The Melodic Minor mode I use the most is the 4th mode of the scale; Lydian Dominant.
Since it's based on the 4th, a D Lydian Dominant would be an A Melodic Minor. However, we don't need to think in terms of Melodic Minor. Like all the modes of the Major Scale, we should consider Lydian Dominant as its own key, or it's own tonality.
The trick to thinking, hearing and visualizing in a Lydian Dominant tonality is in the name – Lydian Dominant.
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Blogs Published Since Last Newsletter
Jam Tales: Roland Allen: I thought he was an interesting guitarist/singer – very soulful.
You Just Have To Laugh: A podcast by comedian David Naster. David wanted to talk about my history, my family and how I’ve maintained healthy relationships with my wife, kids and grandchildren AND maintained a successful music career. So there’s more personal stuff than I usually share publicly. I wanted to talk about what I’m focused on now - MasterGuitarSchool.com and the conversion of my teaching method to the internet environment. We covered it all, and more on Davids’ podcast!
Picking Peril: "Dude! Did I see you give Mama Ray the finger on live TV?"
Jam Tales: Off Broadway: This is the true story of singer Jim LaFortes’ infamous jump from the Broadway Bridge into the Missouri River.
Tune of the Month
This month will be the title track from my CD, "Channeling Harold." It's a Hammond Organ trio (Jazz & Blues) with B3 player Rich VanSant. The drummer on this track is Ian Sikora. This was a working trio at the time. Recorded live in the studio.
Everybody always asks, "Who’s Harold?" Without going into irrelevant family history, Harold was my maternal grandfather (1910 – 1992) who, after one too many bumps on the head as a young man, lived most of his adult life in 7/4 time. "Channeling Harold" is an inside joke. It’s a term my brothers and I use as an explanation for why we occasionally do something funny &/or crazy that’s potentially life threatening and involves the use of either firearms or lawnmowers. The main section of the song, "Channeling Harold" came to me intact, in a dream. I then crafted the bridge to make it more complete. Since the song came in a dream, and since it has two bars of 7/4 at the beginning of it, it just seemed appropriate to title it after my grandfather. I’d like to think Harold sent it to me, but he was a Johnny Cash fan.
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Thanks, Jay
P.S. Next launch will be Unit 2: The Blues - coming soon!
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