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Modal: Rhythm
from Mimi Fox's Jazz Anatomy
Jazz players love to open things up a bit over
modal tunes – meaning, playing over one chord
– like “So What,” “Impressions,” “Footprints” and
hundreds of others. You can even apply some of
the concepts here over minor II-V-I vamps.
In order to play hip chords over modal pieces,
you must learn your chords up and down the
length of the guitar. It’s great to stay in one area
and know all your chords, but it’s even better to
be able to have the flexibility to play any chord
anywhere on the neck. Practice this study until
you see and hear it in your sleep!
Going Modal
Playing over modal songs can be a real challenge
for people because there’s one tonality
and the harmony seems to be static, although
in reality there’s a lot that you can do over it. As
you can see in our first example, all we did was
play from the Dm7 up to Em7 to Fmaj, down to
Em, back to Dm, and a little bit to Cmaj. We are
treating the Dm as what we call Dorian – as if
it were the II of the key of C major – and playing
up and down using chords in that key. You
could add a little bit of Dm9 to this progression
as well.
Eventually, you’ll want to utilize some syncopated
rhythms and intricate chord substitutions to
“open up” the sound of the harmony (see the
second example). One technique you can use
for this is called “implying the V chord.” The
V chord of Dm would be an A7, so sometimes
what people do when they’re playing modally
is put in A7 chords – an A7b9 or an A7#9 – as
if there is a five chord. Even though the bass
player is still playing a Dm, this works because
of the strong pull of the V chord to the I.
Because of the strength of that chord going
to the Dm, it’s almost like the bass player is
playing it, even if he or she isn’t hitting those
exact notes.
The C minor arpeggio should be recognizable
to blues and rock players as it is similar to a
pentatonic scale, but it leaves out the IV. Also,
over the VI you could use a G7 arpeggio since
the VI chord is G7.
Variations
Another thing you can do, which was really
developed into a high art form by McCoy
Tyner playing with John Coltrane in the ‘60s,
is actually take the minor chord and imply
other harmonies or different relationships to
the I chord. For instance, you could move in
minor thirds – Dm to Fm to Abm. The reason
you can do this is because you know that
you can always come back to home base,
the Dm chord. Try moving in half steps or
major thirds, for example. You can move in
any relationship as long as you always come
back to your I chord.
Another super-hip sound comes from harmonic
sidestepping – moving up or down a
half step from your basic Dm. We can move
into D# or Ebm then down into C#m. That
just creates a little bit of tension coming in
and out of the I chord, and results in a very
strong sound.
That about does it for this month.
Experiment with the examples we’ve given,
and see where these quick tips take your
modal playing! See you next month with
more jazz knowledge.
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