View post (Modes in Smoke on the Water)

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david.wagle
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Joined: 09/20/16
Posts: 5
david.wagle
Registered User
Joined: 09/20/16
Posts: 5
01/27/2017 2:22 pm

From a music theory point of view, the whole thing is in G minor and talking about modes here confuses what modes are. Modes are scales, and for something to be talked about as being in a particular mode, the tonal center of the melody needs to be the tonic of that mode. That is, the KEY of the melody needs to be the KEY of the mode. [br][br]In Blackmore's solo, the note tonal center is G. Moreover, the resolution of the solo is a movement from D to G -- that is from the V to the I of G minor using C# as a passing tone. The final two notes are a classic 4th to tonic resolution. [br][br]Very few rock songs actually use modes in any real sense. They do appear in Gregorian chant, and modal jazz, and modern orchestral music with great frequency. But not in (most) popular music. [br][br]Using a particular scale shape on a chromatic instrument to ensure one is hitting notes related to the harmonic structure isn't using a mode. It's just playing in the key of the melody in a way that encourages using chord tones to manage consonance across the solo. [br][br]If someone wants to really investigate modes in music theory, I highly recommend the book "Modal Diatonicism (Harmonic and Melodic Music Theory and Method for the 21st Century) (Volume 3)" which goes over modal composition in great detail.