Modal Cadences in Modal Interchange

[JonnyPac]

Greetings y'all,

I am going to sketch out some recent thoughts on teaching modal interchange here. This thread is a starter and only reflects the tip of the iceberg as far as the possibilities go. Bear with me.

I will be referencing Modalogy by Jeff Brent and Schell Barkley (Dogbite from AAJ) in many instances. Read pages 17 through 39 for a hugely detailed compilation of the functional modal progressions and "avoid chords" etc. I will only focus on the primary cadential chords of each diatonic mode and how they can be used in jazz-based settings (remember "modal jazz" is different than pure modal music).

In major and "composite minor" [minor scales with varying 6th and 7th degrees- ie natural, harmonic, and melodic] tonal progressions, the chord with the strongest need to resolve is called the dominant and if built of the fifth degree of the scale.

In modal progressions, the chords that strongly need to resolve to the tonic are sometimes called "modal dominants", but they are usually not built of of the fifth degree of the scale. Consequently, the term "cadential chord" will be used throughout here to avoid any confusion.

From Modalogy pg 17

I personally like this addition to the cadence vocabulary in playing jazz or other styles. The huge emphasis on V7-I perfect cadences and IV-I plagal cadences is great for all beginners, sure, but leaves some stranded without an understanding of other common devices found in tunes. In tonal music, cyclical progressions (up a 4th, down a 5th) are the norm, but often sound overly predictable (and even "cheesy" to some ears!). And dressing them up with tritone substitutions and alterations is just a way of coloring the same underlying harmonic movement towards the tonic. I am not saying V-I, ii-V-I, or ii-bII-I are "bad" or boring, I am just trying to point to these other cadences that are equally interesting and worth mastering IMHO.

In tonal cadences, the most typical cadential motion is circular (approaching the tonic root by ascending or descending fourths or fifths.

In modal cadences, however, the most typical and strongest cadential motions are step-wise (approaching the tonic by ascending or descending a whole-step or half-step).

Modalogy pg 18

In the book there is a discussion and list of "avoid chords". These chords and combinations of tones tend to "collapse" toward the parent Major (Ionian) scale and de-emphasise the modal root as the tonic. For instance, in a no-sharps/flats modal environment, the G7 and Bm7b5 (half-dim) chords tend to pull towards C Major and away from, say, E Phrygian as a tonal center. Again, I will not be focusing too much on that here, but it is well worth looking into.


A list of the Primary Cadential Chords for each mode:

Dorian:
bVII (ie C resolves to Dm in D Dorian). This cadential triad can be extended to bVIImaj7 (Ionian extensions subset in CST) with the same function.

Phrygian (and Phrygian Dominant/Spanish Phrygian):
bII (ie F resolves to Em or E in E Phrygian). This Cadential triad can be extended to bIImaj7 (Lydian extensions subset in CST- yes, this means we can add the #11 with great effect!) Also, be sure to note that this is probably a good way to play over "Neapolitan 6th chord" in related progressions.

Tritone subs of V7-I sometimes get written as bII-I. The Big difference is that TT subs are bII7 (dominant in quality), whereas primary Phrygian Cadential chords are "Lydian" in quality. Thus, Dbmaj9#11 to C sounds very different than Db13#11 to C (which is a TT sub of G7ALT the V7 to C the tonic).

Lydian:
II (ie G resolves to F in F Lydian). This cadential chord tends to point away from the Lydian tonal center if it is made into a "dominant" quality chord. The 3rd and b7th intervals in G7, for example "want" to resolve to the consonant intervals of the parent C Major triad- thus pulling away from the F chord. Adding the 6th and 9th might be "better" extensions if necessary.

Mixolydian:
bVII (ie F resolves to G in G Mixolydian) This chord, similar to the bIImaj7 in Phrygian can be extended via "Lydian" tones (thinking in CST).

Aeolian (different than composite minor):
bVII (ie G resolves to Am in A Aeolian). This chord can be extended to bVII7 (Mixolydian subset, thinking CST) without it collapsing to the parent C Major since the b7 (F note in this case) resolves down to the P5 of the Aeolian tonic (E note of Am).

Note that these are major (not minor) chords used as the primary cadential chords. Their relative minors are secondary cadential chords. For example Dm is a secondary cadential chord to E Phrygian. Dm is the (diatonic) relative minor of F major, the primary cadential chord.

I won't go far into Ionian because I have yet to really hear the big difference between an Ionian cadence (wich is iim BTW; ei Dm resolves to C in C Ionian) and other Major tonal cadences. My "modern" ears tend to hear it as tonal in my listening experience. My loss, I guess.

Locrian is lacking the P5 interval to stabilize it as a functional tonal center; therefore I will not attempt to speculate on it. The authors of Modalogy seem to share the same feeling.


