Flying In A Blue Dream Chords

[Jeff]

I have been trying to increase my music theory knowledge, and I can't figure out Flying in a Blue Dream. The first chord is a Csus2#4, which is easy enough -- C D F# G. Those notes all fit nicely into the C Lydian scale. The next chord, however, is where I get confused. It is an Absus2#4 chord, and Satriani shifts to C Dorian during this section. My question is twofold:

How does going from a C chord to an Ab work? Ab is not in C Ionian, Lydian, or Dorian.

Also, the notes of Absus2#4 -- Ab Bb D Eb -- don't really fit into C Dorian (C D Eb F G A# Bb). How does this work?

Maybe I'm missing something fundamental or spelled out my scales and chords wrong, but this is all making little sense to me right now.

[wallie!]

Originally Posted by Jeff

I have been trying to increase my music theory knowledge, and I can't figure out Flying in a Blue Dream. The first chord is a Csus2#4, which is easy enough -- C D F# G. Those notes all fit nicely into the C Lydian scale. The next chord, however, is where I get confused. It is an Absus2#4 chord, and Satriani shifts to C Dorian during this section. My question is twofold:

How does going from a C chord to an Ab work? Ab is not in C Ionian, Lydian, or Dorian.

Also, the notes of Absus2#4 -- Ab Bb D Eb -- don't really fit into C Dorian (C D Eb F G A# Bb). How does this work?

Maybe I'm missing something fundamental or spelled out my scales and chords wrong, but this is all making little sense to me right now.

Ok, for starters the notes you listed in Absus2#4 - Ab, Bb, D and Eb do fit into C dorian. It shares the 2nd (D), minor 3rd (Eb) and the b7th (Bb, in reference to C dorian of course)

The only note that differs is the Ab. Which is the 6th degree. A suspended chord is neither major nor minor, meaning that a major/minor 6th could be used. The notes of Absus2#4 fit into a C aeolian scale (similar to C Dorian but with the minor 6th). Its a very small difference but a difference none the less.

[bakerman]

The simplest way to understand/remember it is probably that he's just using the Lydian mode built from each chord's root: C Lydian, Ab Lydian, later G Lydian and F Lydian.

He doesn't play an A over the Ab chord so I think C Aeolian (like wallie mentioned) is the answer you're looking for; that has Ab instead of the A you'd have in C Dorian. You could say the Ab and F sections are borrowed from C Aeolian and C Ionian... G Lydian contains C# instead of C so saying it's C (something) doesn't work there.

[Jeff]

Thanks, you really cleared things up for me. Interestingly, Joe does the major/minor thing on another 6th. Towards the end of the chorus, an Fsus2#4 is played, followed by the Absus2#4, and then back to Csus2#4. Over the Fsus2#4, Joe only plays 2 notes: a Db and a D -- the 6th note of the F major scale. Then over the Absus2#4, he plays a 3rd(C) and the raised fourth (C#), then it's back to the Csus2#4 vamp. What an amazing way to build/break tension.

[Jeff]

Originally Posted by bakerman

The simplest way to understand/remember it is probably that he's just using the Lydian mode built from each chord's root: C Lydian, Ab Lydian, later G Lydian and F Lydian.

He doesn't play an A over the Ab chord so I think C Aeolian (like wallie mentioned) is the answer you're looking for; that has Ab instead of the A you'd have in C Dorian. You could say the Ab and F sections are borrowed from C Aeolian and C Ionian... G Lydian contains C# instead of C so saying it's C (something) doesn't work there.

My mistake, you're right. It is C Aeolian over the Absus2#4 and not C Dorian.