pick a mode.... now which chords to put under it???

[bloodandtears]

Lets say I wanna solo in D Lydian.... The key is obviously D... fine so far... Say I wanna put a chord progression for a song behind this and not just a D vamp.. how do I know which chords will 'fit'???

[Mr Orange]

OK. Let's see.

D lydian: D, E, F#, G#, A, B, C#.

Just build up a 4-part chord over each note.
So here:

Dmaj7 (D, F#, A, C#)
E7 (E, G#, B, D)
F#m7 (F#, A, C#, E)
G#m7b5 (G#, B, D, F#)
Amaj7 (A, C#, E, G#)
Bm7 (B, D, F#, A)
C#m7 (C#, E, G#, B).

Basically any chord that you construct out of the scale notes will fit. If it really ephasizes the D lydian sound is a different issue.

[Artist]

write out the scale, then use the notes to make chords

D lydian =

D E F# G# A B C# D

So some of the most basic of chords (using notes I III V of each note to create the chord) would be

DF#A <- D major
EG#B <- E Major
F#AC# <- F# Minor
G#BD <- Like a G# minor with a flat 5th (also known as the devils chord)
AC#E <- A Major
BDF# <- B minor
C#EG# <- C#Minor

Then you can add sevenths, sus4s and what have you.

[Reaper]

for Lydian, check this thread: http://www.jemsite.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=19296

[bloodandtears]

cool... so I can apply this rule to any scale/mode??

[Artist]

yeah just make up chords in the way that me and mr orange did at what must have been the same time :P

To highlight your in D lydian, try using some cadences, such as chord V-I (perfect cadence). A very classical thing to do is end with a Ic V7 I cadence.

[bloodandtears]

Originally Posted by Artist

To highlight your in D lydian, try using some cadences, such as chord V-I (perfect cadence). A very classical thing to do is end with a Ic V7 I cadence.

Lost me now....

I get the earlier stuff though cheers both of you ;-)

[bloodandtears]

right so I construct the chords using I III V or I III V VII notes of the scale... and these chords can then be used in progression ie

I IV V
Dmaj7 G#m7b5 Amaj7


I think cadence is to do with chord progression resolution and "feel"?

in this case then

Ic V7 I cadence

Ic = ??????
V7 = Amaj7
I = Dmaj7

[Devo]

ic is teh second inversion of the tonic chord
v7 is teh dominant 7th
1 is teh tonic chord

[spencer096]

the chords come first always.

i find it hard to just say, i want to solo in this or that mode, you have to see the chords first. a mode means nothing or doesnt souind any different, unless it has the right chords under it.

also, id watch the use of roman numerals as scale degrees. i was taught that roman numerals only refer to the chord and not the scale degrees which are represented using arabic numerals (i.e. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7...).

instead of using the tried and true I IV V, try a ii V I. this would be Em7 A7 and resolving to a Dmaj7 (or any extentions, i find 7ths to be a little boring at times). lydian should work well over these chords and itll add a litte interesting harmony.

[bloodandtears]

cool.. cheers for that..

Originally Posted by Devo

ic is teh second inversion of the tonic chord

so the c stands for 2nd inversion??

[spencer096]

Originally Posted by Devo

ic is teh second inversion of the tonic chord
v7 is teh dominant 7th
1 is teh tonic chord

ive never heard the use of "c" as in reference to inversions.

its usually:
I - root pos
I6 - 1st inversion
I 6/3 - 2nd inversion

thats just the way ive learned thru books and stuff, i dunno if its the only way, but its the way ive learned.

[bloodandtears]

maybe Artist could shed some light on the "Ic" thing???

could have been a typo for IV??

[Devo]

yup c means second inversion.

one point though... I IV vi or V never implies a 7 chord... I can never be Dmaj7, That would be I7.

the 6/3 (???? should be a 6/4????) looks like a figured bass way of writing a 2nd inversion. Just like 6/4 5/3 would be a Ic V, or a passing 6/4 would be a Ib Vc I

you cant tell what chord to play unless you see a bass note when you use numbers like that. but then how many of us can play figured bass anymore?

[spencer096]

Originally Posted by Devo

yup c means second inversion.

one point though... I IV vi or V never implies a 7 chord... I can never be Dmaj7, That would be I7.

the 6/3 (???? should be a 6/4????) looks like a figured bass way of writing a 2nd inversion. Just like 6/4 5/3 would be a Ic V, or a passing 6/4 would be a Ib Vc I

you cant tell what chord to play unless you see a bass note when you use numbers like that. but then how many of us can play figured bass anymore?

yea, i meant 6/4 my keyboard at work is messed up. i know it never implies a 7, but your wrong about I7 being Dmaj7, I7 would be a dominant 7th chord not maj. and a maj7, not dom 7, can be substituted for any root position chord of the same value (i.e. in Cmaj, I is a C maj chord, a I7 would be C E G Bb, where a maj7 would be C E G B). i wasnt implying, i was just using those chords as examples.