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Ionian and Aeolian How to Use

How to Use Ionian and Aeolian

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No, those aren’t Pokemon, I promise! (Although, if you want to make a musical Pokemon spinoff, I’m all ears!). Ionian and Aeolian are two easy and familiar Musical Modes that you probably already know how to use! If you’ve missed our previous posts in this series, check out Dorian, Lydian, Mixolydian, and Phrygian. After today, we only have one Musical Mode left before you’ve become the very best and caught them all – congrats!

 

What is Ionian?

Ionian is just a fancy name for our beloved Major Scale. There are no alternations or special tricks. As a reminder, the Major Scale in C looks like this:

 

C – D – E – F – G – A – B – C

 

It’s easy to remember how to make a Major Scale in any key by using the following pattern:

 

Whole – Whole – Half – Whole – Whole – Whole – Half

 

This pattern reminds us of the order of Whole and Half steps that are between each note. For example, there is a Whole Step between the first two notes of the Major Scale (C and D, in our example). If you can remember the pattern, you can make Ionian in any key!

 

Using C Major, the chords in C Ionian are as follows:

 

C – Dm – Em – F – G – Am – Bdim – C

 

What is Aeolian?

Aeolian is just a fancy name for the Minor Scale. Like with Ionian, there are no special tricks or alternations necessary! We’ll use A Minor because it’s the easiest to visualize – it uses all white keys on the piano and shares the same key signature with C Major:

 

A – B – C – D – E – F – G – A

 

If you are trying to get to Aeolian from Ionian, simply lower the third, sixth, and seventh notes. Here’s C Ionian again:

 

C – D – E – F – G – A – B – C

 

Now, if we lower the third, sixth, and seventh notes by a half step, we get C Minor, or C Aeolian:

 

C – D – Eb – F – G – Ab – Bb – C

 

That’s it! After checking out all those other crazy modes, Ionian and Aeolian are a piece of cake.

 

Not So Fast!

Wait a minute, what about the other forms of Minor? Minor Scale enthusiasts know that there are three common forms of the Minor Scale. These are Natural Minor, Harmonic Minor, and Melodic Minor. The Aeolian Mode is another name for the Natural Minor Scale. Harmonic and Melodic Minors are not Aeolian.

 

A Note (pun intended) on Harmonic and Melodic:

Here’s how to make the Harmonic and Melodic Minor Scales if we’re starting from Natural Minor (Aeolian). For Harmonic Minor, simply raise the seventh note of the Natural Minor Scale. The A Harmonic Minor Scale looks like this:

 

A – B – C – D – E – F – G# – A

 

That’s opposed to the Natural (Aeolian) Scale that features a G natural, not a G#.

 

Melodic Minor has an unusual rule: it uses different notes depending on whether you are ascending or descending the scale. On the way up, the Melodic Minor raises the sixth and seventh notes of the Natural Minor. In A, that looks like this:

 

A – B – C – D – E – F# – G# – A

 

But, on the way down, the alterations disappear. We are left with the Natural Minor (Aeolian) on the descent:

 

A – B – C – D – E – F – G – A

 

The entire A Melodic Minor Scale, ascending and descending, looks like this:

 

A – B – C – D – E – F# – G# – A – G – F – E – D – C – B – A

 

Just a reminder: Aeolian only applies to the Natural Minor Scale. It’s still fun to use the other forms, though!

 

Conclusion:

I hope that this edition of Musical Modes was easy to digest and put into practice. Ionian and Aeolian are always around us, and their sounds are baked into our musical listening experience. Stay tuned for our last installment all about the craziness, wackiest, and strangest mode of all – Locrian! In the meantime, check out our other posts on the Knowlege Blog – and keep practicing!

Lydian Scale How To Use

How to Use the Lydian Mode

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It’s almost December, and that means that there is only one month left to finish our series on Musical Modes! If you’ve missed the previous blog posts about it, get caught up at the following links: Dorian, Phrygian, Mixolydian. After today’s post on the lydian mode, we only have two more to go! (yes, I know there are three left, but trust me on this) You’re almost a musical master of modes! 

 

Lydian and Mixolydian are Cousins:

The most recent post in this series was all about Mixolydian. You’ll remember that Mixolydian is just a Major (Ionian) scale with the seventh note lowered. There’s just that one difference! Similarly, Lydian mode only changes one note from the major scale. This is easy to remember as their names are so similar, plus they have distinct tonal differences. Lydian, as we’ll soon learn, sounds bright and a bit otherworldly. I remember this because “Lydian” sounds exotic and maybe like the name of a planet from a distant galaxy. Mixolydian simply “mixes it up” by changing the note that is altered. Mixolydian sounds much darker and more brooding than Lydian.

 

How to Make the Lydian Mode:

Let’s start with our good ‘ol C Major scale:

 

C – D – E – F – G – A – B – C

 

To make Lydian, we just have to raise the fourth scale degree by one half step. That means that in C Major, the fourth note “F” will become “F#”.

 

The C Lydian scale is:

 

C – D – E – F# – G – A – B – C

 

Traditionally, the fourth scale degree is powerful and has a lot of weight when writing melodies and harmonies. The alteration in Lydian mode really sounds surprising and makes the listener pay attention! You probably know that half-step relationships are also powerful and can pull the melody of the piece into new and exciting areas. The half-step between the Lydian F# and the G in the above scale is cool and unique – it pulls us towards G effortlessly and makes a lot of Lydian pieces sound like they are floating, ethereal, or happy!

 

Harmonies in Lydian:

Some modes suit harmony writing better than others, and Lydian is a flagship example. Let’s look at the normal diatonic chords of C Major without any alteration:

 

C – Dm – Em – F – G – Am – Bdim – C

 

Now, if we change our scale to C Lydian, the chords will look like this (due to the raised fourth):

 

C – D – Em – F#dim – G – Am – Bm – C

 

Immediately, we can see some cool and exciting things happening. The biggest and most “Lydian-sounding” change is with the second chord. The Major 2 chord (II) is the quintessential sound of Lydian, especially when it is put up against the 1 chord (I). We still have a diminished chord in the row, much like any standard major key, but it has changed position. That F# diminished gives even more pull towards the dominant chord (V), or G major. This is a useful tool for pivoting with key changes or giving extra finality and resolution to the piece’s harmony. Lastly, the last three chords in the row (Am, Bm, C (or vi, vii, I)) can be used in series for a medieval or mellow sound – a pleasing progression with little pull that drifts listlessly through the music.

