Studying in Gb Dorian Example of Modal Harmony As you may notice, it is more than 6 minutes of extemporaneous composition performed on a single Mode, Gb Dorian. I have inserted some alterations to the Mode; there are no diatonic islands and there is no melodic line. The Mode has its own flavor, its own sound, and can exist both with an accompanying melodic line and without it; in the latter case, one can fully savor the sound of the Mode. Note also the fact that the Mode does not require resolution at all. Please forgive the slight detuning of the piano.... it's the heat.
It is a different way of listening to music; one no longer follows a little motif or a main melodic line, but enters globally into the sound of the Mode, savoring it from the perspective of the emotions it transmits; the melodic line becomes superfluous.. A Mode like Dorian and other Modes represents centuries of history of a region of ancient Greece and ancient Middle Eastern regions, just as the Ionian Mode represents centuries of history of European music. This is our historical, Mediterranean culture; Afro-American cultural overlaps and others are also fine, otherwise the world remains frozen, but one must not forget the Essential, that which we come from, because only it is spontaneous, and in music, spontaneity is the most important thing.
Let's just say that Webern had thought of it more than a century ago. Thematism in art music disappeared about seventy years ago. This does not detract from your piece
Speaking of "MODES" in the strict sense, in effect the Mode is self-sufficient; it is an autonomous harmonic system in which cadences do not exist and even the first note of the Mode is not considered a tonic, but simply a note whose harmonic dignity is no higher than the other notes of the Mode. In fact, in my text "FUNCTIONAL HARMONY - modal, intervallic" when listing the notes of the Mode, I emphasized this concept to make the reader understand that the scalarity of the notes is merely a conventional matter; in reality, when I speak, for example, of C Mixolydian Mode, I can list the notes even in a scattered manner, i.e.: C, Bb, A, E, etc.: When I speak instead of the Mixolydian scale, then I must say C, D, E, F, G, A, Bb. This concept is very important because if one remains conceptually tied to the scalarity of the notes, one automatically constructs the tertian-type chords typical of tonal harmony and inevitably falls back into the II-V-I mentis forma. If one manages to mentally break free from scalarity, then the Mode is considered in its true dimension, which is a set of notes that constitute the Mode, which at this point is revisited and considered as a self-sufficient harmonic entity which, above all, does not require cadences and thus is not teleologically oriented towards the tonic triad but "floats" in the harmonic environment. An excellent example of all this is in the piece "Study in Gb Dorian" that I have just posted.
Dear Micamahler, avoiding tertian chords is not mandatory in modal harmony, but certainly those that I performed in the piece are not part of a II-V-I, and this is the most important thing; furthermore, I did not use the chord spacing functionally, but to achieve the style and sound I had in mind. How many times did Debussy use tertian chords in absolutely non-tonal pieces? In the same piece, I used other spacings. The tracks in Kind of Blue are not strictly modal; in fact, besides containing numerous tonal diatonic islands with II-V-Is, they follow G. Russell's chromatic lydian concept, which teaches how to use modal scales—I repeat, modal scales, not Modes within the context of tonal harmony. In Kind of Blue, at the base of everything, there is a chord to which a modal scale is then matched based on Russell's theory. Modal Harmony does not provide for chords in the strict sense of the term; it provides for the execution of a Mode. It is clear that if I play at least three notes simultaneously, someone will call it a chord, but for me, it is instead a modal sonority, and the matter is quite different. What you call Gb min, Ab min are not chords, they are sonorities taken from the mode I am using. In Tonal harmony, a minor chord is either a tonic, i.e., the last chord of a minor II-V-I, or it is the first chord of a major II-V-I. The Gb- and other chords that I used do not fall into these categories and, I repeat, they are merely sonorities belonging to the mode and do not have a cadential function or one finalistically oriented towards a tonal-type tonic triad. The so-called "floating" of strictly modal harmony is a sensation transmitted by using a single Mode or a few modes throughout all or most of the piece, avoiding tonal hierarchies. I thank you for your intervention, which gave me the opportunity to clarify this concept.
Forgive me, but it is all very vague. Sonority is a generic term that does not have a precise meaning like chord. Terminology either has an exact meaning or it is not terminology. The II V I is just one of the existing cadences; I don't understand why you only mention that one. In my opinion, the very beginning of your improvisation has a very strong function towards a tonic triad, so much so that you play Gb-, Ab-, Gb- and then it seems to me an E, all over a Gb pedal point. Everything in your piece (or at least in the first part) tends to return to this Gb, not just as a pedal note but also as a Gb- chord, precisely because you yourself introduced the piece this way. Halfway through the piece, you return right to this Gb, occasionally adding the major third; I don't understand if it is an attempt to distance the listener from a sense of rest on that chord. Perhaps towards the end you move away from it, but then you always place this Gb... Also, it is not clear to me, but do the rhythmic references come from tonal music? And finally, what is the origin of this modality? In fact, it is not clear to me when you speak of the region of ancient Greece plus Afro-American influences and Middle Eastern regions.
sensation conveyed by using a single Mode or a few modes for the whole or most of the piece, avoiding tonal hierarchies, I thank you for your intervention which gave me the opportunity to clarify this concept.
