Modes

[Syscrusher]

I see. So enforce a new tonic is not at all as easy as I naively guessed before.

[...]keeping on the white keys just for pure lazyness. I started on A, holding it with the left hand for some time, later making some easy chords, while improvising with my right hand (this is just "A Natural Minor", right, but still sound a bit nicely archaic to me since I'm more familiar to harmonic or melodic minor scales).

Still, is funny I think how memory works at this matters, since I "stopped" and consciously tried to start from a new scale -while there were no new chord or melodic progression that enforced me to actually take the new note as a real new root-

(M01, by the way, holds the kaoss settings for the entire song, so no chance to make this kind of modulations without stopping and selecting a new scale).

I'm glad you got something out of my (rather long winded) explanation. Like I said before, modes can be tricky at first.

Your trouble with your ear favouring the A tonic on the white keys (yes, it is A Natural Minor or A Aeolian) is certainly normal and a result of our cultural favouring of the Ionian (Major Scale) and it's relative minor the Aeolian (Natural Minor). So it is not only your own memory but a cultural memory as well that keeps you focusing on the same tonic. Modes just aren't part of our daily musical lives anymore; although they're there if you look for them. The "Simpsons" theme (Lydian) or "Eleanor Rigby" by the Beatles (Dorian) are good examples and there are many more. Film composers use them extensively as well.

As far as enforcing a tonic goes, a drone is one way. Hold a drone long enough and the ear will eventually accept it as the tonic. Another good way to enforce a new tonic is with a "perfect cadence" - V to I. Play a Dominant 7th chord a perfect 5th away from the note you want to tonicize. For instance, if you want to hear the white key Phrygian Mode (E to E) then play a B7 chord (B D# F# A) and resolve it to an Em chord (E G B). Repeat this V - I cadence until your ear hears Em as the tonic.
When I was in school they would have us play the white key modes and to enforce a new tonic and mode we would play a "leading tone" into the new mode. This has a similar effect to playing a Perfect Cadence because the V chord contains a leading tone. The leading tone is by definition a semitone below the tonic. So, if you are playing say, white key Dorian (D to D) and you want to move to white key Mixolydian (G to G) then lead into it with an F# note. Only use the leading tone to get you to the new tonic though as it may not be a characteristic note of the new mode. The characteristic note of G Mixolydian for instance is the F natural; Once you have enforced the new tonic sufficiently you can abandon the leading tone and let the modal sound emerge.

To bad about the M01 having global Kaoss Mode settings. That is rather restrictive.

[WMRhapsodies]

@Syscrusher

That topic really interests me (been listening at Davis lately...), as I'll take profit of any of the threads at this forum from now on (thanks for the idea btw, Cfgk24!). My knowledges more or less are coincident to what has been exposed till now on the other threads, plus the basics about chords. Besides, anytime you make an exposition such as that one about any of your tracks it will keep my interest for sure.

I take note of this of this V to I and leading tone (kind of strange name I think…in spanish we say "sensitive note") exercises. Thanks again!.

About the M01, to make it clear, the kaoss settings are per track, so you could still have different kaoss pad settings at different tracks and -just in case this could be misunderstood- when I said "you have to stop" I meant the melody, you don´t need to stop playing the song. At any case you cannot achieve that non-stopping real time modulation as in Polar Navigator...

And talking about kaoss pads, I've found a little but interesting side-effect of this modal structure (don't know how obvious may it be, I'll just explain it for the general interest here), still not to make "modal music", and just appliable to Major scales (as far as I can imagine).

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Since all this modes can share the same notes and the same global formula of tones and semitones but starting at a different root, it can be used to transpose the whole kaoss pad at any degree but still keeping at any major scale you want. That is, if you'r playing a song in C Ionian, setting the kaoss pads at G Mixolydian means you just "moved" the kaoss pad a fifth (right or left, so to speak). You have the very same scale but starting and ending in G.

Whatever the key, you just need to move as many notes in the major scale you are and as many steps in the seven program list Ionian-Dorian-Phrygian-Lydian-Mixolydian-Aeolian-Locrian (they'r listed just as that). So, if you are in G Major (Ionian) and want to transpose the kaoss pad a third you have to set the kaoss pad at "G two notes up in G Ionian" and "Ionian two steps up"= B Phrygian (edited a couple of times-lol-, I think is correctly explained now...)

That's interesting I think because it is hard to start playing at any other note than the tonic in the kaoss pads, as it is make chords on the go. That way you can set any note you wanted to the corners without changing the scale. Also, in M01 and Kaossilator the kaoss pads are just two octave range, so transposing, say, half a octave up or down can be useful by itself.

[Syscrusher]

I take note of this of this V to I and leading tone (kind of strange name I think…in spanish we say "sensitive note") exercises. Thanks again!.

You're welcome! I love that it's called the "sensitive note" in spanish.

And talking about kaoss pads, I've found a little but interesting side-effect of this modal structure (don't know how obvious may it be, I'll just explain it for the general interest here), still not to make "modal music", and just appliable to Major scales (as far as I can imagine).

--------

Since all this modes can share the same notes and the same global formula of tones and semitones but starting at a different root, it can be used to transpose the whole kaoss pad at any degree but still keeping at any major scale you want. That is, if you'r playing a song in C Ionian, setting the kaoss pads at G Mixolydian means you just "moved" the kaoss pad a fifth (right or left, so to speak). You have the very same scale but starting and ending in G.

Whatever the key, you just need to move as many notes in the major scale you are and as many steps in the seven program list Ionian-Dorian-Phrygian-Lydian-Mixolydian-Aeolian-Locrian (they'r listed just as that). So, if you are in G Major (Ionian) and want to transpose the kaoss pad a third you have to set the kaoss pad at "G two notes up in G Ionian" and "Ionian two steps up"= B Phrygian (edited a couple of times-lol-, I think is correctly explained now...)

That's interesting I think because it is hard to start playing at any other note than the tonic in the kaoss pads, as it is make chords on the go. That way you can set any note you wanted to the corners without changing the scale. Also, in M01 and Kaossilator the kaoss pads are just two octave range, so transposing, say, half a octave up or down can be useful by itself.

Yes exactly! That is the opposite implementation to the way I used it on Pulsar Navigator. On Pulsar Navigator I switched "parallel" modes (E Dorian to E Phrygian) to modulate, whereas above you describe switching to "relative" modes in order to expand the range of the M01 Kaoss pad. There is an analogy to the guitar here; When you are playing in ,for instance, G Ionian in it's "root position" pattern and you want to move up the neck but want to "stay in" G Ionian you would move to the A Dorian pattern then the B Phrygian pattern then the C Lydian pattern etc... all relative modes of G Ionian. Thus if the tonal center does not change the "modal sound" will not change either; you are merely expanding the range of the available mode.

[xGx]

Thanks for this original poster. I also did not understand what these were. I guess I slept through those lessons at College.