 

Examples of Songs in Lydian:

You may be surprised to learn that there are A LOT of these! My personal favorite is Man on the Moon by REM because it is in C Lydian. It uses all of the chords and tricks that we outlined already, and it’s easy to follow. The verses are only C to D, hammering home that unique Lydian sound and contributing to the cool imagery of being in space.

 

Dreams by Fleetwood Mac is another excellent example. Much like Man on the Moon, Dreams uses the Lydian Major I, Major II chord progression throughout the verse.

 

Jane Says, the surprising acoustic jam by Jane’s Addiction, is also Lydian. It only uses the I and II chords for the entire song! Lastly, Human Nature by Michael Jackson boasts heavy but intricate use of the Lydian II chord throughout the verses and choruses.

 

Conclusion:

I hope that this post has given you the knowledge and confidence to experiment with Lydian in your soloing and writing! It’s a lovely mode, and it’s easy to throw that #4 note in there to spice up your sound. Stay tuned for the last two posts in this series on our Knowledge Blog, and until then, keep jammin’!

Better Lyrics

Better Lyrics: Five Tips for Writing Songs

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I recently read a fantastic book (nearly a dissertation) on how to write better lyrics for songwriting. It helped me a lot, and I’ve distilled some of the most useful points here! Check these out if you’re working on becoming a better songwriter, or if you simply would like to be more informed on what makes a good song structure.

*Note: Just a reminder that there are no rules in music. Being informed about the “proper” rules of lyrics, music theory, and more only allow you to make better choices and be more creative when you break those rules. Take everything with a grain of salt. If it doesn’t apply to you, save it in the memory bank for later.

 

1. Avoid Cliches

Oh boy, this one is huge. Cliches are everywhere in music and our daily speech. They are impossible to avoid, but they exist because they worked effectively at one point in time. The problem is that they have all been so overused that their meaning has been absolutely diluted. When you are writing anything (not just lyrics!), always be on the lookout for cliches that pop into your text. Oftentimes, the first solution that flows from your fingers is a poor choice – remember, cliches are very familiar and overdone. There is a universe of incredible and descriptive language available – you just have to dig past those cliches to find it.

Here are some deadly cliches that you (probably) should avoid. As you work through the list, keep track of the ones that really irk you. “Circle back” and  “begs the question” both make me want to drown in a sea of sorrow and die of a broken heart. (see what I did there?)

 

2. Travelogue

Think of the last time that you saw an advertisement for an incredible vacation. It likely showed highly-saturated images of all the stops along the way – first the beach, then the market, then the fancy hotel, don’t forget about the dolphins! This format is something that we should avoid when writing lyrics. Resist the urge to link your verses and story together by using similar, yet unrelated, snapshots of life. For example, a travelogue song about a shopping addiction could go like this:

Verse 1: Susy loves to buy online

Verse 2: Bill goes to the mall every day

Verse 3: Maria blew her savings on jewelry at the coin show

A much more effective song would have a consistent story. Something like this:

Verse 1: Susy loves to buy online

Verse 2: She can’t wait for shipping, so she goes to the mall every day to buy now

Verse 3: Susy blew all her life savings on her shopping addiction, will she be okay?

Much better. There is now a clear progression with the outline. The choruses can comment on the tragedy and the true text of the verses can flesh out the story – and it’s consistent! Speaking of…

 

3. Verses Serve the Chorus

All of the verses in a well-written song should relate back to the chorus. You can also think of this as the chorus is a commentary on the verses. That can get tricky, because a chorus is a repeating segment of music. It always should repeat the same as before, or very close to it. That means that the chorus needs to fit every verse, no matter which direction the song goes. Let’s take an ambiguous chorus (often a good choice), and fit it with verse outlines that are very different, but still have a consistent story:

Verse 1: Johnny was born yesterday

Chorus: Can we just slow down a minute?

Verse 2: Johnny is getting married tomorrow

Chorus: Can we just slow down a minute?

Verse 3: Johnny died the other day

Chorus: Can we just slow down a minute?

Although the above example is pretty generic, the chorus works with each verse theme. There is no forcing or shoe-horning.

 

4. Show, Don’t Tell

In a similar vein, remember the phrase “Show, Don’t Tell”. This is big in acting, television, and movies as well. This just means that we should never assume our audience to be anything but intelligent. The listener will always be able to infer and figure out meaning in your lyrics. Less is more, and don’t be afraid to be ambiguous. As far as structure goes, the verses should “show” the story to listener with luscious descriptive words and content. The chorus should “tell” the listener how to feel by reinforcing and recapturing the meat and potatoes of the story that was already established in the verse.

Another way to use “Show, Don’t Tell”, is by remembering point of view. If you are writing a song in first person (using “I” and “me”), it is easy to start telling the listener information that they should (or do) already know. For example, the line “You had just finished your ice cream when I first said “I love you” is clunky. The “you”, or second person, already knows the information. Why would you need to remind someone of that fact? However, see what happens when we change the perspective “She had just finished her ice cream when I first said “I love you”. Now it works! The line has gone from a strange, slightly patronizing tone, to a good old-fashioned story. Show, don’t tell!

 

5. Don’t Be Obsessed with Rhyme (But Mind the Format)

Rhyme is a huge stumbling block for beginning songwriters. A good rhyme can make a decent song fantastic, and a poor rhyme can wreck a good song. However, rhymes don’t have to be perfect. With singing, we can get away with rhymes that are close enough. Some of the most famous songs ever written don’t even rhyme at all! Don’t allow yourself to cram rhymes in where they feel unnatural, and avoid picking the easy rhymes that come first. For example, complete the rhyme:

Baby won’t you take my hand?

I just want you to __________________.

I’d bet that you said “understand”. That’s obvious, and bordering on cliche. But what other words also rhyme and could make your lyric pop? How about “plan”, “man”, “cram”, “jam”, “damn”? The second line may need to be rewritten to accommodate these juicier rhymes, but that’s okay! With songwriting, we rhyme the vowel sounds, not the consonant sounds.

If your songs end up rhyming with a scheme, change it up between the verses, choruses, and other sections. That keeps your format fresh and exciting, plus the listener won’t get bored. For example, a chorus could have the stable A, B, A, B rhyme scheme, but the verse could have a more gritty and interesting A, B, A, C scheme. The possibilities are endless (and cliched)!

 

Conclusion:

I hope that these five points will help you with writing better lyrics! They certainly helped me. Check out Writing Better Lyrics if you’re looking for more information, and stay tuned for future updates to our Knowledge Blog!

mixolydian mode

How to use the Mixolydian Mode

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Welcome back to another round of Modes with Songbirds! So far, I’ve published blogs on the Dorian Mode and my personal favorite, the Phrygian Mode. Check them out if you haven’t already! This post is all about Mixolydian, a cool workhorse of a Mode with a distinct flavor. It’s also quite easy compared to the others!

