Hey everyone!! This is my first post in this group. Today I want to talk to you about using the Dorian, Dorian flat 2 and Dorian sharp 4 modes and their associated chords. Dorian flat 2 and Dorian sharp 4 are incredible scales and have a lot of potential for writing metal. I demonstrate that in the attached video to this post! Here is little bit of the theory behind it!!
As you might all know that the Dorian mode is the second mode of the major scale and it is used a lot in different genres of music. It differs from our ever reliable and popular minor scale by one note (in dorian you play a major 6th instead of a minor 6th). For example the notes of the A minor scale are A, B,C,D,E,F,G and then back to A. The notes of the A-dorian scale are A, B,C,D,E,F#,G and then back to A. Notice that the 6th note of the minor scale , in this case the F note becomes an F# when you play Dorian. You can play dorian over minor chords/minor triads, minor 7th chords, minor 9 chords and the minor 6/9 chord.
The Dorian flat 2 is exactly what it sounds like. It's the dorian mode/scale with a flattened second. So, for the A dorian flat 2 the notes will be A, A#,C,D,E,F#,G and back to A. It is the second mode of the melodic minor scale and you can play this scale over minor 7th chords, minor triads/minor chords and minor flat 9 chords.
The Dorian sharp 4 mode/scale is again pretty self explanatory. You take a Dorian scale and sharpen the 4th. It is the 4th mode of the harmonic minor scale and you can play this scale over half diminished chords and also diminished triads.
The way I use these scales in my writing is pretty simple. I use the lowest string to create a tonal context over which I apply the mode. Simply put, I play the lowest string and play either one of the three scales or move back and forth between the scales, but I am always cognizant of playing the lowest string from time to time. The lowest string acts not only as the tonal/modal context it also acts as the root. So let's say I want to play the E dorian mode, or write something in E dorian, I will play/chug the bottom E string and play the E dorian scale or even use the chords in the E dorian mode in conjunction to the scale in order to create a complete modal composition. And the same rule applies for the other modes too. It is definitely not the only way to write modal, but I find myself using this tactic quite a lot!! I hope you enjoyed this post and let's have a discussion in the comment section. I would love to chat more about this!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kU6EcSVIw8g
Submitted August 23, 2020 at 11:59PM by Sammajumder666 https://www.reddit.com/r/Learnmusic/comments/ifh1ub/writing_with_modes_video_and_annotation_included/?utm_source=ifttt