(Note that anything not in quotes is my own interpretation. Read pages 17-39 of Modalogy if you want more details or direct opinions of the authors).

[JonnyPac]

Now, if you make a practice session of playing each of the modal cadences listed above (and more if you look into the secondary cadential chords -not to be confused with secondary dominants- and pre-cadential chords in each diatonic more), you will really begin to hear how "yes, these do resolve!". Playing over them is relatively easy with the usual jazz methods. The changes are diatonic and the colorful "characteristic" notes are often up for grabs.

Now let's turn back to tonal music (resolving to major or composite minor tonic chords). Modal Interchange is often a way of using the modal progression vocabulary to spice up tonal progressions. Via parallel keys/modes, we can access these colors and "interesting" chord progressions. In fact, many classic jazz frameworks were built with modal interchange (not to mention that nearly every Nirvana tune was too!).

From my book:

Besides borrowing chords from neighboring key signatures, chords are also frequently borrowed from a key signature a b3rd higher than the original key (known as the “parallel minor” key). For example, the key signature of C Major can borrow chords from the key signature of C Minor (Eb Major) and vice versa. This system simply consists of mixing the chords drawn from the same alphabet-named tonal center (as in C Major and C Minor).

To expand on that notion, the chords found in the neighboring keys of the new key are also available. This concept often goes by the name “modal interchange” (or “modal mixture”) because those very neighboring keys happen to share parallel modal chords with the original tonic key. For example, the chords in the key of C Major can be mixed with those in C Dorian (key signature of Bb Major). ), and C Phrygian (key signature of Ab Major).*

What this all means is that a progression can include chords from all of these different key signatures without sounding at all random or unpleasant because they are related. When chords appear in a progression that are not borrowed from neighboring keys, modal interchange (parallel keys), or back-cycling (sequential dominants), it becomes safe to assume that an actual modulation is in place (not just a case of “extreme borrowing”).

Here is a guide based around the key of C Major (be sure to transpose!):


Chords in the key signature of C Major (A Minor):
C, Dm, Em (or E7), F, G, Am, and B half-dim.
+
Chords in the key signature of C Lydian (G Major/E Minor):
G, Am, Bm (or B7), C, D, Em, and F# half-dim.
+
Chords in the key signature of C Mixolydian (F Major/D Minor):
F, Gm, Am (or A7), Bb, C, Dm, and E half-dim.

+

Chords in the key signature of C Minor (Eb Major):
Eb, Fm, Gm (or G7), Ab, Bb, Cm, and D half-dim.
+
Chords in the key signature of C Dorian (Bb Major/G Minor):
Bb, Cm, Dm (or D7), Eb, F, Gm, and A half-dim.
+
Chords in the key signature of C Phrygian (Ab Major/F Minor):
Ab, Bbm, Cm (or C7), Db, Eb, Fm, and G half-dim.


Though many of these chords may seem redundant, they are each unique. Yes, Gm is in the key signature of F Major, Eb Major, and Bb Major, but it has a different chord-scale (and function) within each one. Gm is Dorian of F Major, Phrygian of Eb, and Aeolian of Bb Major. When trying to determine each one, start with the simplest answer first: a borrowed Gm (in a C Major chord progression) is probably from the key of F Major since it takes the least amount of scale and key signature modification . Occam’s razor principle should be kept in mind when dealing with this type of situation. From there, each of the chords can be extended, substituted, and/or reharmonized to taste. This concept may seem overwhelming at first, but no song will use all of these chords. These are just the most likely of unlikely chords to pop into a given progression without entirely modulating to a new key. Also try to view it as a creative opportunity to utilize interesting chords in a new composition or reharmonization.


* Borrowing from a parallel “Locrian key” key is rarely done because Locrian modes tend to sound unstable as surrogate modal tonic chords. This is due to the absence of a stabilizing perfect 5th. In fact, the perfect 5th interval (C to G in the examples above) is the “glue” that really bonds all of the related keys together.

Let's use Lady Bird (look up the chart if need be) as a good tune to see MI at work.

Cmaj7 is from C Major, Fm7 and Bb7 are from C Minor, Bbm7, Eb7, and Abmaj7 are from C Phrygian, Am7 and D7 are from C Lydain, and the famous turnaround is from C Phrygain (note the bIImaj7 cadential chord).

Green Dolphin St is another good example:
Cmaj7 Cm7 D7/C Dbmaj7/C

It pulls from C Major, C Dorian, C Lydian, and C Phrygian. The First to are "tonic" and the latter are two different modal cadential chords. II7 to I is Lydian, and bIImaj7 to I is Phrygian.