 

Quick Status Check:

Let’s take a pause and see the progress that we’ve made (and where we still have to go). There are seven different musical Modes, and each one correlates with a note of a normal seven-note scale. Let’s pretend that we are in C Major. The seven notes of that scale are:

C – D – E – F – G – A – B – C (but we don’t count this C – it’s just a higher octave of the first C)

Using all of the fancy Mode names, the Modes correlate with the scale in this order. Modes that we have discussed in blog form are in bold:

Ionian – Dorian – Phrygian – Lydian – Mixolydian – Aeolian – Locrian

Now, keep in mind that Ionian is just the Major Scale as we know and love it. There aren’t any tricks. Likewise, Aeolian is the natural minor scale. We’ll discuss the different types of minor scales in a future post, but you probably are already familiar with some form of Aeolian. That means that, after this post, there are really only two unique Modes left – Lydian and Locrian!

 

All About Mixolydian:

Here’s the meat and potatoes of this post: The Mixolydian Mode. Like all other modes, Mixolydian borrows the same notes and accidentals (sharps and flats) of its parent scale. If we are playing in C Major, and want to use the Mixolydian scale that already lives in C, we would start our scale on the note G. All we have to do is play the notes of the C Major scale from G until we hit the next G. Those notes would be:

G – A – B – C – D – E – F – G

Take a second to try this on a nearby instrument. You’ll likely hear the strange note right away – we are so used to hearing a normal Major Scale that the “weird” F natural note jumps out! Our ears want to hear F#, but Mixolydian surprises us.

 

The Theory of Mixolydian:

Mixolydian Mode is very closely related to the Major Scale. All you have to do is find a Major Scale and then lower the seventh note, or leading tone, by one half step. In the above example, the G Major Scale was transformed into Mixolydian by lowering the normal F# to F natural. This applies to every major key.

For example, C Mixolydian would be:

C – D – E – F – G – A – Bb – C (notice the Bb, not B natural!)

 

How to Mixolydian:

Given that Mixolydian is just one note away from the Major Scale, it’s extremely easy and fun to “flirt” with that special seventh note. For example, you could use the F natural as a chromatic passing tone in a G Major solo. You can also over-accent the lowered seventh to give your performance a bluesy, folk-like feel.

Mixolydian works perfectly with songs in Major Keys. It’s just enough to make your listeners’ ears perk up and pay attention to what you’re saying!

You can also lean hard into the lowered seventh note and write songs with a lowered seventh chord. For example, in the key of G Major, the normal diatonic chords are as follows:

G – Am – Bm – C – D – E – F#dim – G

Using Mixolydian, the diatonic chords look like this:

G – Am – Bm – C – D – Em – F – G

Whoa, F Major instead of F# diminished? That’s something exciting! Using this chord immediately sounds like folk and bluegrass. It’s not as dramatic as some other, more exotic, chord substitutions, but it’s instantly recognizable and sounds good to every listener. It’s unique and powerful, but not too out-of-the-box.

 

A Popular Example of Mixolydian:

Take a listen to Clocks, the huge hit song by Coldplay. This song is actually in Mixolydian! The main piano lick is formed around the following chords:

Eb – Bbm – Fm

The song is in Eb Major, and we would expect to hear a Bb Major chord as the fifth diatonic chord. However, Clocks uses the minor five, the third of which is the note Db. That is the flat seventh note in the Eb Major scale – or in other terms, the secret spicy Mixolydian note!

Note: The minor four chord substitution is quite common and alluring in most music. This is NOT derived from Mixolydian. The Mixolydian substitution is the minor five chord.

Try It Out!

Mixolydian is a great Mode with very little risk. That lowered seventh tone doesn’t sound bad or like a mistake in most instances, and even if it sounds a little funky, repetition legitimizes. Try out Mixolydian the next time that you improvise a solo or write your own material! Stay tuned for future blog posts that discuss the remaining modes that we have yet to explore, and until then, read the other posts on our Knowledge Blog!

Electrical Components Basics

Basic Components for Electronics

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Basic components in electronics are all around us, but most people don’t really know how they work! It’s crazy to think that almost every device from the smallest computer mouse to the biggest airplane all function with a handful of tiny components – it’s really like Legos for engineers! It isn’t difficult to get started with electronics. This blog will inform you about what each unique component commonly does, and further posts will give some ideas about how to use those components in cool circuits! Keep in mind that this will have a slight bias toward audio – I’ve worked on a lot of amps, speakers, keyboards, and pedals!

 

Power Source:

Electricity is generated in two ways: Alternating Current (AC), and Direct Current (DC). Now you know why the rock band AC/DC has a lightning bolt in their logo! AC is what runs through your house and most buildings. AC is dangerous and can cause bodily harm (or worse!) if you get zapped. DC is what almost all small devices like computers, phones, TVs, and more run on internally. Most DC devices don’t have a ton of voltage, and oftentime DC isn’t that dangerous. Most basic electronics projects run on 9v DC current, or the same power as a 9v battery. If you’ve ever licked a 9v, you know it’s not so bad. 😉

Almost all circuits need active power to function.

 

Resistors:

Ah yes, the mighty resistor. The true workhorse of every electronic circuit and one of the most basic components. A resistor’s job is simply to resist the flow of electrical current. A resistor doesn’t stop electricity, it just slows it down and reduces its power. We commonly think of electricity like a flowing river – in this example, a resistor would be a big boulder that slows down the water as it rushes by. Resistors have color bands on them. These bands tell you how strong the resistor is, or what its value is. Resistance is measured in Ohms, or Ω.

Technician Hint: Resistors rarely fail, and when they do, it’s pretty obvious. Look for burnt or discolored resistors in your non-functional devices. Resistors can fail open or closed, meaning that bad ones can either allow the electricity to pass unimpeded or will completely block the current altogether.

 

Diodes:

Diodes are awesome little guys that fill a couple of important roles. The most unique quality of a diode is that it only allows current to flow in one direction. Every diode has polarity, or a positive and a negative side. Flipped one way, the diode will prevent all current from passing through the circuit. Flipped the other way, and the circuit will receive power.

Almost all devices include a diode for polarity protection. This brave little guy stands faithfully by the incoming power and will sacrifice himself if there is a surge, or if someone plugs in the wrong power adapter. By doing so, his noble death saves the rest of the circuit from being zapped!

