June Music Blog

Dean Cutinelli here from the Colorado School of Music. Remember we are just a call away to start your private music lessons. We offer guitar lessons, piano lessons, drum lessons, Violin lessons, vocal lessons as well orchestral instruments. Ok now on to the Dorian mode.

The Dorian Mode

The modes are a variation on either the major scale or minor scale. There are seven modes, Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian and Locrian. This month we will be discussing the Dorian mode. The Dorian mode is easiest to understand when comparing it to the natural minor scale. If you played an A natural minor scale your note are A,B,C,D,E,F,G. The Dorian mode takes the natural minor scale an augments one note. The Dorian mode has a raised 6th if compared to the natural minor scale. If we stay with A being the root of our Dorian scale your note would now be A,B,C,D,E,F#,G. By change just one note in the scale you can create whole new sound. IF you

Are familiar with your key signatures you may be saying to your self well that’s just a G major scale starting on A. Yes this is another way to theorize the Dorian scale. 

The History of the Dorian Mode

The early Byzantine church developed a system of eight musical modes (the octoechos), which served as a model for medieval European chant theorists when they developed their own modal classification system starting in the 9th century.^[3] The success of the Western synthesis of this system with elements from the fourth book of De institutione musica of Boethius, created the false impression that the Byzantine octoechos was inherited directly from ancient Greece.^[4]Originally used to designate one of the traditional harmoniai of Greek theory the name was appropriated (along with six others) by the 2nd-century theorist Ptolemy to designate his seven tonoi, or transposition keys.

Who uses the Dorian Mode

You can hear this scale used in rock, jazz, blues, classical and pop as well as other styles of music. 

In the blues rock vain Carlos Santana makes the Dorian mode a big part of his sound. Oye Como Va has a very strong Dorian sound. In a classical setting Beethoven‘s Missa Solemnis incorporates the Dorian scale. Milestones by Miles Davis will give 

An example of this sound in a jazz context. Last give a listen to Eleanor Rigby by the Beatles to hear us very cleverly in a pop song.

I hope after reading this you have a better Idea on what a mode is and in particular the Dorian mode. Please feel free to contact us and come in for a music lesson to learn all about the modes and anything else pertaining to music from one of our great instructor at the Colorado School of Music in Golden CO. We offer guitar lessons, piano lessons, drum lessons, violin lessons and vocal lessons as wells as orchestral instruments. 

Thanks for reading!

Dean Cutinelli

The Fender Stratocaster

Dean Cutinelli here from the Colorado School of Music. Remember we are just a call away to start your private music lessons. We offer guitar lessons, ukulele lessons, piano lessons, drum lessons, violin lessons, vocal lessons as well orchestral instruments. We have add a new online department as to provide music lessons remotely. Now on to our discussion about the stratocaster guitar.

The Fender American stratocaster is one of the most classic guitar sound you will hear. Such guitar gods like Jimi Hendrix,

Stevie Ray Vaughan and Eric Clapton have made the Strat part of their signature sound. 

The Stratocaster was the first Fender guitar to feature three pickups and a spring tension vibrato system, as well as being the first Fender with a contoured body.^[3] The Stratocaster’s sleek, contoured body shape (officially referred to by Fender as the “Comfort Contour Body”) differed from the flat, squared edge design of the Telecaster. The Stratocaster’s double cutaways allowed players easier access to higher positions on the neck. The classic pickup set up on a strat is 3 single coil pickups and a 5 way pickup selector. Each position on the selector gives you a very different sound. You are given the option to use one pickup at a time or use two pickups at the same time. The strat is also equipped with a volume knob and two tone knobs. The volume is a master volume and controls all three pickups. Each of the tone knobs control the bridge, middle and neck pickup. The classic pickup settings on the strat are the in between spots on the pickup selector. Meaning you are using two pickups at the same time. 

There have been many variations on the strat over the years. You can get different pickup formations. For example you could have two hum bucker picks installed. A humbucking pickup, humbucker, or double coil, is a type of electric guitar pickup that uses two coils to “buck the hum” (or cancel out the interference) picked up by coil pickups caused by electromagnetic interference, particularly mains hum.

Another common variation is to have a different bridge put on the guitar. Some players like a fixed bridge well others might want a Floyd Rose locking bridge installed on there strat. Regardless of the variations this guitar has established it self as one the most classic guitar sound on the planet.

I hope after reading this you have a little better understanding of the stratocaster guitar. Please feel free to contact us and come in for a music lesson from one of our great instructor at the Colorado School of Music in Golden CO. We offer guitar lessons, ukulele lessons, piano lessons, drum lessons, violin lessons and vocal lessons as wells as orchestral instruments. 

Thanks for reading!

Dean Cutinelli

Dean Cutinelli here from the Colorado School of Music. Remember we are just a call away to start your private music lessons. We offer guitar lessons, ukulele lessons, piano lessons, drum lessons, Violin lessons, vocal lessons as well orchestral instruments. Now on the our discussion of the Mixolydian scale.

The Mixolydian  Scale

The Mixolydian scale or mode as it is more commonly referred to is the 5th mode of the seven modes that are derived from ancient greek music. If you were to play a C major scale starting on the 5th scale degree you would be playing G Mixolydian. The notes for the scale would be G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Yes this can be theorized by say this is just a C major scale starting on G. The model sound can also be described as a major scale with a flatted 7th degree. Again If we take the notes G, A, B, C, D, E and F again you would have the G Mixolydian scale. This mode is great for improvising over a dominant 7th chord. The dominant 7th chord is comprised of a root major third, perfect 5th, and minor 7th interval. There for our notes for G7 are G, B, D and F. Try playing the G Mixolydian scale over the G7 chord to hear how well these fit together.