Sorry, but avoiding tonal hierarchies by using ONLY one mode makes me think more of a musical result like this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqKgnvGJ2mU
In your piece, which preserves a certain type of pleasantness, many legacies of functional procedures can be heard. It is not a flaw, but it is useless to pass them off as what they in fact are not. The mere recourse to other modes should already set off an alarm bell for you.
Then it is not clear to me, but do the rhythmic references come from tonal music? And finally, what is the origin of this modality? In fact, it is not clear to me when you speak of the region of ancient Greece plus African-American influences and Middle Eastern regions.
All the answers to your questions are already contained in my posted articles regarding the proposed piece. It is useless to repeat oneself. At this point, the discussion becomes too long and demanding to be addressed with the means we have. I could say, for example, that "sonority" in tonal harmony is a generic term, but it is not at all in modal harmony. "Functional progressions" exist in modal harmony but they are not the same as in tonal harmony. "The incipit towards the tonic triad" in modal harmony does not express the existence of a key as understood in tonal harmony, but expresses the existence of a "Prevalent Mode" around which related and comparable modes orbit based on the "functional progressions" of modal harmony. These are not my inventions (Bibliography: Ron Miller - Modal Jazz, A. Schonberg: Manuale di armonia, Contemporary Harmony: Ludmila Ulehla, Lydian chromatic concept of tonal organization: George Russell, Armonia del ventesimo secolo: V. Persichetti.) Many parts of these texts, particularly Russell's, seemed very fuzzy to me as well, but today, after having conducted an in-depth study, I am of a different opinion.
These are not my inventions, (Bibliography: Ron Miller - Modal Jazz, A. Schonberg: Manual of Harmony, Contemporary Harmony: Ludmila Ulehla, Lydian chromatic concept of tonal organization: George Russell, 20th Century Harmony: V. Persichetti.)
...it is exactly what I was trying to tell you, there are biographical books that are a century old and the result of in-depth study, well, without taking anything away from the result, it can only be this. We are not in 2016, but between 50 and 70 years ago. Nothing wrong with that, one could say the same about Brahms, Bach, Berg, as long as one is aware.
I don't think it is a new way of feeling music, but an already experienced way of listening to music. The piece proposed by Faria, in my opinion, instead embodies what a composer should do today. It is one of the possible syntheses of past musical experiences, without omitting the role of timbre (which is now established), preserving a good level of narrativity; the latter being somewhat forgotten (if not even omitted in extreme cases) in the second half of the last century.
Actually, Egidio, I have read a lot about harmony, but in the end, perhaps I didn't say it: I don't compose anything, in the sense that I don't write; everything I play is the result of an extemporaneous improvisation, even during concerts. The state of mind, the moment, and the circumstances matter a lot, and the result is not very predictable. When I play, I immerse myself in what I am doing and forget everything—triads, tonality, etc... everything I say later about my pieces is the result of an analysis made after the fact.
Actually, Egidio, I have read a lot about harmony, but in the end, perhaps I didn't say it—I don't compose anything, in the sense that I don't write; everything I play is the result of an extemporaneous improvisation
Of course, but you haven't improvised anything timbrally, so it is an improvisation that can be placed around the '50s. Instead, I invite you to explore musicians like György Kurtág (and others) who instead embrace, in line with the times, the timbral component by proposing improvisations based on traditional sounds but enriched by the entire timbral range of the piano. Do we remember that it is a percussion instrument? And that even in Cage's time, it was used more than extensively compared to the simple sound of the instrument?
If I have to choose an outdated improvisation—dedicating some minutes of my time to listening—I would rather listen to
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SY7g0ULVl2I
If instead there were a certain breath of novelty, I would not hesitate to invest time in unprecedented improvisations.
Anyway, I listened to your piece to participate in the topic and I even gave it a nice like. In my writings, I only refer to the theoretical angle you wanted to give to the discussion.
PS
In the piece proposed by Faria—of which he passed me the score—there is also a shamelessly improvisational section; it is called controlled aleatoricism (in this specific case). Therefore, one can improvise including the timbral component, as I was saying, which has been established for more than half a century now.
I fully agree with what Jam Session says, dear Egidio, I am not at those levels; I am a peripheral pianist, I do a bit of whatever comes to my mind, all on an improvisational level, and speaking of Messiaen, I would like to let you listen to one of my creations inspired by him. Called Nocturne No. 2 and another completely different one called "The day after". Tell me what you think. Thank you
