can apply a functional Harmony to modes. And when it comes to modes the rules of functional Harmony no longer apply. I think any piece written in purely one mode is always going to sound a little bland and boring, the real magic is when bands like the Beatles and Radiohead would mix modes. Where they would replace a cord in the chord progression from a parallel mode. Like writing a piece in mixolydian, and then the chorus will shift to Dorian. Example being Norwegian Wood by the Beatles. Or replacing one cord in the chord progression from a parallel mode. That's the REAL magic of moods when they are contrasted against one another. And if you really like sounds that are "outside the key", I highly recommend looking into 'chromatic mediants'. And there's FAR more modes than the ones shown in this video. there's modes of the harmonic minor. The fifth mode of a harmonic minor is one that you hear a lot in the psychedelic or indie rock. I would say White rabbit by Jefferson airplane uses that sound. There are also modes of the Melodic Minor, were scales like lydian dominant come from, which people like to use over a dominant IV chord

[@maxkonyi]

All true! Mixed mode (labelled "magic mode" in the original video) is my normal way of composing, but these vignettes are useful to acquaint oneself with the feeling of each church mode independently. Even though mixed mode (modal interchange) stuff is my favourite, I wouldn't say that writing in a single mode is necessarily boring or bland. But that is a personal opinion. "Mode" is the proper term for what people mean when they say "scale", so of course there are many more modes than shown here. However, when people talk of "the modes", they most commonly mean the seven church modes, which is why the videos are labelled this way. Getting sounds from outside the key can be achieved in many ways, including chromatic mediants. Post-tonal harmonic movement is most interesting to me, where you constantly recontextualize what is being played as being from another key center, causing the key to constantly shift. This is different from (but can encapsulate) modal interchange, chromatic mediants, tonicization, parallel harmony, etc. Check out Pat Metheny, Brad Mehldau, Maria Schneider (and many others) for examples of this perspective. Sorry for the long response!

[@greenvelvet]

@@maxkonyi well thank you for reading my long response and responding! Cheers.👍

[@xisotopex]

what does it mean when someone plays a chord, and says it has the "dorian" sound, or whatever mode.... the same chords can be found in different keys, so what does it mean when someone says a chord has "that" sound?

[@maxkonyi]

Good question. The crucial point is what your ear perceives as being current key center. Playing a D chord in the key of D Major, or E Minor, or A Major does not create a dorian sound. But playing a D chord in the key of A Minor DOES produce a dorian sound because it uses the natural 6th of the key (F# in this case). To create the sound of a mode, you need to establish a key center in the ear of the listener and then use the characteristic notes of the mode without changing keys. Dorian is the same as a natural minor scale except that the 6th is raised. So if you establish some minor key and then use the major 6th degree in some way (melodically, harmonically, in the bass, etc.), you will create the dorian sound. Same for the other modes. I talk a lot about this from a melodic standpoint in my second Udemy course on Melody, Scales, and Modes.

[@chrisrussell1318]

I'm going to check out W.A. Also I see you have Ted Greene influence. He was an amazing teacher.

[@maxkonyi]

Wow yes. Ted Greene has been a massive influence in my life. I so wish I could have met him...

[@chrisrussell1318]

@@maxkonyi I have a close friend that took lessons with him. He charged $20. He was such a humble dude. I literally live like 2 hours away. Wish I could have met him too. I think we have learned some common things from his teaching. Thanks for your constant inspiration 🙏

[@maxkonyi]

Oh that's amazing. Would be great to chat someday about that. Are you in the Discord?

[@chrisrussell1318]

@@maxkonyi yes I am.

[@maxkonyi]

Awesome. I'm bad at correlating names back and forth 😅

[@xisotopex]

cant you just use a plug in to force everything to the particular scale you are using?

[@maxkonyi]

Of course. But that's no fun and you run the risk of believing you're writing in a particular mode but not actually doing it. It's a bit of a longer conversation as to why, but essentially any given set of notes (scale/mode) can be heard in a variety of ways depending on which note is perceived as home. The means of creating the sense of a home and keeping it in place while using modal notes can be very subtle and tricky sometimes.

[@godisgoodallthetimeman4796]

I like your shirt lol

[@maxkonyi]

Me too!

[@godisgoodallthetimeman4796]

@@maxkonyi also nice vid. I liked the alto flute part. Sounds pretty nicee

[@DiegoLopez-oh8bv]

ts Nemo theme alterado

[@maxkonyi]

??

[@econojazz8158]

fantastic stuff!

[@maxkonyi]

Thanks! Happy to hear it 🌞

[@stephenfozard7467]

'what the modes sound like' should surely have included the sounds of all the modes not just one??

[@maxkonyi]

Did you see the previous video?

[@Bukhi402]

Talking to say nothing

[@cesar_m.p.]

Wow, Ryan Gosling is teaching music!! 😁

[@maxkonyi]

lol

[@cesar_m.p.]

@@maxkonyi don’t tell me nobody has told you this before … 😎

[@maxkonyi]

Literally never 😂

[@FabienC-MusicAndSoundDesign]

@@maxkonyi That's the new haircut