What Is Modal Jazz? (Hint: It's Not About the Modes!) 

I’m new to jazz and music theory (a scientist, so pretty removed from this world). I have an amazing teacher, and your videos are a wonderful compliment to my lessons and reading. Thank you so much for providing these videos; you are very clear and engaging. Much appreciated!

There's a LIFETIME of learning in the books! And just like the videos - so well put together, step-by-step exercises. I start my day w one of his videos and a cuppa, then practice from his books.. So amazing and generous of Jeremy to post these. I mean, only. the privileged few who already had lots of training used to get access to teachings from a master performer like this, and then only at an exclusive music conservatory. THANKS!

I'm working through book 1 and I love it!! Thanks for the amazing teaching and playing you put out there :)

I'm not a pianist but I was looking for a definition/description of what atonal Jazz is. Loved your tutorial, watched to the end and, crucially, I now understand much better what modal Jazz is. Many thanks.

Took me a while to actually understand and be able to write "modal" pieces of music with jazz influences, because all explanations are really bad even on books. Most of tutorial try to explain modal music as chord progression on a single mode, and that’s not how it works most of the time at least on a jazz context. You really nailed it with your modal jazz explanations, this is by far the best explanation I have found online. Cheers!

I thought the breakdown of the three categories was perfect. I am no where near the teacher you are but i have a couple students and always struggled when they inevitably discover the term “modal” and start rattling off the modes. You put into words what i couldnt so thanks!

One of your finest works. Thanks

Lot to digest here but it lays out some skills on how to analyze these sheets better. Thanks!

Excellent video. As for your opening about some saying your book take more than six months. As the Jazz guitar legend Howard Roberts (HR) would say.... The task increases with the time allotted. I was a student at GIT/MI in early days when HR's curriculum was still being taught and he talked about this. He said people will learn something in the time they are told they are given, that is why some college teach on the Quarter system and some in semesters. They teach the cover the same material but Quarter system in half the time, which increase how hard the task is. For some that task is too difficult and they tend to do will in semester based schools. Same thing happen in working world if you boss gives you two months to complete a project you will pace yourself to finish it in two months, but if you boss had said three weeks and you wanted to keep your job you'd find a way to do it in three weeks. There was more to all this HR used to call "Learning Cycles" on how people learn. I found it very interesting talking to HR about this topic.

I watched longer than 20 minutes :D This is more advanced than my current level, but I picked out a couple of things. Thanks

Thank you very much for sharing this. I really appreciate the entire video. My passion for music grows through your teaching and playing. Beautiful music. I liked playing along too.

Very clear and thorough explanation:I learned a lot. Super important info. Thank you, Maestro. 🔥🔥🔥🔥I'll be repeating this vid more than a few times. BTW, Infant Eyes was beautifully played. Mucho Thanxo.

Thanks for the free lesson very helpful and beautiful music

Very enlightening. Thanks Jeremy.

again, loved it! do you have other videos analysing songs like you were doing here? just beginning to know your channel

I cant believe you wrote that book!! My grandad gave it to me a few months ago I've loved it, complete coincidence that I click on a random video and find the author.

Great video and thanks for introducing me to Infant Eyes!!

I just ordered your first book and now I’m more excited. I know book one is basics but the way you’ve explained modal jazz clicked, so I’m optimistic about your teaching style!

Great vid. I love modal stuff, borrowing chords for parallel modes and exotic scales always strike me as more emotional than typical 2-5-1s

Thank you for this video, so useful! Best regards from Argentina

wow love love love i love ur way of teaching so much

Instant like for the Borges collections in the background!

Thanks Jeremy!

As someone who studied and composed (less so these days) jazz and classical music the addition of atonal as a category alongside modal and tonal in your explanation at the beginning is key (pun intended). Even if someone has no interest or even a strong aversion to atonal music it really needs to be understood in order to understand what atonal music is not, i.e. modal or tonal music. Good work.

I laughed at 6:55 when you were about to play the first chord of "so what", placed your fingers but did not ahah (good video)

this was a great video to find and practice off of

Great vid! What software are you using to put the music onto the screen in realtime/as you film?

