Download iReal Pro - Johnathon Bower

iReal Pro
IMPROVISATION: MODES AND SCALES
JOHNATHON BOWER
Standards and Grade Level
Goals: Demonstrate use of correct scales while improvising over a chord
progression.
Standards: NAfME 3. Improvising melodies, variations, and accompaniments; 912.CT.1. Use digital resources (e.g., educational software, simulations, and
models)
Students: High school jazz band; 9- 12th grade. 16 students.
Scales versus Modes
 All
modes are scales and all scales are modes.
The modes used in basic jazz are the same as the church modes
from the renaissance time period.
Every Church mode is based of off the major scale or Ionian mode.
All western music up until the 20th century is a product of the major
scale.
The Church modes
Each Church Mode has 7 pitches, plus an eighth that is repeated on top. Each
pitch is considered a scale degree.
Each church mode starts on a different scale degree of the Major scale or
Ionian mode.
In order of scale degrees starting at one the modes are as follows: Ionian,
Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, and Locrian.
Aeolian is also known as Natural minor.
Church Modes Continued…
The other way of thinking about
church modes has to do with raising
and lowering certain pitches within the
scale.
For example to play a Lydian mode
you can start on the fourth scale
degree of a major scale or simply raise
the fourth scale degree of any major
scale.
Beginning to Improvise
Each mode goes along with a specific
chord while improvising.
Simply put chords are based off of
scale degrees so it only takes knowing
the degree of which a mode is based
to play correctly.
The progression we will be using is iiV-I
Scale Degrees are written in roman
numerals. (2-5-1).
Think of the chord progression as a
paragraph and each chord as a
For example the 2nd scale degree in C sentence. This idea can be used to
build musical phrases as a performer
major is a D minor chord, the mode
improvises a melody.
that matches is the Dorian mode.
The scales and their notes make up
the performers vocabulary.
Using iReal Pro and Its Resources
iReal Pro is a piece of software with
recordings of several chord
progressions.
It is possible to change the key
signature to gain practice in all 12
major and minor keys.
In each recording it displays the
scale(s) most commonly used with the
chords.
Johnathon Bower is a
Senior Music Education
Student and an aspiring
professional Trombonist.
 Music examples made in
Finale 2014.
 Pictures are screenshots
from the iReal Pro iPhone
App.
 Photo of myself is from an
Eastern Michigan Jazz Band
Performance with my
mother.