You’re playing a dangerous game here, Michael. I’ve watched literal dozens of videos about modes on RU-vid over the last decade and you just gave away information about modes that has been jealously guarded. Keep it up and people might actually learn something.
Clear and concise without a whiff of self indulgence? A relaxing lesson with a bit of humor sprinkled on top? Just what I’ve come to expect from this channel.
Thanks man, I really appreciate this comment. It's just how I hope people receive the videos so it's great to hear that's how you feel. Thanks for sharing 🙏
That locrian piece was absolutely beautiful despite revolving around a diminished tonic. I brushed it off as an experimental “useless” mode but I seem to have completely underestimated it. Thanks for the inspiration!!
It truly is criminal that all teachers are not at your level. I always go away with a new found knowledge on everything that you teach. Thank you so much for this mode lesson. Great Job Michael.
Agreed, Many other youtubers make this topic seem more difficult than it have to be, and also hard to understand. Michaels strength is he breaks down the subject and seamlessly connect all the dots. He also provides golden tips on how one can apply everything and practically use whatever he is addressing. Also there is no showing off, going through all modes in superspeed just to show how good he is. Just true and authentic intentions to really teach others what he knows. Definitely one of my favorites to learn more from 💯 It's easy to make things more difficult and it's difficult to make things easy. But you succeed Michael. Many thanks Michael, wish you the best!
@@learningideas Hey Duncan! The music notation is simply created using the free app Musescore. Then I can export selections as transparent png files and drop them into Final Cut, all the other elements and animations are done directly in Final Cut. The midi keyboard is done through Midiculous. Hope that helps! 👍
Another great video Michael! Language teacher Luca Lampariello (speaks 14 languages) says “Find a guide, not an instructor.” Well you’re definitely a guide Michael, showing the path through the music jungle while pointing out beautiful views along the way. Thanks again.
One trick to make Locrian sound good is to not use full chords. You can omit the 5 from the i chord and it will still sound like Locrian but won’t have the same dissonance. Another trick with modes is that you can borrow chords/briefly modulate to other modes. In Phrygian, the b5 can be quite nice to “modulate” to Phrygian on the iv instead of the i (like adding a bit of D Phrygian to A Phrygian). Brief modulations can also help stabilize Lydian more, particularly to vi. E7 -> Am can help a lot in C Lydian to strengthen the sound of C. Borrowing other notes (like bb7 or b4) can also help destabilize Locrian enough to make the tonic sound like a reprieve and be more resolved. Modal music does not have to box itself into 7 notes-major and minor certainly don’t!
You’ve got a real gift for teaching. I was just recently lamenting that I know what modes are, but don’t know how to make a particular mode feel like home base. Seems pretty obvious now that you explain it. Great explanation, especially for people who play alone
What a chance to preview this video. You've always got a flair for teaching. Every time, I say to myself: but of course, it's obvious! Your approach to modes using semitones is just incredible. I'm going to give it a try!
🙏 Thanks Corentin. I really appreciate your comment. Glad you could find something in there that was useful or interesting. I understand that not every video is going to appeal to every subscriber but I’m grateful for the continued support. Thank you 😀
Thanks indeed, I first learned about modes doing a unit of Baroque music at University 50 years ago. I've always wanted to do more with them. Your explanation chrystalised into a simplicity and consequently I have produced three pieces. In this composition I used the E Phrygian mode. The piece is made up of three sections, A, B and C, which are each played twice. Then there is one more time through the A section. I did three different treatments of the chord progression. The first two use the same Acoustic Jazz style (on my Yamaha arranger keyboard), but the solo's are developed differently. In "Waiting for the Rain" I improvise with just four notes (C Major pentatonic avoiding the C, just D E G and A.) It has a slightly monotonous feel, combined with the morose tone of the mode, I likened it to that feeling of when we are waiting for the weather to break. "The Sands of Time" has a little early King Crimson feel, mostly long notes. "Tango Friz" has just the backing track so you can hear it clearly. I could have done a solo but there is enough going on with this style. Waiting for the Rain ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-FNJG0TH32Fs.html The Sands of Time ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-g9gfbS1onCs.html Tango Friz ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-o73emTdMUHg.html
Yeeeeaaah! so nice i had to watch it twice! I was eagerly waiting for yet another of your super amazing and extremely well crafted awesomely explained music masterclasses. Merci beaucoup Maestro. Best music theory Channel on the tube!!