Note that, this entire thread is not about non-functional "modal jazz" (though I thoroughly enjoy "modal jazz" and have written much on it). In fact, it is nearly the opposite. Mixing the functional components from modal music in tonal professions is the aim, as opposed to using the "extended colors" of "modal palettes" in non-functional/semi-functional "modal-jazz"- which is also typified with slow harmonic rhythms and usage of 4th-based harmonies (ei So What, Impressions, Maiden Voyage, etc).


I hope that this presentation gives some of you new ideas to toy around with. These days, I tend to enjoy playing non-cyclical progressions after years of banging out endless ii-V-I's. To me, modal cadences and borrowed chords sound exciting and "fresh", though I know their lineages are, in fact, very old in the world of music.


Best wishes! Let me know if you have questions or need more examples.

[AlsoRan]

Printed it out using the "printable view" tool.

I have never read about this so it should be an interesting synopsis.

[JonnyPac]

Cool beans. Let me know what you think.

[JonnyPac]

Any questions?

Here's a progression from a Moondrool tune that is fun to use as practice:

| Cmaj13 | Abmaj13#11 | Bbmaj13 | Ebmaj13#11 Dbmaj13#11 |

[JonnyPac]

Also, I added this to the post #1:

Note that these are major (not minor) chords used as the primary cadential chords. Their relative minors are secondary cadential chords. For example, Dm is a secondary cadential chord to E Phrygian. Dm is the (diatonic) relative minor of F major, the primary cadential chord.

[danjw]

I have total respect for you johnny and I'm aware that you got a lot of flak a few months back.
But some how I can't help thinking you're over complicating here. Personally I think learning to use ones ear is the key to this, not building theory upon theory.
Sure certain chords within modes suggest a pull or a cadence toward the percieved "tonic" and one can use this relationship to build logical lines that as you say collapse back to the home tonallity. But in the context of functional tunes such as lady bird this provides no help because a certain sound is created by these modal sounds not resolving to the expected tonic.
Secondly, if while running these changes we think C Ionian/C Lydian/C Phyrgian etc. the we are putting emphasis on the underlying arp for each mode MAJ/MAJ/min etc which not only narrows our musical field also leads us to miss the points of resolutions and therefore makes the lines sound unconvincing.
Why think in terms of this modal interchange when we can think chord to chord from the point of view of the resepective roots?
Like I said mucho respect to you as a player and as a teacher. But truth be told i don't agree with what you're saying

[JonnyPac]

Fair enough.

I like to see the big picture as a composer a lot. As a player, taking the changes a la carte is certainly an option. If "git 'er done" is the MO, why bother! Dig?

I really enjoy the options this way of thinking gives me, and I have devoted many hours to playing over modal cadences in all keys (like we play over ii V7 I's) and found it very useful to my expanding vocabulary.

Be sure to note that I am not suggesting playing the "parent modes" via global/tonal center based playing instead of the actual chords via local articulation. Both are good and valid. But that's another thread.

[JonnyPac]

PS it's ok with me if this topic is not entirely useful to some (that's why I don't expand into modal cadences in my book) and that it might be too "dry". But really, it's in the theory section here, not the improvisation section. Please don't let yet another of my threads get derailed with "is theory worth over-thinking while playing tunes?" debates, etc.

Let's carry on with on-topic comments (if anyone is sincerely interested). Thanks.

[JonnyPac]

Wow- Bad luck that I quoted Brent's book the same week this blow-up happened. Anyway, I still dig the info.

[fep]

Any questions?

Here's a progression from a Moondrool tune that is fun to use as practice:

| Cmaj13 | Abmaj13#11 | Bbmaj13 | Ebmaj13#11 Dbmaj13#11 |

Could you explain how you came up with the progression and how/if it relates to modal interchange?

I'm thinking this may help me for my own compositions.

[JonnyPac]

Sure! It's easy.

C is the tonal center (and really C Major). Abmaj7 is from C Minor (parallel minor), Bbmaj7 is from C Dorian (MI), Ebmaj7#11 is also from C Dorian, and Dbmaj7#11 is from C Phrygian (MI Cadential chord).

It's just borrowing from Neighboring keys and Parallel keys. That help?

[fep]

Sure! It's easy.

C is the tonal center (and really C Major). Abmaj7 is from C Minor (parallel minor), Bbmaj7 is from C Dorian (MI), Ebmaj7#11 is also from C Dorian, and Dbmaj7#11 is from C Phrygian (MI Cadential chord).

It's just borrowing from Neighboring keys and Parallel keys. That help?

Cool, yes that does help. I realize I could have figured it out after harmonizing a bunch of scales and maybe some hit and misses, and maybe a headache.

But, there is nothing like hearing it directly from the composer because there is often more than one path that leads to the same destination. I wanted to know the path you took.

Thanks.

[fep]

But some how I can't help thinking you're over complicating here. Personally I think learning to use ones ear is the key to this, not building theory upon theory.

Sometimes just trying one new puzzle piece can send your ear down a completely different path and you can end up with a completely different scene.

