In part one I covered good modal substitutes for the Dorian mode. Just in case some of you misunderstand, I do not mean the Dorian...

For those of you who are unaware, in 2011 Martin Jarvis, associate professor of music at Charles Darwin university and artistic director...

As many of you know, the Dorian mode is played over a minor chord, or a bass note and contains the fundamental characteristic of a Major...

Clearly, a lot of guitarists are interested in the subject of improvising with the goal of composing in mind, judging by the amount of...

After receiving confirmation that their are many of you out there that would like to know more about improvisation for composition on the...

Right, here goes. This is a subject that is rarely covered. Improvisation. Why improvise? It improves mental dexterity, forms neural...

I know many of you are familiar with the Melodic minor scale, henceforth referred to as Melodic, but for those that aren't yet, this is...

The two scales mentioned are great to use when improvising in a Major or minor key. For those of you who have the Modal Method book, the...

I came across a reference in a blog I was reading about a musician that was using scales that didn't resolve until the second or even...

Recently, someone commented on a post I made, saying that my mention of a b4 was the first they had ever heard of such a thing. That got...

Warning: This post is not for beginners. Reading this post without adequate theoretical preparation may induce nausea, panic attacks or...

As mentioned towards the end of my previous post on the augmented chord, the notes that fall outside of the augmented triad are the ones...

As I was specifically asked to write a post on the use of augmented chords by a perplexed music theorist I though I would start with the...

I have been asked for an analysis of this movement from the Lute Suite (transcribed from a cello suite) as it has an enigmatic feel to...

After the Neapolitan minor is introduced into a Major key, it is followed by the Persian scale (1 b2 3 4 b5 b6 7) which is a really...

As mentioned in the first post in this series, the most common use for Neapolitan minor, at least in Bach's WTC I, follows the Hungarian...

The Neapolitan minor is really useful but sadly neglected. In the book The Modal Method, I explain why it should be studied after Major...

Following on from the last post, the focus this time is on introducing the Harmonic Major into a Major key before the change to Harmonic...

The Harmonic pair of scales are often combined in two ways: minor then Major or vice versa. The focus here is on the first. It is a very...

There are 38 modes with seven notes that work well over the Dominant 7b5 chord (1 3 b5 b7) and with the addition of the Whole tone and...