Each time i watch one of your videos , i thank you and send my love and prayer for your teachings to universe And i just pray you get millionssss of subscribers❤️❤️❤️🙌🏼you have my out most respect for love and knowledge that you put out for us for free. 😊Thanks to you a ton❤️❤️❤️❤️
🙏🤗 Thank you Yashasvi for your kind comment, it's much appreciated. I'm glad you're enjoying the videos. ps. I'm hoping for millions of subs too! Don't tell anyone! 🤫
"mooch about for a bit" Sir, I resemble that remark. 😎Your explanation of color and mood of the modes related to the tonic and how they want to resolve is mammoth for me. Delicious lil example of Dorian at 13:00. Soundtrack worthy. Thanks again.
So... AGAIN AND AGAIN... In the current glut of throw away videos w/poor information from "hey watch ME! - I'm another guy who knows the shit and shows it to the world", Mr. Keithson (and very few others) shines so bright in this pathetic swamp of darkness. Brilliant as always, good language, top knowledge, way to deliver it. Simply NICE! AGAIN AND AGAIN! Now Michael... how cool and challenging would this be if applied to the Melodic Minor scale modes... the world of dual tritones? There's some amazing stuff in there. Composing with those modes? Send out the chords and I'll add the melody to them! I swear.....
Haha I just made a similar comment. It’s like so many youtubers who talk about modes only know the basics and can only teach the scales, or they want to sell a course. Actual application is rarely approached.
😳🙏 Thank you kindly, I appreciate your generous comment and glad you're enjoying the videos. I've not explored doing the same with the modes of the melodic or harmonic minor scales - maybe it's worth a little play!
I'm a self-taught musician and I regard myself as 'barely conversant' with music theory. I must say that this is the most informative video I have ever watched on the topic of modes.
Fantastic tutorial, I especially appreciated the graphic showing the chords in each mode together with the treble clef and the notes you played in the melody. Before your tutorial I had been using the circle of fifths to understand which chords were in each mode, however had not appreciated that the root note would remain a C or the one chord. Once again thanks very much for a great tutorial, cheers from sunny and warm Switzerland keith
I really enjoy all your videos Michael; in context, as well as your style of explaining things, keep up the good work! Another neat trick I learned at some point during my "intensive learning years", which helps highlight modes, was based around the strong relationship of triad V-IV movement (or even the other way around) in a major scale (Ionian mode). Keeping the root of each mode on top of that movement, e.g. in the form of a pedal tone, creates a strong basis which helps bring out the character of each mode. Well, it might be more suitable for creating vamps rather than composing interesting modal sequences, imho, but it's effective nevertheless in terms of learning to hear the character of each mode. Once again, kudos for another great video! Greetings from Greece!
Hey Michael, thanks for your video lesson on Composing using Modes. The possibilities in music are endless. When you understand the fundamentals (like Modes) there's a lot of creativity things you can do. I Thanks again, from Kingsville, Ohio 🎶🎹🎶🎹❤🙂👋👋👋
@@michaelkeithson I've been teaching composition to high schoolers for 20 years (mostly focusing on songwriting) but your video has inspired me to try and new approach with my seniors this term. Thanks for all the great work you put into the video
I don't know if it's luck or not but damn, so haapy to have acces to these videos ! for me it's the perfect video that that will improve my improvisation !! this is so underrated
Is it possible to play, 'It's coming home !, it's coming home !' in Locrian Mode ? because I am convinced most of England's fans sing it thus...ha! ha! If I had a hat, I would certainly take if off to you as this - without exception - is simply the best explanation of Modes. Us guitar players love 'em but can never understand what the hell they are. Brilliant.
Thank you for the great video. Phrygian is my favourite mode for melody and most frustrating for harmonisation. Because any melody sounds absolutely fantastic in that mode, but that moment I add the (Phrygian) chords it all collapses like a house of cards. :( I wish I could have Phrygian melody and Aeolian chords at the same time. :)
You can! They're only one note different from each other. Look at Harmonic Minor, originally it wasn't invented to be a scale that stands on its own, but a modification of Aeolian (with a major 7th) to get that stronger V-I cadence in minor key songs. Sometimes the 7th would only be sharpened on those V chords (and nearby, wherever it was needed to sound right). And melodies might use major 6ths and 7ths ascending and flat 6ths and 7ths descending (melodic minor), it was all considered part of the minor key. The point is they varied those notes freely in the same piece and different preferences for harmony and for melody. Or think of it as composing in an octatonic key with both minor and major 2nds: 1 b2 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7. You can lean into the b2 melodically but allow the natural 2 in harmony when it helps the progression, while creatively avoiding any unwanted minor 9ths (between the 2 and the b2) using different voicings, rhythms, etc or just altering one of them for the bar. And anyway the fifth mode of Aeolian is Phrygian (and the fifth mode of Harmonic Minor is Phrygian Dominant aka Phrygian #3, characterized by the chord V7(b9)) so melody over the minor V naturally wants to be Phrygian (rooted on that V chord). If you hang out on the V enough you get to have a lot of Phrygian melody. It might not sounded rooted there but you can do some things to make it ambiguous like omitting the 3rd of the V so it gravitates less to the I.
