(Note this has standard notation only. There is a version with standard notation and TAB available, also)From the Foreword: Guitarists around the world are faced with a common set of obstacles when learning their instrument. When distilled, the essence of these obstacles becomes knowledge of technique vs musical knowledge. While both are important, the balance of the two disciplines is the key to being able to freely express one's musical ideas and operate at their creative peak. Whether composing or improvising, it is necessary to cultivate a broad musical vocabulary with depth and variety. In theory, once accomplished, one can use their technical ability to decorate the spaces in time with all of the colors of their musical knowledge.Noel Johnston, a brilliant guitarist in his own right and the author of this book you are now reading, was clever enough to identify and organize some of the most useful strategies for learning the "colors" of the modes. He has pulled back the curtain on the often confusing topic of modes by systematically exposing their personalities with fresh sounding etude exercises and a game of rolling the "modal dice." He devised a sportive way to explore their sounds during practice while intuitively ingraining them into your playing and writing. When you roll the modal dice you enter a world not dissimilar to muscle confusion in physical training. To make gains in physical exercise one must vary their training methods in a way that promotes new experience for each muscle group. By rolling the modal dice you also train yourself to adapt to a new creative environment which leads to being better prepared in any improvisational situation. The combined elements of this modal practice approach also improves one's ear training and pitch recognition.Noel Johnston's modal dice method reveals all guitarists' strengths and weaknesses while simultaneously providing fun ways to improve their overall musicality. This is by no means an insipid "Life Hack" guitar book nor is it a judgmental "Theory Wizard" treatise. This is a comprehensive way to enhance your understanding and appreciation of the modes and what they offer you as a guitarist/musician. If you have ever found yourself saying, "I wish there was a way that I could identify and understand why I like the sounds I hear in music" then this book is for you. Use it to your advantage and make the best music you can make. Thank Noel when you see him!(Dweezil Zappa - 2019

Introduction.Modes are often at first understood in relation to a parent scale. While this can be helpful as a starting point and for developing muscle memory, in practice it doesn't always point the player to the right chord tones in relation to the sound. In other words, it doesn't help make the changes.To use modes to make the changes, one must be able to relate the scale shape to a chord voicing - a chord voicing that outlines the essential few tones in a sea of seven notes. These voicings can vary depending on the amount of color desired. The color desired is dependent on musical style/genre, and whether or not the chord is functional in a progression or static in its modality.These essential tones are not always 1,3,5,7 (tertian harmony - stacked in 3rds).While most chords in jazz and improv-based music are expressed in one of four tertian-voicing archetypes (Major, Minor, Dominant, or Diminished) - this is a false tetrachotomy. There are more than four.To capture some other sounds that many composers intend, especially in compositions written in the last 50 years (and in Classical music, 150 years) one must add a few other archetypes. While those indicated in this book are not exhaustive, they will open your ears to other ways of expressing harmony while still staying true to the key center.While exploring other ways to voice the modes, keep in mind that these are not just for comping and soloing. Feel free to use them as a starting point for composition and reharmonization. The use of "pivot voicings" instead of just pivot chords can open up your understanding of harmonic relationships in multiple ways. Enjoy exploring.-NoelP. S. This book is way more fun if you use a looper pedal.Second edition notes: Typo corrections, clarifications, TAB added to all edudesThird edition notes: Additional etudes, expanded modal subs section, added blues chapterMore more info, charts, videos, and free web app: http: //noeljohnston.com/voicingmodes.ph

Designed for Music Theory courses, Music Theory Through Improvisation presents a unique approach to basic theory and musicianship training that examines the study of traditional theory through the art of improvisation. The book follows the same general progression of diatonic to non-diatonic harmony in conventional approaches, but integrates improvisation, composition, keyboard harmony, analysis, and rhythm. Conventional approaches to basic musicianship have largely been oriented toward study of common practice harmony from the Euroclassical tradition, with a heavy emphasis in four-part chorale writing. The author’s entirely new pathway places the study of harmony within improvisation and composition in stylistically diverse format, with jazz and popular music serving as important stylistic sources. Supplemental materials include a play-along audio in the downloadable resources for improvisation and a companion website with resources for students and instructors.

Classic and flamenco guitarists alike will benefit from these etudes as they bridge the gap between traditional mechanical studies and engaging practice and concert material. Although relatively short in duration, a few of these etudes could be combined in a medley to form an effective suite or set. In addition, fourteen of the twenty etudes are provided with chord accompaniment for harmonic analysis, improvisation, or performance with a teacher or second guitarist. The companion online audio for this book has been masterfully recorded by the author using a flamenco guitar to authentically render the typical picado, double-arpeggio, arpeggio-legato, and horquilla techniques as well as the quintuplet flamenco tremolo. Traditional classical elements like octave, interval and arpeggio studies are also thoroughly explored, with one piece in dropped-D tuning—all with a flamenco flavor. In addition to accomplishing its mission of offering a fresh regimen of appealing practice etudes, the truly unique feature of this book is that everything from basic technique to exotic harmony and modal scales has been aflamencado or “flamenco-ized”. Towards that end, a comprehensive glossary of mostly flamenco terminology is provided along with standard notation and tablature for each piece. As a bonus for those new to the flamenco genre, or for the serious aficionado or audiophile, a generous “Recommended Listening” list is included. Practice-related quotations from prominent guitarists in various styles complete this exceptional collection. Includes access to online audio.

In this book, the medieval development of Aristotle's theory of the modal syllogistic is studied for the first time. The book shows how this previously ignored part of medieval logic may give new insights into several areas of medieval philosophy.