And this "new puzzle piece" is something you might never come up with using your own methods.

Very useful for your original compositions.

[Reg]

Hey JP... What do you think creates modal cadences. Reg

[JonnyPac]

Tension/resolution, departure/return from a given tonal-center. Major triads resolving step-wise, most often.

[AlsoRan]

Alright.... Whew...

I finally read through this little lesson.

I enjoy analysis of things I care about so it kept my interest.

Thanks for sharing another roadmap to pull related chords into a progression I may try to write.

I am not in need of this method, but it is nice to consider seeing as I have been writing my own songs and jazz progressions. But the ones in my head are very simple, two or three chords with minimal movement and a lot of melody, kind of in the vein of "So What" and "Impressions," two of my favorite Jazz songs.

With only a fraction of the time on instrument that you have Senor Pac, I find that my taste is very simple. The more complex songs I have in my head utilize the old tried and true progressions that made me fall in love with Jazz in the first place.

Who knows, this little lesson may one day help me find that elusive chord that is in my head. For now, I am just a simple soul (ha, ha, similar to the name of one of my songs).

[JonnyPac]

That's cool AR,

I also really like minimal progressions. For example, my tune "A Phrygain Vampire" is AABA 16 bars. All of the A sections are "A Phrygian" (from the signature of F/Dm, one flat). The B section uses simple modal interchange and a Phrygian bII cadence. It goes Dm7 | Fmaj7 | Abmaj7 Dbmaj7#11 | Bbmaj7#11 | Bar 3 uses chords from the parallel key of 4 flats.

It's slow a spacious, no craziness, but LOTS of harmonic color. You might enjoy playing with things like that.

[AlsoRan]

That's cool AR,

I also really like minimal progressions. For example, my tune "A Phrygain Vampire" is AABA 16 bars. All of the A sections are "A Phrygian" (from the signature of F/Dm, one flat). The B section uses simple modal interchange and a Phrygian bII cadence. It goes Dm7 | Fmaj7 | Abmaj7 Dbmaj7#11 | Bbmaj7#11 | Bar 3 uses chords from the parallel key of 4 flats.

It's slow a spacious, no craziness, but LOTS of harmonic color. You might enjoy playing with things like that.

Thanks for another example to analyze.

Take care.

[dogbite]

i think of modal interchange as primarily as a free mixture of major (ionian) and natural minor (aeolian) like this,

I ii iii IV V vi vii°

in C: C Dm Em F G Am B°

i ii° bIII iv v bVI bVII

in C: Cm D° Eb Fm Gm Ab Bb

in particular the major chords:

C Eb F G Ab Bb

and i'll freely use any extension of the chords, such as dominant and major seventh, but one also may use the flat side of the circle of fifths relative to the tonal center to pick and choose:

Cmaj7 Fmaj7 Bbmaj7 Ebmaj7 Abmaj7 Dbmaj7 etc...

and note the inclusion here of a phrygian interchange in the form of the bIImaj7:

Cmaj7 (I in C major) Dbmaj7 (bII in C phrygian)

[Reg]

Tension/resolution, departure/return from a given tonal-center. Major triads resolving step-wise, most often.

Hey JP...Saving the tension/resolve for further discussion, so if we're creating or hearing modal cadence, what in in the movement away from accepted modal tonal center could create that tension. I'm not trying to get tricky etc... You sound as though you enjoy modal music, I like your modal grooves. Just seeing if your using anything else besides root motion. There are obviously a few systems or methods to create tension/release, jazz modal tension release might imply a sub-group worth defining.
Thanks Reg

[JonnyPac]

Well, Reg. I'm never too interested in making things that are "jazzy" just to be "jazzy". I look at voice-leading as the main glue for all chord progressions and lines in the long run. Using a bigger-than-one-key pool to create ideas (regardless of pedantic naming of functions) is inspiring to me. My favorite rock, pop, jazz, and classical composers/songwriters were/are all into these things, and I like to be able to write/play like them fluently. The music speaks in the end. From Debussy, to Wayne Shorter, to Radiohead- It's cool with me.

[Reg]

hey JP... Let's skip it... Voice leading works for me. And YEA the music always trumps the verbal whatever... Thanks Reg

[JonnyPac]

hey JP... Let's skip it... Voice leading works for me. And YEA the music always trumps the verbal whatever... Thanks Reg

I didn't mean to blow off your question- I just am not sure what you were trying to get at. I assume it was good though, knowing you.

Cheers.

[Reg]

I didn't mean to blow off your question- I just am not sure what you were trying to get at. I assume it was good though, knowing you.

Cheers.

Hey JP...sorry for miss understanding. Point was use of modal characteristic notes for helping to explain modal cadences. But nobody really uses just modal systems, there is almost always combinations from other systems.
Thanks Reg