The History of Mixolydian 

The idea of a Mixolydian mode comes from the music theory of ancient Greece. The invention of the ancient Greek Mixolydian mode was attributed to Sappho, the 7th-century-B.C. poet and musician.^[1] However, what the ancient Greeks thought of as Mixolydian was very different from the modern interpretation of the mode.

Who uses the Mixolydian Mode

You can hear this scale used in traditional music, pop, rock, blues Jazz and classical music.  As we are discussing music it’s always best to listen to some different songs that incorporate this scale or sound in there music. A traditional song would be Old Joe Clark. In a classical setting Bach uses this sound in “Fughetta super: Dies sind die heilgen zehn Gebot” in G Major. In popular music give a listen to Clocks by Cold play. In All Blues by Miles Davis you can here it used in a blues context. 

I hope after reading this you have a better Idea on what a mode is and in particular the Mixolydian mode. Please feel free to contact us and come in for a music lesson to learn all about the modes and anything else pertaining to music from one of our great instructor at the Colorado School of Music in Golden CO. We offer guitar lessons, piano lessons, drum lessons, violin lessons and vocal lessons as wells as orchestral instruments. 

Thanks for reading!

Dean Cutinelli

February Music Blog

Dean Cutinelli here from the Colorado School of Music. Remember we are just a call away to start your private music lessons. We offer guitar lessons, piano lessons, drum lessons, Violin lessons, vocal lessons as well orchestral instruments. Now on to our discussion of the Lydian scale.

The Lydian Scale

The Lydian scale or mode as it is more commonly referred to is the 4th mode of the seven modes that are derived from ancient greek music. If you were to play a  C major scale starting on the 4th scale degree you would be playing F Lydian. The notes for the scale would be F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Yes this can be theorized by say this is just a C major scale starting on F.  When you put an F major chord behind the C major scale you now create the model sound of F Lydian. In this example if we think of F as our key center we could also say we are playing and F major scale with a raised or sharp fourth in it. Our notes would be F, G, A, B,C,D and E. Remembering that our key signature for F major is Bb, there for we now have B natural or a major scale with a sharp 4th. You now have again the Lydian scale. This scale is a perfect fit when you see a Major 7th chord with a sharp 4th. Vamp on a F major chord followed by  F Major 7th #4 or try F to G13.  Both progressions will give you A chance to test out your F Lydian scale.

The History of Lydian 

The name Lydian refers to the ancient kingdom of Lydia in Anatolia. In Greek music theory, there was a Lydian scale or “octave species” extending from parhypate hypaton to trite diezeugmenon, equivalent in the diatonic genus to the medieval and modern Ionian mode. In the Middle Ages and Renaissance, this mode was described in two ways. The first way is the diatonic octave species from F up to F an octave above, divided at C to produce two segments.

The second is as a mode with a final on F and an ambitus extending to F an octave higher and in which the note C was regarded as having an important melodic function. 

Who uses the Lydian Mode

The Lydian mode is defiantly a particular sound. You don’t hear it used as wide as you would the Mixolydian mode, but it still has its place. An example from the middle of the century is the scherzo movement of Carlos Chávez‘s Symphony No. 3. In the jazz world the Lydian mode inspired the works of people such as Miles Davis and John Coltrane. In popular music the passage beginning at the words “Much as I definitely enjoy solitude” in the song “Possibly Maybe” by Björk shows of the sound of the Lydian scale.The bass line in The Police‘s 1983 song “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic” again incorporates the Lydian sound. Many Polish folksongs, including the mazurka, are in the Lydian mode; the first six notes of this mode were sometimes known as the “Polish mode”.

I hope after reading this you have a better Idea on what a mode is and in particular the Lydian mode. Please feel free to contact us and come in for a music lesson to learn all about the modes and anything else pertaining to music from one of our great instructor at the Colorado School of Music in Golden CO. We offer guitar lessons, piano lessons, drum lessons, violin lessons and vocal lessons as wells as orchestral instruments. 

Thanks for reading!

Dean Cutinelli

January Music Blog 2020

Dean Cutinelli here from the Colorado School of Music. Remember we are just a call away to start your private music lessons. We offer guitar lessons, ukulele lessons, piano lessons, drum lessons, violin lessons, vocal lessons as well orchestral instruments. Now on to our discussion about chords.

Today I will be talking about chords that are native to a major key. Every major key has 7 chords. There are many extensions  that can be added to chords that make up the vast variety of chords in music. We will save extensions and altered chords for another time.  The major key is comprised of a major I chord, a minor ii chord, a minor iii chord, a major IV chord, major V chord, a minor vi chord, and a diminished vii*chord. 

Now I am going to break down each chord into what I like to call chord definitions. Your major I IV and V chords are a root, a major 3rd, and a perfect fifth or R-3rd-5th. Your minor ii and minor iii and vi chords are a root, a minor 3rd and a perfect 5th or R-b3rd-5th.  Your diminished chord is a root a minor 3rd and a b5th or R-b3rd-b5th. So for example if we are in the key of C major our major I chord is C and the note are C-E-G. If we wanted to make the C major chord to a C minor chord our notes would then be C-Eb-G. If we want to convert a C major chord to a C diminish chord the note would now be C-Eb-Gb. The next level of chord are your major 7th, minor 7th, dominant 7th and minor 7th b5 chords. I will be discuss these in next months music blog. 

As a musician the chord definitions we help you as you continue to learn the different chord rules definitions and notations you will see through our your musical career.

I hope after reading this you have a little better understanding about the chords that are in a major key. Please feel free to contact us and come in for a music lesson from one of our great instructor at the Colorado School of Music in Golden CO. We offer guitar lessons, ukulele lessons, piano lessons, drum lessons, violin lessons and vocal lessons as wells as orchestral instruments. 

Thanks for reading!

Dean Cutinelli