In audio applications, diodes can also be used as clippers. This means that they clip off the top and bottom of the waveform. This causes distortion, or that rock and roll sound that we all love! Every diode is different and will clip in different ways – that’s where a lot of the fun and experimentation comes in.

Technician Hint: LEDs are also diodes. LED stands for “light-emitting diode”, and they make fantastic-sounding clippers. What’s more, LEDs light up when the sound signal passes through. It’s pretty cool to stick clipping LEDs out where they are visible – the guitar pedal or amp will flash while you play!

 

Transistors:

Like diodes, transistors can be used in a couple of different ways. Most commonly, transistors make things louder – almost every guitar pedal, amp, and speaker uses at least one transistor to boost the incoming signal. Transistors can be chained together to REALLY make the signal loud.

Transistors also can be used like a switch. When certain electrical conditions are met, a transistor can turn on or turn off a section of the circuit.

Certain transistors can be quite rare and valuable for those seeking “mojo part” tone and quality. If you have antique electronics like radios or anything made in the USSR, you probably have some cool parts hiding under the hood!

Technician Hint: Transistors come in a wide variety of configurations and polarities. Always check the model’s datasheet online to make sure that it’s compatible with your project.

 

IC Chips:

The most famous of them all – the IC or computer chip! IC stands for “integrated circuit”. These little bug-looking guys contain entire circuits within their black bodies, carefully wired and connected on a micro level. ICs can do nearly anything and are the brains of every circuit. Analog ICs are common in guitar amps, speakers, and pedals. They do things like amplify the signal, add delay, add reverb, and even convert the sound signal to binary! Digital ICs have limitless application and can be found in your phones, computers, cars, and more complicated audio electronics like PAs, keyboards, and synthesizers. This is the most advanced member of the group of basic components – ICs can even involve coding and all that fancy computer science work!

Technician Hint: ICs are the most fragile part of your device. Always handle with care and install them last when possible. Avoid static electricity buildup and excess heat!

 

Capacitors:

Capacitors are the trickiest basic components to understand at first. They are found in nearly every circuit and come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Some capacitors have polarity while some, often the smaller ones, do not. Capacitors act like little batteries within the circuit. They take an incoming charge, store it within themselves, and discharge it out the other side when they can’t hold any more. If we use the water imagery, pretend that electricity is like a garden hose. Someone has put the hose in a bucket and left it to run. When the bucket is full, the water will spill out and water the garden. In this example, the bucket is the capacitor! Capacitance is measured in Farads, but most devices have tiny slivers of this measurement for their capacitors. For example, it is very common to see units of picofarads, nanofarads, and microfarads!

Technician Hint: Capacitors are the usual culprits when a circuit fails. Look for the big barrel electrolytic capacitors – if they are bulging, cracked, or leaking, they have gone bad and need to be replaced. A good capacitance meter goes a long way in saving time on diagnosing issues!

 

Hardware:

Of course, there are a lot of other bits and pieces to every circuit. You’ve got switches, knobs, sliders, LCD screens, charging jacks, and more! None of these are very complicated, and we’ll go over the two most common: potentiometers and switches.

A potentiometer (or pot), is just a knob or dial. Pots act just like resistors – in fact, they can be called “variable resistors” because they change how much resistance is being applied to that part of the circuit! Think about a volume control on the radio – if you turn the pot all the way to the left, the pot is at max resistance because no signal is allowed to pass. If you turn it to the right, the resistance slowly lessens until there is none – and the signal gets loud!

A switch simply completes or breaks a circuit. In your house, there are many lightswitches that are constantly receiving power from the breakers. If the switch is off, the circuit is broken and no power is permitted to travel to the light. If the switch is on, a small piece of conductive material bridges the gap between the incoming power and the light, and voila: let there be light!

 

Conclusion:

I hope that you’ve learned about basic components and what each one can do! With this information, you can tinker with your own circuits and even learn how to repair your own devices that may be acting up. Stay tuned for more information in coming blogs about some starter circuits that you can try, and check out our other awesome posts on the Songbirds Knowledge Blog! If you're hungry for more information, check out this great YouTube channel – it taught me a lot, but take it slow as it can be pretty in-depth!

Basic Components Electronics
music blogs for musicians

Music Blog List: What’s Happening in Music for Fans, Insiders, and Pros

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A music blog is a powerful learning tool, but surfing the web to feed your musical interests can be intense. Trying to sort out what’s legit from what’s noise, finding what you want to know from ‘who cares,’ and unearthing proven tips and tricks that are buried in the opinions of people … well, you might as well go to the library and take your chances with the Dewey Decimal System.

We’re going to save you that trip by naming the top-quality music blogs that our team and partners in the business recommend.

 

KICKING IT OLD SCHOOL

Billboard is the digital doppelganger of the magazine that has been the first name in music coverage for more than 40 years. If it has anything to do with music, from inside-the-business to the charts and who’s climbing, it’s in Billboard.

Pitchfork, the self-proclaimed “most trusted voice in music” has been on top of the music scene since you needed a modem and AOL account to surf the interwebs. It’s the music blog for experimental, metal, electronic pop, and hip-hop sounds, and posts new reviews, interviews, features, news, and information on upcoming music events daily.

 

INSTRUCTION AND HOW-TO

Best. Saxophone. Website. Ever. Doron Orenstein has sat in with performers ranging from the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra to reggae master Half Pint. When he posts about anything from great saxophonists, business wisdom, and elements of saxophone mastery, you can take it to the bank.

The International Clarinet Association’s music blog not only sponsors its world-famous Clarinetfest® but also nurtures a global online community of clarinetists, and publishes the quarterly scholarly journal, The Clarinet. 

Ledger Note offers authoritative content designed to advance the skills, knowledge, and competency in the performance of all musicians. Its rigorous standards and experience make it worth bookmarking for expert information regarding all aspects of music.

CMU Insights (Complete Music Updates) is a music blog about anything and everything pertaining to current trends and best practices in the business of music. Make it your one-stop resource for training, research, webinars, and masterclasses. 

Hypebot updates its news, views, and do-it-yourself content daily to keep readers at the intersection of music, technology, and business informed. It is the spot for keeping up with how emerging technologies are changing the way music is produced, discovered, consumed, marketed, and monetized. 

 

MUSIC INSIDERS

Music Business Ahead delivers timely and authoritative information for music store owners who are looking for tips, tricks, and trends to help their businesses thrive. 

The Music Entrepreneur serves the whole scope of the music industry: musicians, label owners, producers, managers, and anyone else who makes and markets music. Its insider contributors’ music blog is about promotion, instrumentation, tech, and playing techniques. 

