Re: Forget Modes - Advice That Set Me Free
This is what I said in my introduction:
A more important and better focus is to learn chording and chord construction to enable chord tone melody and solo improvisation. After that is learned, then one may begin discussion and thinking about modes.
My error, as much as I can tell, was to overlook chord construction and I attempted to jump straight into modes. I might have been better off to thoroughly work with the standard scales and chord theory before trying to jump straight to modes.
The following will be telling as to whether I've really learned anything or not: A musical composition is usually written in a Key, i.e. the key signature tells the key, not the mode of a song. The key provides some basic structure for the composition. Usually the key is for starting and ending the song. Modes, simply put, are the various voicing or mood that can be given to the key for the song. In the context of the song, don't be limited by the key signature, you can do what you want go where the song leads.
For the record, I recognize that chords, scales, and modes are inextricably linked together and really they cannot be separated. Again, I'm no expert, I'm no teacher of music, but, I'm thinking a better order for learning is the scales, really learn chord theory, then modes.
But, then again, none of us really like being told what we can and can't do. Who says you can't put modes first? Well okay you can. and perhaps you can handle it better than me.
I've seen it in more than one place, and in finally started to sink in, that new guitarists and those new to theory often times put undo emphasis on modes. Forget modes just for enough time to learn and understand chord tone melody and improvization. Then, go on to modes. That's really all that I'm saying. The thread title is probably a bit too sensational. But, I can't change it now.
