Modes and Key Signatures have a variety of different characteristics and are great for outside-the-box songwriting. Here’s a cheat sheet to remember them!
Tag: modes
On August 17, 1959, Miles Davis’ “Kind Of Blue” Was Released
A brief history of how Miles Davis’ 1959 classic “Kind Of Blue” came to be, and the album’s impacts on all kinds of musical communities.
The Basics of the Dorian Mode for Guitar
A lesson on how to use one of the most exciting and practical scale modes for soloing on the guitar in jazz, blues, rock, and fusion.
An Introduction to Zappa’s ‘Black Page #2’: Modality, Polyrhythms, and Intervals
We explore the fundamental rhythmic, harmonic, and melodic concepts at play in one of Frank Zappa’s most lauded compositions.
We Analyzed Every Dang Song That Cracked the Billboard Top 5 in 2018
Welcome back, pop music scholars, and Look Alive… because we did it again. That’s right —…
Music for Practicing Scales and Modes
This article originally appeared on Ethan Hein’s blog. Are you trying to learn scales and patterns,…
Does Music Theory Still Matter?
Last year, Rihanna’s hit single “Work” started an argument here at Soundfly. We come from…
What Are Chord Pizzas?
This article originally appeared on Ethan Hein’s blog. The Groove Pizza uses geometry to help visualize rhythms. The NYU…
Get Ur Phryg On! Demystifying Timbaland and Missy Elliott’s Famous Beat
Why is the beat to Missy Elliott’s “Get Ur Freak On” so infectious? Maybe it has something to do with the mysterious Phrygian scale mode it’s written in…
Quick Tracks Nº 9: Write a Melody Using the Whole Tone Scale
Welcome back to Quick Tracks! Once a month, we’ll send you another short composition, performance, or production…