The Buzz Factor is run by Bob Baker, musician, lecturer, and author of the Guerrilla Music Marketing Handbook and the Berklee School of Music’s online Music Marketing 101 course. He’s the guy to read if you’re ready to break out and step up. 

MBW has been the go-to music blog for news, insight, and jobs for 15 years. How popular is it? Very. It gets 300,000 unique users every month—with a total of 7-million-plus page views since 2019. It’s the place to go before making career and business decisions.

Ditto Music blog is the spot where Indies of the world unite. If you have a question about music distribution, ramping up your social media, marketing, promoting, and—most important—how to get paid, hit Ditto. 

 

GENRES

Pigeons & Planes lives at COMPLEX.com and covers everything from the best new artists in hip-hop, pop, indie rock, and electronic music to in-depth interviews with the biggest names in the genres.

Brooklyn Vegan covers the metal, punk, and dance music scenes. It also throws in news and views from the world of comedy and film to keep things interesting.

Stereogum calls itself “the world’s best music blog.” It earned its rep more than 15 years of covering breaking news, new music, informed opinion writing, interviews, and lists.

Resident Advisor is the premier music blog for electronic and dance enthusiasts. Staffed entirely by dance music aficionados, it is dedicated to shining light on the people and communities who make electronic music tick at the local, national, and global scene. 

Hip Hop Wired is a music blog with a mission. It is committed to covering Hip Hop Nation with respect and verve, advocacy, and promoting meaningful discussion and debate on critical issues. 

 

While this is by no means a complete list of all the music blogs out there, it provides a nice mix of reputable blogs that are publishing great content across music types, audiences, and interests. Stay up to date by following the ones that provide information about the topics you care about, like ours, of course – The Songbirds Knowledge Blog!

Stay tuned for a future edition of this post which will include my favorite musical YouTubers and streamers if you prefer the video format. 🙂

EQ Mixing Guide

EQ for Beginners

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Now that recording audio and video is accessible to almost everyone, learning a little about mixing can help your content stand out from the crowd. The single most important edit to any sound recording is Equalization (EQ). Correctly using it gives your work a professional, polished sound! Check out this guide if you are a musician, sound tech, videographer, social media content creator, and more!

The Tools

There are a ton of apps and programs that allow you to adjust EQ. Fortunately, the principles of it are the same across every platform. While other programs intended for video editing may include EQ, Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs) offer the most utility for music and audio. The most popular ones, in no particular order, are Logic Pro X (Apple Devices only), Garageband (Apple Devices only), Reaper, Cubase, Avid Pro Tools, Ableton, and Audacity. My favorites from this list are Reaper due to its incredibly low cost and Audacity because it is free. It’s also a workhorse and a very light program that works across many devices. My personal choice is Logic Pro X, but that’s only because I learned it first.

Note: There are many ways to access the use of DAWs through free trials and other… less legal… means. If you are brand new, don’t go out and buy a full version of one of the expensive ones. Sign up for a trial or stick with Audacity for now.

Steps for EQ Setup:

  1. Take a recording of an acoustic sound in your DAW of choice. Use a good quality microphone and try to capture the sound as cleanly as possible at the source. This recording could be an instrument, the human singing voice, or even spoken word. Avoid digital instruments for now as most are already EQ’d and edited for general use. Ensure that the signal is hot enough for you to see and hear the waveform completely.
  2. Load or access the EQ plugin on your DAW. This should display a flat horizontal line. Be sure that the plugin is turned on! This is what EQ looks like in Logic Pro X.
  3. If possible, turn on live tracking so that you can see the shape of the soundwave on playback. This isn’t necessary, but it helps identify troublesome frequencies.
  4. Play around! Without reading further, apply peaks, valleys, and shelves to the sound signal. The horizontal line will change to a wave, cliff, or whatever you set it to. You’ll notice that the sound of your recording will change a lot. Try to break it and make it sound crazy on purpose – this is the best way to learn the breadth of EQ before we dial it back.

Refining EQ:

Now that you’ve played around and heard what EQ can do, let’s discuss some common tricks for cleaning up the sound of your recording. Why is this important? There are a lot of frequencies in the audio spectrum that don’t need to live in your finished product. Too many will make your project sound muddy or not as crisp as it could be. Almost every single sound sample or track on your favorite song has a generous heaping of EQ applied – that’s why it sounds so good, after all!

Note: EQ adjustment involves both boosting and cutting certain frequencies to clean up the sound of the recording. Boosting refers to increasing a frequency, and cutting is reducing one. An EQ curve that looks like a bell would have cuts on the low (left) end, boost in the center, and cuts on the high (right) end. Frequency is measured in Hertz (Hz).

  1. The Low End: It’s always a good idea to limit the sub-frequencies of any recording. This includes low sounds like a bass drum or bass guitar. Select a steep shelf with your EQ program and cut off all frequencies below the 40Hz mark. This will prevent rumble and bass echo. Higher-pitched instruments or sounds can benefit from starting the cut-off higher, like around 80Hz.
  2. The High End: Experiment with using shelves at the high end as well. Low instruments like a bass guitar may require a high cut to eliminate noise and digital artifacts from the recording process. Acoustic instruments and voices may benefit from using a high-shelf boost. This opens up the frequency spectrum and can give the recording more headroom. This means that it sounds more open and airy.
  3. Undesirable Sounds: Listen to your recording and try to pinpoint any specific sound characteristics that you don’t like. This might be a howl or hum if the microphone was placed too close to the sound source. It could also be microphone feedback or sibilance, that annoying harshness that comes through when singers pronounce the “s” sound too clearly. Select a steep valley shape on the EQ and slowly drag it through the remaining audio field. The goal is to cut the sound sample until the undesirable sound goes away or gets to be as reduced as possible.
  4. General Balancing: It is common for the recording to sound a bit off-balance. Maybe there is too much bass or it sounds a little hollow. Select a gentle EQ valley shape and start by reducing the ranges of the audio field that are too pronounced. If that doesn’t cut it (pun intended), select a mountain shape and boost the opposite frequency range. For example, I may very slightly boost the bass on a guitar recording while simultaneously cutting the treble range, giving it more weight and heft.
  5. Refine: Play back the sample many times and make your final adjustments. You may need to apply the recording to the final project to see how it sits in the mix, or how it reacts to other elements of your project.

Note: Listening on car speakers is often the most reliable way to hear what’s really going on. Take a drive and take mental notes of what may still need to be adjusted.

