johnyere

mdc - the other day i asked my guitar teacher this very same question and he explained it to me very clearly.

so to answer your question, yes i now have a very general understanding of what modes are.

mdc

^ Good. Do a Bouncy Nugget and delete this thread then, please. Cuz it's shit.

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AlanHB

Modes will be nothing but random trivia if you cannot listen to a song and identify what the key/tonal center is.

If you cannot identify a key, you cannot improvise over a song without a lot of guesswork involved. Music theory is intended to take the guesswork out. If you have a firm grasp on keys, major and minor scales and accidentals you can achieve all the "sounds" or "flavours" of modes if that's what you really want. If you actually want to write modal compositions you have to be able to distinguish between a song in a key, and a song in a mode. As the vast majority of songs are in keys (and it's arguable that modal compositions no longer exist due to being replaced by keys) it's easier to start with keys.

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Supernaut1985

This thread has been an interesting read.

It makes me realize how wrong my first guitar teacher was (himself a jazz player) to try and teach me modes at a time when I had little grasp on scales and virtually none as far as intervals go. I remember walking out of that lesson in a daze wondering what the hell just happened.

91RG350

surely MT is capable of producing one thread that defines modes. end of all discussions.

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CryogenicHusk

^^ it should be a sticky

J-Dawg158

^^& we could call it, "Modes! before you ask..." Yea, that would solve everything.

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Jehannum

I don't think that sticky's as good as it could be. It references other threads, and those threads are somewhat verbose. I think the continuing "mode plague" attests to the fact that it's not solving the problem it set out to solve.

I'd like to see the common mistakes given numbers, permitting replies such as "you're making Modes Mistake #3", followed by a direct link to a much simpler explanation.

jazz_rock_feel

The problem is that no one here can agree on what modes are and when they should be used and all that crap. Plus, there's no real source of theoretical discussion on modes in the actual world because, outside of guitar forums, no one gives a shit about arguing over modes.

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mdc

Actually, I think you're non the wiser. Really.

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CryogenicHusk

exactly my point.



Obviously people aren't bothering to read the articles linked on that one.

Sleepy__Head

What's wrong with a sticky that says "Modes: You can find a definition and brief history on Wikipedia. Don't be a lazy twat: Go read the article."?

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mdc

Cuz noobs don't have the basic foundation of theory to understand the wiki articles in the first place.

Instead, they come here seeking a quick answer and shortcut.

Like you said, they're lazy twats.

I really hope all the noobs come in here and read this post, now. Knock ten bells of shit outta them I hope.

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Xiaoxi

Maybe we should come up with a comprehensive but concise thing ourselves explaining why modes just aren't relevant.

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Modes and scales are dumb and useless. Stop learning them. No, seriously.

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I got Last.fm. Don't know why...

bdof

This is kinda what my guitar teacher tells me. I figure he just means that the Major scale is a great (yet boring an predictable sounding) place to start, but he's pretty adament amout it

AeolianWolf

a lot of guitarists are adamant about this view.

i mean, it's pretty easy to be adamant about an incorrect view when you've never bothered to learn anything about music history or, well, think logically.

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z4twenny

Your teacher doesn't know what they're talking about. I suggest a new one

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AlanHB

I agree that the modes sticky itself is flawed. If anyone would like to draft something that we can all agree upon I can make it a sticky.

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z4twenny

I'd make the opening statement in the thread "you're actually trying to learn CST, not modes"

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