Piano Jazz

Most people really only know about or have heard of the major and minor scales. But did you know that there are thousands of other scales available to play?

Now don’t worry. I’m not saying you should learn them or even know about all of them. Just a few of the more common ones used in New Age and Jazz music. Some of the scales I’m most fond of come from something called the “church modes.”

They’re called such because they were named and used back in Bach’s time. And guess what? They’re still used today!

For example, the lesson “Cirrus” (you can hear this lesson at http://www.quiescencemusic.com - just scroll down and you’ll see the play button) is a modern improvisation based

on the Dorian mode. The Dorian mode is easy to construct because it’s all on the white keys. To get it, just play the C major scale but instead of starting on C, you start and end on D.

You see, what this does is change the arrangement of tones in the scale. A major scale has a major third and a major seventh in it. The D dorian scale has a minor third and a minor seventh making it a minor scale.

THE NUMERICAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN NOTES

Knowing the numerical relationship between notes will help you understand all this better. You can do this by simple counting.

Now that the boring technical stuff is out of the way, we can learn how to

use the modes to create with. There are 7 modes each corresponding to the note they begin on. Here they are:

C Ioniain (major) D Dorian (minor) E phrygian (minor) F lydian (major) G mixolydian (major) A aeolian (minor) and B locrian (diminished)

There they are. And to form them, all you have to do is start and end on the note each begins with. For instance, the lesson “Cirrus” begins with a D minor 7 chord in the right hand. This anchors the sound of the piece. We then use a few chords from this mode to really get a different sound going.

Most of us are familiar with the C major scale and its corresponding chords. Contemporary pianists/composers sometimes use the

modes to mix things up and to create “new” sounds. I say “new” but they’re really not new at all.

To get creative with the modes, pick one to play in. Write out all the chords that are in the mode, i.e. for the D dorian mode we have: D minor 7, E minor 7, F major 7, G 7, A minor 7, B diminished 7, A minor 7 and finally D minor 7 again.

Once you know the chords (again, all of the above are easily played on the white keys) you can start using them in your own improvisations!

Edward Weiss is a pianist/composer and webmaster of Quiescence Music’s online piano lessons. He has been helping students learn how to

play piano in the New Age style for over 14 years and works with students in private, in groups, and now over the internet. Stop by now at http://www.quiescencemusic.com/piano_lessons.html for a FREE piano lesson!