I think I’m going to make a short series of modes videos.
This one addresses something I hear/read quite often that is, in my opinion, just flat out wrong. Any time I hear a guitar player say something to the effect of “The song is in A minor, but I’m soloing in D Dorian.” I just want to slap them and yell “No, you’re not!” in their faces.
Utilizing a particular scale shape that you primarily identify as a root position modal shape doesn’t mean you’re actually playing in that mode. You can be playing in any of the modes of that scale. Just as I showed in my previous modes video, you can access the sound of any of the modes from just one shape. What changes is your phrasing within that shape/fingering. Were you to actually solo over a C Ionian tune with the B Locrian mode, it would sound very strange, as all your phrases would lead towards that B note, and you would be fighting against the song to force a tonal center that nobody else in the band is suggesting.
In this video, I try to illustrate that concept by soloing over an A Aeolian backing track utilizing a shape that many would identify as “D Dorian.” First, I improvise over the track with the tonic A note in mind. Then I try to force a D Dorian sound over the track, ignoring the pull of tendency tones, and just generally playing by myself rather than with the track. Hopefully the video illustrates why it’s important that you always listen to what’s happening behind your solos and craft your phrases accordingly.