EQ Tips:

Now that you’re on your way to using EQ effectively, keep these tips in mind:

  1. If it sounds good, it is good. Don’t get caught up in what the EQ field “should” look like. Some recordings may require very little adjustment and some may require a TON. This is particularly valid if you are EQ’ing live sound. Use your ears!
  2. Avoid comparing your progress to the pros. The big professional sound engineers have years of experience and can really hear the difference between the slightest EQ adjustments. You’ll get there with practice. The vast majority of people on this planet will never be able to hear as articulately as those engineers can – so don’t sweat it.
  3. Blind tests are your friend. If you’re in a bind, copy your recording and apply a different EQ to it. Listen back to compare, or ask a friend to alternate between options so that you aren’t able to rely on bias.
  4. Use fresh ears. Work on a project until you get tired, then come back to it the next day or later. Taking a break almost always reveals changes that you weren’t able to hear previously.
  5. Remember the mottos. There are two excellent phrases that help when using EQ or any sound project, and they both mean the same thing:
    1. Projects are never finished, they are only abandoned.
    2. Perfect is the enemy of good.

It’s a Wrap!

I hope that this tutorial gave you the confidence to experiment with using EQ on your content. Stay tuned for future Knowledge Blog articles about other mixing and recording tricks! Check out this cheat sheet and this other cheat sheet to see some EQ curves for common instruments. These are great templates and usually help you get close to the sound that you want to hear – just adjust them to taste!

Note: When I was learning, I printed a bunch of these and kept them near my desk. You’ll memorize the shapes with enough practice! It’s also great to start with templates that exist in your DAW. 🙂

Leslie Rotating Speaker

DIY Leslie Rotating Speaker

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The Leslie Rotating Speaker – a holy grail of weird and wacky vintage music gear. This is one of those things that seems to have fallen into a lost ravine of history. I find that most musicians today have never heard of it, let alone seen one. Let’s dive in and explore exactly what this is and hear what it sounds like because… I built one! 

Note: Vintage or analog gear IS NOT better than modern, and it doesn’t make you play better. However, it’s imperfect and a little cooky. There are a sea of options with digital plugins, emulators, effects, and programs available that sometimes it’s overwhelming just to start. Having a piece of tangible gear in front of you really narrows down your field of possibility and forces you to get creative with what you have. For me personally, I like playing analog (or vintage) gear because it helps me write and get in the zone.

 

History:

The rotating speaker (or Leslie) was first innovated by Donald Leslie in the late 1930s. It was originally designed to help an electric organ sound more like an authentic pipe organ. The Leslie was soon adopted by guitarists and swelled to popularity in the 1960s and 1970s with artists like Jimi Hendrix and Pink Floyd using it on their records. Since then, the Leslie has seen a dramatic fall from popularity mostly due to its clunky size and the availability of guitar pedals that can kind of replicate what it sounds like. Vintage Leslie speakers are nearly impossible to find nowadays as they weren’t made with very robust materials. The ones that exist really belong in a museum. If someone sells an original Leslie, it goes for multiple thousands of dollars. Yeah – I can’t afford that.

 

So What Is It?

The Leslie is a speaker cabinet, usually larger than a medium-sized guitar or bass amplifier. Internally, a molded cardboard baffle (or drum) is suspended over a speaker. This baffle has a chunk missing and is connected to a small motor that allows it to spin. The majority of the baffle blocks sound traveling upwards from the speaker and encourages it to exit the cabinet through the bit that is missing. When the baffle spins, the cavity throws sound around the cabinet and the room. This creates the Doppler Effect – that thing that happens when you hear sirens on the road, and as they get farther from you, it sounds like the pitch goes down and gets distorted. The result is a watery, warbly tremolo-like effect that sounds absolutely psychedelic.

 

The Build:

I stumbled upon this amazing DIY article from Premier Guitar when I was searching for a way to build my own Leslie. It is pretty thorough and served as the template for what I did. If you would like to replicate this build, start with this article. I’d say that this project rates as follows:

  • Time Commitment: Medium. This would take a full weekend if you don’t take breaks like I did.
  • Difficulty: 7/10 with no experience, 4/10 if you understand basic carpentry and electronic wiring.
  • Frustration: 5/10 with experience, but my notes should help lower that number.
  • Satisfaction with End Product: 9/10. My only grumbles are with cosmetic issues and things out of my control.

Note: The article is a great starting point, but don’t get too bogged down with the details. I used it as a loose template and everything worked out great!

 

Issues that I Had:

Check this part out if you’d like to build your own! Here’s a list of the steps that were problematic and how I would recommend doing this better next time. I’m comparing my experience to the article listed above:

  1. The parts listed in the article were fairly difficult to find. I had absolutely no luck finding a cake dummy out of styrofoam that is as big as the article suggested. Instead, I hot glued several layers of thin styrofoam together to make the complete baffle. For some reason, styrofoam is expensive.
  2. The motor was also more costly (and larger) than I expected. I had to hollow out the center of the baffle to accommodate the motor. On the plus side, the motor that I used is very quiet and is capable of going very fast.
  3. Speaking of fast, the PWM controller that I used allowed the motor to spin way faster than what is usable. I ended up soldering a 200k resistor between the output pin (pin 3) of the potentiometer and the lead going to it in order to slow down the motor control. Before I did this, less than 10% of the pot sweep was usable before it got to be too fast. Now, the entire sweep works and sounds musical. *see footnote*
  4. I decided to wrap the cabinet in vinyl tolex-like material. This was my first time wrapping a cabinet from start to finish. I can’t state enough how miserable the glue was that I used. I chose a thin glue that is intended for vinyl flooring, mostly because it was cheap and in a small container that wouldn’t create a ton of waste. It adhered to the cabinet and the wrap well, but EVERYTHING in my house got sticky. It also has a ridiculous cure time. I finished applying glue over a week ago, and there are parts of the wrap that can still be pushed around. When I build another cabinet, I’ll likely just use a natural wood finish. If there is glue involved, it will be of better quality.
  5. I didn’t plan ahead with the electronics and controls for the outside of the cabinet. This is mostly because I didn’t decide what I wanted to do until it was finished (should I build a spring reverb in the base? Should there be LEDs? Does it need a second input jack?). After testing the speaker and hearing how awesome it sounds with the basic setup, I had to attempt to cut and drill through ¾” plywood on the finished product with paddle bits. Ick. I got lucky, but that could have gone badly.
  6. The article hints at the importance of centering the baffle on the motor’s spindle, but it gravely understates the frustration of that process. I originally made a thick cardboard sheet that held up the styrofoam and spun on the motor’s shaft, but it wasn’t strong enough to prevent the baffle from wobbling at high speeds. This wobble caused a TON of vibration in the cabinet and frankly made it unusable. (It also led me down an annoying rabbit hole learning about how to balance spinning objects and how static balance is different than dynamic balance and… I don’t know, I didn’t pay attention in high school physics.) I ended up using a wooden disc with perforations that allow the sound to pass through. This was cut on a laser machine, so I know that the center is true. Even with this, the baffle still wobbles and the cabinet shakes at high speeds. I don’t know how to attempt this most accurately with hand tools, and I would plan on making several baffles before settling on the one that works best.