Thanks 😊for the explanation.

Excellent tutorial thanks. One question: If you only had the melody and no chords, the first 4 measures could, in theory, be any mode of Eb major (f dorian etc., especially c aeolian. So without chords written I'd just hear the Bb, Eb, Ab seven note collection. Does this make sense? Did you come up with Eb M because it was notated?

Love this! do you have a transcription for what you played on 16:00?

I'm a steel player. This is excellent. Thank you.

@4:44 you're saying the Ab-6 to Eb∆ is the same as a Bb7(sus b9). Which makes sense since they are modes of the same scale. Which should mean that almost any voicing from that scale should work ie G7(alt), Db7(#11) would also be viable choices to lead to an Eb∆, assuming it doesn't conflict with the melody? So is it much of a stretch to take any alteration of the V and move the root to play other modes of that chord/scale. Say Bb7(alt) could be Cb-6, Db7(sus b9), E7(#11). Or Bb7(#11) could be E7(alt), F-6, G7(sus b9) etc, and so on with not only just the 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 7th modes but all modes of jazz minor? At what point does it not become so viable to use the mode, say does Bb-6 (and its modes) make a good V to Eb? To my ear this specific example doesn't work so well as the others. I hope my questions make sense, this is a tough media to form questions like this =)

“Focus on color change” is an excellent Way to describe modal!

I'm hearing about Infant Eyes for the first time. Found the entire album on Spotify and was blown away. Please could you recommend similar type of music/artistes with great jazz piano chords. Thanks

I dig the specs, Teach!!!

Great!

You are excellent! Where do I find the video on voicings that you mentioned?

Would love to hear your take on voicings also, like you mentioned. All the best!

Interesting stuff. Where does this leave pop and rock music that almost always avoids V-I (or V-i) and uses LiV-I or bVII-I instead?

this really reminds me of the method that ron miller teaches and from his books :)

very good

Wow! I'm going to have to save this video to be viewed at a later juncture. A 'juncture' when my comprehension of 'music theory' is far more profound than it is today AND when I'm not nearly as drunk as I am now (No Gaurantees on that term. The aforementioned is completely to be left up to the authors discretion). Either way, thank you (in advance). I think you have SOMETHING here worth watching. The vast majority of it however' sounds like 'Ancient Greek to me at present time.

What about a chord ‘progression’ of Dm Em … no melody, no pedal point, no rhythmic/temporal/dynamic emphasis on either chord … would that be a Tonal, Modal or Atonal Chord ‘Progression’? (albeit, a very simple one ) … … … I thought even Modal Music needs to have a Tonal Centre (though it wouldn’t have functional harmony, like Tonal Music), such that purely Dm Em would be Atonal (ie wouldn’t even ‘qualify’ as Modal - and in any case, which one Mode would it be … ?! (again, without more context))

l just watched another video about modal jazz and it says right at the beggining "modal jazz its characterizes for using modality instead of tonality" smh...

Wow - thanks!!!!❤❤❤

This is the best 251 exercise, indeed.

I'm thinking your idea of playing one scale over several chords will work in tonal jazz also.

Good video.

Jeremy: “What is modal Jazz? 🤓” Me: “Yes. 🤓 “ Btw why are some comments so mean?😢you are such a great teacher!🥺🥺😤🤩

A question ! How you ( or a jazz player ) organize his left and right hand parts ? ( since there is no left hand part on the sheet in jazz )

I would argue all tonal music is modal. It makes frequent use of aolean and Ionian with lots of borrowing from each other (V7 in minor) as well as from Phrygian (Neapolitan chord) as well as combining modes to create synthetic scales (harmonic and melodic minor).

Fred Armisen teaches us how to paint music.

I feel like jazz musicians are perhaps just 10x more intelligent than the rest of us

well, l mean, if it doesnt use Modes then you shouldnt call it "Modal" then... Unless you want to get people conbfused on purpose... which would be kind of childish, to say the least

Dude,,,,really? Why does it take you over 20 min to explain this? 👎seems like ur not a pro,and I'd never buy ur book cuz u talk too much and u wanna waste everyone's time, I cud have explained this concisely in less than 10 min