Help! I have two questions:
1. How do you recognize the Tonal Center?
2. Why doesn't Griff recommend starting the (Tonal Center) Mode Scale on the Key Signature note on the 6th string rather than on the Mode note?
1. I'm still confused about when and how to use Modes. I just completed Lessons 12 and 13 in the Theory Course. It was a very helpful when Griff suggested to solo over a piece using only 1 scale, not to change scales with every chord change (except if you choose to with Pentatonics). I understand you're supposed to use one of the Modes of the Major Scale when the Tonal Center (the "home base") does not correspond to the Key Signature. So, how do you know which chord other than the I chord (which is also the Key Signature) represents the Tonal Center? Is it always the first chord of a song? Isn't the last chord usually the Key Signature? Is the Tonal Center the chord that appears most frequently in a song? Is it the chord that all the other chords resolve to? And if so, how do you recognize that?
2. If the key is G Major, but the song begins with A Minor, and the piece has a minor feel to it, and you're pretty sure you need to solo in A Dorian, why don't you solo with the A Dorian scale starting at the G note (6th string, 3rd fret) rather than at the A note (6th string, fifth fret) as Griff instructed? If they are Parallel rather than Relative scales, shouldn't you be able to always start with the Key Signature note rather than on the actual Mode Note? Thanks for any advice.
Ed
1. How do you recognize the Tonal Center?
2. Why doesn't Griff recommend starting the (Tonal Center) Mode Scale on the Key Signature note on the 6th string rather than on the Mode note?
1. I'm still confused about when and how to use Modes. I just completed Lessons 12 and 13 in the Theory Course. It was a very helpful when Griff suggested to solo over a piece using only 1 scale, not to change scales with every chord change (except if you choose to with Pentatonics). I understand you're supposed to use one of the Modes of the Major Scale when the Tonal Center (the "home base") does not correspond to the Key Signature. So, how do you know which chord other than the I chord (which is also the Key Signature) represents the Tonal Center? Is it always the first chord of a song? Isn't the last chord usually the Key Signature? Is the Tonal Center the chord that appears most frequently in a song? Is it the chord that all the other chords resolve to? And if so, how do you recognize that?
2. If the key is G Major, but the song begins with A Minor, and the piece has a minor feel to it, and you're pretty sure you need to solo in A Dorian, why don't you solo with the A Dorian scale starting at the G note (6th string, 3rd fret) rather than at the A note (6th string, fifth fret) as Griff instructed? If they are Parallel rather than Relative scales, shouldn't you be able to always start with the Key Signature note rather than on the actual Mode Note? Thanks for any advice.
Ed