*footnote*: There is a sweet spot with the speed of rotation. There is very little musical difference in the last 15% of the potentiometer sweep (after adding the 200k resistor). It's worth experimenting with 100k or a smaller value. There is also a faint electronic whine that can be heard with the use of the resistors. It is less pronounced with smaller resistance values.

 

The Final Product:

Overall, I’m very pleased with my DIY Leslie Cabinet! Unlike the original vintage models, this does not have any onboard amplification and is only a speaker. My signal chain starts with my guitar, then goes to any effect pedals that I want to use. It then goes to my Fender tube amp, but I bypass the amp’s speakers and send the signal to the Leslie. This means that I get to enjoy the EQ and gain controls of the amp! The Leslie is plugged in, but I can turn it on and off with an onboard switch which is mounted next to the speed control and the input jack. It’s a lot larger than I anticipated, but I’m very glad that I made it because it does sound quite unique.

 

So How Does It Sound?

I’m surprised by how unique the sound actually is. Many pedals attempt to replicate the sound of the Leslie, but I haven’t heard anything that is absolutely accurate yet. I’m convinced that is because of the way that the cabinet reacts with the room. The natural reverb, echo, and Doppler Effect decay that happens with the air is the secret sauce that can’t be easily replicated in a pedal yet. Granted, I’m not sure that the sound is so unique that it warrants making a big Leslie cabinet. I definitely plan on keeping it and making some cool recordings with it, though!

 

If you’re looking for a Leslie subsitute, I’d recommend one of my favorite pedals – the Walrus Audio Julia. This one packs a big punch because it includes the “Lag” control which detunes the delayed sound of the guitar. It’s not quite like the Doppler Effect, but it adds that watery shimmer that makes the Leslie so unique.

 

Sound Sample: (see bottom of page)

 

Here’s a sound recording of my DIY Leslie in action! This is a clean tone with the aforementioned signal chain, no pedals are used. There is also no EQ or mixing applied.

The recording was taken with an SM57 microphone mounted in the room before going straight into my audio interface. My guitar is a double humbucker setup with DiMarzio pickups.

For a cleaner and more usable sound in a mix, I am excited to try recording this in stereo or with several different mics placed throughout the room at different heights. The Leslie causes sound to swirl around you, and this wacky trait is a bit lost in mono.

 

Conclusion:

I hope that you learned something cool about the Leslie Rotating Speaker, and maybe you’ll try to build one someday! Stay tuned (pun intended) for the next Knowledge Blog, and keep on making art!

Internal Leslie
Traditional Blues

Traditional Blues – Hurricane Projects!

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Hurricane Blues

With Hurricane Ian just around the watery corner, most of us in Florida expect a day or two (hopefully not more…!) of boredom as we wait for the storm to pass. Assuming that it’s just a lot of rain, hurricanes can be quite dull, especially when the power goes out. I’ve already planned a couple of house cleaning adventures! However, sitting around is a great opportunity to start a new art project or write something new – and what better than some old-fashioned Hurricane Blues?

 

Traditional Blues Format

Grab your instrument, a notepad, and something to write with! The blues has been around for a long time and is the child of spirituals and traditional call-and-response slave songs. Its blending and evolution gave birth to rock and roll, hip-hop, rockabilly, country, and pretty much every popular genre on the radio if you trace far enough down the lineage. Fortunately, traditional blues follows a specific pattern and is very repetitious.

 

The Twelve Bar Traditional Blues Structure Is:

1 | 1 | 1 | 1 

4 | 4 | 1 | 1

5 | 4 | 1 | 1 (or 5)

We commonly see chords written with Roman Numerals, but I’ve simplified it to regular numbers to make it easy. The numbers in the pattern represent the chords that you should play for your blues song. Let’s say that we are in the key of C Major, one of the simplest keys to visualize. If you are playing piano, it only uses white keys.

The C Major scale looks like this:

C – D – E – F – G – A – B – C

If we were to expand on this scale and turn it into the chords for C Major (also called the Diatonic Chords), it would look like this:

C – Dm – Em – F – G – Am – Bdim – C

Lastly, let’s number the chords of the scale. That would look like this:

C – Dm – Em – F – G – Am – Bdim – C

1 –   2 –    3  – 4 –  5  –  6   –   7     – 1

If you apply these chords and their respective numbers to the Twelve Bar Traditional Blues, our correct format for the Blues in C is:

C | C | C | C

F | F | C | C

G | F | C | C (or G)

*Note: You can make this sound a lot “bluesy-er” and authentic by making each chord a dominant chord if you know how to do that. For example, C would be replaced by C7.

 

Taking It Farther:

Now that we’ve made the Twelve Bar Traditional Blues in C, you can apply the same structure to any key if you know the proper key signature. If you need help, use a handy image of the Circle of Fifths. If you’re not sure how to do that yet, stay tuned for further posts regarding the music theory that makes the rules work the way that they do!

Stick with the C Major Blues if this is your first venture with Blues or more involved music theory nonsense. 🙂

 

Meter:

Like most music, Blues can be in a variety of awesome meters! Most commonly, it’s in 4/4 time or 6/8 time, though. In the format above, each chord or space represents an entire measure (also called a bar). Twelve measures make up the entire structure. Stick with using 4/4 for now if you’re a beginner, but don’t be afraid to try out 6/8 when you’re ready! I personally love a good 6/8 blues.

 

Lyrics:

Here’s the fun part! Blues lyrics are often simple and repetitive, but they still pack a punch! Try to find a single idea and frame it with a contrasting thought. A conflict and a resolution work beautifully. Blues also has a lot of humor, so start with a good joke if the idea of writing “serious” music is too tough! Most songs are structured like this:

Initial Idea, or Conflict (four bars)

Repeat or Embellishment of the Initial Idea (four bars)

Contrasting Idea or Resolution (four bars)

Lovers of poetry could compare this to an A / A / B structure. Feel free to steal any of these original lyric ideas as I anticipate Hurricane Ian’s arrival:

 

The house is starting to smell

Yeah there’s a stench here in my house

I forgot to start the dishwasher, oh well.

