The Iionian Mode - a Closer Look

[@sonnyobrien]

Dude youre sucha good teacher. Please as you continue making these, maintain your depth and pacing, which is sucha rare treat amongst fast food guitar lessons. What I appreciate most about your education is your research into and extrapolation from valuable literature. But you are also very gifted at exploring these concepts in depth and LISTENING to gravity and expectation in the tonality. Im still learning, youre an amazing teacher

[@Mikkokosmos]

Thank you! What a great compliment 😀👍

[@winstonsmith8240]

Such a rational, musical approach. Magic.

[@nickschuller9861]

Great lesson! Refreshing way to look within the world of a given mode. Would be fantastic to see you cover the other modes! Very practical and useful information. Thanks for the content!

[@Mikkokosmos]

Thanks :) I have covered the Phrygian mode previously. And some of the modes of melodic minor

[@patzojazz3]

Great lesson!God bless you!

[@johnrothfield6126]

Great lesson!!!! Pentatonic on fifth sounds great.The 4th chords sound great. Notes to self: Triad coupling. Think of major chord as shifting. (sus 4th sound). Jamming on My favorite things. Don't tell the Grateful Dead about the avoid note! .. In the example of pattern recognition you gave I argue that it is cultural. For example someone trained in Indian classical music might not have same expectations because they me thinking of a different Raga. On the subject of Ragas: In North Indian Ragas there are many different Ragas in each mode. Just as you are talking about different things you do with the major scale. Actually, in N. India, as far as I can tell, modes were not talked about much until recently (20th century, Thaats and Bhatkande's school) and Raga was paramount (as always). The use of scales in N. India is mainly how to tune your sitar. Some Ragas in the major scale emphasize the 4th, the 3rd, the seventh etc. And some Ragas have landing notes. For example, a Raga may land on the 4th and the fifth may be an avoid note. Also, of course pentatonic and hexatonic Ragas in major. Alternating triad pairs creates consonance and dissonance. Think of Barry Harris. Tetrachords may also be a useful concept.

[@igorvolk7310]

As always, a very interesting angle. Thank you for the knowledge.

[@Wodzik94]

Good stuff, watched the whole thing and learned so much! Thanks!

[@Mikkokosmos]

That makes me glad 😀

[@n_s_352]

This is great, still new to Jazz, love this.

[@thelonious-dx9vi]

Cool idea to do this. Being interesting on sustained tonics is a hard thing. I tend to lydian up for leading tone, avoid note coming down. Actually my muscle memory tends to do that.

[@consistentche3979]

Another valuable lesson! Thanks for the mention of Jordan Klemons ! @nycjazzguitarmasterclasses He takes the triads from baby steps to giants steps and everything in between. Amazing study group! All the best.

[@williamrobinson7061]

You already understand the Lydian Chromatic Concept, as far as I am concerned. Harmonic stability over a starting scale note or root (jazz) vs. restless root movement (classical). The Lydian reinforces the harmonic stability of its key note (C Lydian), and C Major Ionian does not; Ionian contains inherent instability or restless need for root movement, and is not reinforcing C; it wants to move to F. Also, I think "F" is the only "culprit," and "B" should be granted clemency. Like you said, F wants to go down to E and B wants to go down to flat 7 (G7), but Bb is NOT in the C major scale; again it suggests a "classical" root move (C-G7). But "B" can also harmonically be thought of as being pulled UP to C. Thus we have chord which doesn't want to move: C-E-G-B-C reinforces the "C" start and root note of our scale. Also, instead of stacking thirds, try stacking fifths (on a sustaining keyboard such as an organ or synth), and you will find the same harmonic instability: C-G-D-A-E-B-F. The F sounds bad because it's a tritone and breaks the chain of fifths. No, F# sounds harmonically better than F. Piano tuners start on "F" and tune all their fifths first. So, harmonically, a C major scale is really an F Lydian scale. The C major Ionian scale is harmonically dissonant and less harmonically stable than a C Lydian scale, within itself, as the stack of fifths "proves" to your ear.

[@FRMTHREE]

Jordan Clemens?

[@Mikkokosmos]

Klemons. Did I mispronounce his name? 🤔

[@williamrobinson7061]

The key wor is "mode." If we treat the major scale as a scale, then it is Western and all the voice leading principles apply. If we treat it as a "mode," then we are looking for its own inherent consonances and dissonances based on its intervallic construction and relationships to the tonic note, NOT voice-leading procedures or "tendencies" based on Western harmonic function.

[@jansen_music]

Very much enjoyed your look at the Ionian scale but..Did you really have to throw the shade on Berklee.. just because one guy is playing a # 11 on a major seventh and keeps doing it does not necessarily mean he was taught that at Berklee ...he obviously is inexperienced player never transcribed any Grant Green solos..ect. :)

[@Mikkokosmos]

Thanks. No criticism of Berklee. Obviously some of the best players in the world went there or teach there. It was meant as criticism of the stereotypical player who overuses fancy Jazz theory that they learned in Jazz school. I might have been that person at some point 😬

[@williamrobinson7061]

Basically it's Western classical concepts vs. jazz concepts. Jazz is based on harmonic principles, and Western classical is not. The best proof that jazz is harmonically more consonant and reinforcing of the scale starting note (which denotes the tonal center) is the Pebber Brown keyboard test, where fifths are stacked. C-G-D-A-E-B-F (tritone B-F on top) sounds more dissonant than C-G-D-A-E-B-F# (all fifths) which is C lydian, but can be all white-notes using F as root. George Russell developed a "harmonic" jazz system based on Lydian (maximum harmonic consonance). He did this because the Western major/minor system is not based on maximum harmonic consonance, but on voice leading principles derived from counterpoint (which is melodic, not harmonic). Russell's scales are based on tonal gravity, using harmonic principles.

[@dumitruraylyan8169]

G-am (nice mood)

[@Mikkokosmos]

Yup it is 😎