The problem with the tritone in modal harmony is not so much the interval itself but the placement of that interval in a voicing in 3rds. This helps anchor the tritone and ensures modal rather than tonal orientation. Note that the respective tritones are given strong support from each modal tonic in the bass clef. Play the examples below on the piano and you will see and hear that these voicings, as simple as they are, are potential I chords in D Dorian, E Phrygian, F Lydian, G Mixolydian, A Aeolian, and B Locrian respectively. Since the characteristic note of each mode is also a note in the diatonic tritone of that mode, it stands to reason that the tritone may actually have a role in helping to establish the sound of that mode. This warning is valuable, but it can be somewhat limiting, especially in jazz composition. Most textbook explanations of modal harmony warn you to beware of the diatonic tritone in each mode, lest it pull you into the relative major key. Each mode contains a so-called characteristic note that helps to distinguish it from major and minor, and from the other modes. In effect, modes can be viewed as displacements of the major scale.ĭiatonic 7th chords for each of the modes can be derived, as shown below. The modes have provided fertile musical soil for jazz composers since the late 1950s. This article was originally published in Chapter 2 of Jazz Composition: Theory and Practice by Ted Pease.
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