Hey man, you're really what i was searching for on yt for a long time. You're really gifted for teaching and this format is simple, catchy and straight to the point. Btw i've got a request for a future video, could you spend a lesson or two on voicings? Like from basics to advanced, and maybe your favourite/most used ones. Thank you for everything.
Thanks for the comment, really glad you're finding some value from my videos. Thanks for the suggestion too. Are you looking for specifically jazz voicings or something else? You might typically use different kinds of voicings depending on the style of music you're playing?
@@michaelkeithson look, i've had an idea, maybe you will not like it but i'll write it anyway. You could make a video on jazz voicings, and you're favourite ones, and at the same time you could put you're favourite ones in a specific video, for example, let's say you're talking about major 7 chords you'll put as like a bonus tip your favourite voicings about those, or let's say a video about extension you'll put your favourite ones in there, like spending 2 minutes in the video. In that way if you're talking about jazz we world learn jazz voicings, and if you're talking r&b we'll learn r&b ones etc. Let me know if you like the idea. It's like they're contextualized in the video.
@@ssaamil Composing in those keys works very much the same. I don’t have much experience composing with their modes though and fear they might be tricky but maybe worth some exploration!
Yep, just about to make the same comment! I love the melodic minor modes, particularly Dorian b2 and Lydian augmented (now that's a tricky one to compose anything!). Same principle, you just get a few stranger chords. For example the iii chord is a maj7#5 in melodic minor (I think. Im terrible at theory!).
Thank you. That was the basics, but it presented very well. Better than anything I've seen so far. This is also why I purchased a keyboard. Much easier to implement than the guitar. I'm improving at the guitar, but the added difficulties make it challenging to map out and practice all 7 modes. I tend to stick with Dorian and Mixolydian to assist with ii-V-I, for example. Mixo for blues, Dorian for minor songs. It does not work for me to stick to the major and start on a different degree to play a mode. The mode does not manifest. So, I need a chart; I can't remember all that since I'm a part-time musician.
🙏 Thanks Jade! Glad you felt like it was helpful. What sort of fingering are you having trouble with? Fingering will be different for different types of stuff and most of the time it's just about working out what's most ergonomic for the movement you're trying to make.
I love your channel! Subscribed. To some, even the Phrygian example you played can sound more like a really good example of well placed modal interchange/mixture even in the melody, than it may a strictly modal progression/melody. The last i - vø - i resolution may not sound like a strong enough resolution to some ears to really establish i as the final tonic resolution, and may give the impression that the more permanent resolution needs to happen after the final i. The typical bII, or bvii movement to i to establish a Phrygian i modal tonic is the most common. Used a lot in film scoring too that way just like the Lydian example you used - camels, endless sand, pyramids, all that good stuff. Strictly Modal progressions outside the relative major/minor are just generally unstable and tough for anything other than a few chord vamp.
@@michaelkeithson keep on going with this channel. I happened across your modal interchange video about a month ago, and for how concise you had to make it for the 20-30 min playtime, thought it was one of the best if not THE best dives into the subject for its run time. It really was that good.
This is great; I've been trying to write a bit in locrian for a few months as an exercise, but there was a lot of me to learn in what you played in the locrian section. I think the fact that the A chord is a sus chord, leaving the ear wanting the C, might have something to do with why it sounds resolved -- or maybe I have it backwards and the absence of the C helps the progression to feel more like it goes somewhere before coming back...?
Thanks for the comment Joseph! Pleased you found it useful. To be honest, there wasn't a great deal of thought around the Absus and absence of the C, but thinking about it now, it probably helps strengthen the resolution. Cheers! 👍
Can you make a video on rhythm and chord progression? Specifically, on how to mix them correctly to give sense to our music? Sometimes, I feel like I'm always doing the same thing with rhythm and chord progressions. How can I improve?
Hey man, my pal The Keys Coach has dropped a video that might be useful for you: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-EsSecYkBDR8.htmlsi=0CRFgpgAII5sJdAr
Content so good...No doubt you've considered this but surely you should put some short courses together and sell individually and then as bundles - at rates ordinary mortals can afford and you'll do well. Go on a deeper dive and you folk will pay. PS Seems to work for the other high quality producers and you've earnt a big and appreciative audience.
@@wae2kwick4u Thanks for the comment mate. I have ideas and desires for some separate video courses but I’m struggling to find the time to work on them. Hopefully I’ll get to them eventually though.