 

It’s been raining here for two whole days

It’s been pouring here for two whole nights

I’ll build a boat if Ian’s here tomorrow

 

Oh I didn’t do the laundry

No, I didn’t do the laundry before the storm

There's only one pair of socks and they can’t take much more

 

I can’t find my batteries

Can’t see my own two feet

Suppose I should go to bed since the batteries are all gone

*Note: the very last bar of the form is called the turnaround. It’s often where cool solos, musical tricks, and vocal riffs can be heard. Feel free to throw some pizzazz in for your turnaround!

 

It’s a Wrap!

I hope that this simplifies the Traditional Blues and makes it a bit more accessible. Try your hand at experimenting with it during the storm. Use an instrument or just your voice! If you come up with anything that you are particularly proud of, send it to us at Songbirds! Stay tuned for more posts to our Knowledge Blog, and most importantly, stay safe during Hurricane Ian and other storms to come!

phrygian mode guide

How to use the Phrygian Mode

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One of our previous blog posts about how to use Dorian is still one of our most-viewed of all time. It seems like there’s a lot of hunger for information about modes, so let’s take a deep-dive into the absolute BEST mode in music: Phrygian.

Hold up: why is Phrygian the best? This is subjective, of course, but it’s my favorite as it can immediately transport you to exotic musical lands. It has the sound of classic middle-eastern mystique and can absolutely melt faces when paired with metal or rock. It also has three variants contained within itself, so it’s highly versatile. To the western musical ear, it’s one of the farthest and most dramatic departures from what we are used to hearing. It’s gratifying and thrilling – what’s not to love?

A Reminder About Modes:

Modes don’t need to be complicated. Grab your instrument (or ideally, go to a keyboard) and play the concert C Major scale. Those notes are C – D – E – F – G – A – B – C. This scale is a mode in itself: Ionian. When we play a Major scale, we are also playing an Ionian scale. We use two different words to describe the same thing, but most musicians don’t know about modes. Use this knowledge bomb to impress your friends with your musical nerdiness. 😉

Now, if we were to play the same NOTES from the C Major scale, but start in a different spot within the scale, we would be playing a different mode. It’s that simple.

Phrygian starts on the third note of the Major scale. This means that Phrygian, using the same key signature and notes of C Major, would be: E – F – G – A – B – C – D – E.

Play that scale, which we will now call E Phrygian, on your instrument and hear how it sounds.

Special Note:

The method for arriving here doesn’t resonate with some people as easily as others. If this was too confusing, you can approach Phrygian ‘in reverse’. Think of the E major scale. Those notes are E – F# – G# – A – B – C# – D# – E. We can turn E Major into E Phrygian by lowering, or flattening, the second, third, sixth, and seventh, notes. The shorthand for this is “E Phrygian is Major with a flat 2, 3, 6, 7”.

Still confusing? You can also think of it as an E natural minor scale with a flat 2.

The Most Important Note:

Phrygian uses the flat 2, which is the reason why it sound so special. When writing or improvising with Phrygian, it’s a good idea to utilize the flat 2 a lot!

How to use Phrygian - Easy Mode:

All modes, but especially the exotic ones, do very well with a pedal tone. This is a single note that drones below the melody of the music. For inspiration, check out some traditional Indian sitar music or Klezmer music. In the case of Indian music, there is often a tone generator on stage that drones the pedal tone while the sitarist plays.

Let’s use this method to improvise an awesome Phrygian melody. Find an easy way to drone the note E – it’s better if it’s low. You could record a piano and loop it with your phone, or you could use a free tone generator online.

Once you have that set up, grab your instrument and play the E Phrygian scale! Pay special attention to how the notes relate to the pedal tone.

How to use Phrygian - Medium Mode:

Plenty of songs exist with pedal tones, but chordal harmonies add so much depth to the piece. Let’s compose a chord progression using the notes of the E Phrygian scale. As a refresher, those notes are: E- F – G – A – B – C – D – E

This means that the chords would be Em – F – G – Am – Bdim – C – Dm – Em.

It’s important that we use the notes of the scale for our chords, for now. Try the following progressions on your instrument, and when you’re ready, use the E Phrygian scale to solo over them:

Em | Bdim | C | Em

Em | F | G | Em

Am | G | F | Em

Em | F | G | F | Em

How to use Phrygian - Hard Mode:

I mentioned earlier that there are some cool variants of Phrygian, and here they are! The best one (in my opinion), is called Phrygian Dominant. This version sounds even more exotic. All you have to do is raise the third note by one half step, or sharp the 3. This means that, in E Phrygian Dominant, G becomes G#. The notes of this scale are E – F – G# – A – B – C – D – E, and the chords for harmonies are E – F – G#dim – Am – Bdim – C+ – Dm – E. Note that we are using E Major, not E minor, with this variant, plus we get TWO diminished chords and the rare augmented chord on C! Spicy! The best example of this variant is the guitar solo for the song Don’t Fear the Reaper. Take a listen and enjoy those cool harmonies!

Try to solo over the following chord progressions with E Phrygian Dominant:

E | F | Am | E

E | F | G#dim | Am

E | Bdim | C+ | Dm

But Wait! There's One More Variant:

Now that you’ve grown accustomed to the Phrygian Dominant scale, you can take it one step further with this last variant: the Double Harmonic Scale. This is simply a Phrygian Dominant with the seventh note raised one half step, or a #7. That means that the notes of the E Double Harmonic Scale are E – F – G# – A – B – C – D# – E. Use the same chords as in the Phrygiant Dominant, as the raised seventh of the Double Harmonic Scale functions as a melodic tool for tension and release – much like the Melodic Minor scale.

If you’ve understood all of this, you are ready to branch out and use the Phrygian scale in unique ways. Much like with the Double Harmonic, you can now make alterations to your chord harmonies and melodies that pair well (or not!) with Phrygian. For example, I might write a chord progression with the Phrygian Dominant chords and substitute a B Major chord in (so that the D# note in the Double Harmonic has an interesting place to land). I could also use the Phrygian Dominant scale over a standard Em chord progression to enjoy all of the dissonance and rub where the notes don’t quite align. Have fun with it!

Conclusion:

I hope that this sheds some light on the best musical mode, Phrygian, and that you get loads of enjoyment from experimenting with it! Stay tuned for more guides on how to use other modes in the future, and if you want to dive deeper, check out our Music Lesson Program!

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