Modal Jazz Improvisation & Harmony

Introduction

Modal Jazz is characterised by the following:

Sparse chord changes where a single chord can last many bars;
No strict, written out chord progression;
Pedal points and drones;
Quartal Chords – to avoid accidentally sounding tonal.

Modal Jazz, as the name implies, is a genre of Jazz that arose in the late 1950’s and uses ‘modality’ rather than ‘tonality’. I explained the difference between these two things in a previous lesson.

Tonality	Modality
Uses Major & minor keys	Uses all modes
Functional Harmony	No Functional Harmony
Tonal Centre (root note)	Tonal Centre

Tonality uses ‘functional harmony’ – where there is a strong pull to the tonic chord (chords feel like they want to resolve to the tonic).
Modality does NOT use ‘functional harmony’ – where there is NOT a strong pull to the tonic (though there is still a weak pull which I will explain below).

Modal Jazz and Improvisation

The idea behind Modal Jazz is to give the soloist greater freedom and choice when improvising.

Tonal harmony restricts the soloist because each chord has a strict function and is inevitably leading to the tonic.
Thinking in terms of chords or chord progressions is called thinking ‘vertically’
When you are thinking ‘vertically’ your improvisation is limited or restricted in certain ways. You are generally forced to:
- Target Guide Tones
- Avoid Avoid Notes
- Start a phrase at the start of the progression
- Build up tension as the chords build up in tension
- Resolve tension as the chords resolve in tension
- End the phrase at the end of the chord progression

So in a sense, your solo is already written out for you. The soloist’s goal is just to outline the chord changes. The solo is already preconceived. For example, if you were improvising over a II-V-I in the key of C Major you would generally do the following:

Chords	Dm7	G7	CMaj7
Function	Pre-Dominant	Dominant	Tonic
Tension	Some	Lots	None
Guide Tones	F & C	B & F	E & B
Avoid Notes	None (B?)	C	F
Phrasing	Start Phrase	Build Tension	Resolve Tension & End Phrase
One Note Solo	A (5th)	A (9th)	A (13th)

You can also create a relatively interesting sounding ‘One Note Solo’ because the harmony is constantly changing (e.g. playing the note ‘A’ above across all the chords). This is an incredibly boring and unimaginative solo.

Vertical vs Horizontal Thinking

Before Modal Jazz, soloists generally thought ‘vertically’. By removing the ‘functionality’ of chords – modality allows a soloist to focus exclusively on the melody and not worry about the underlying harmony. You focus on creating melodies in a particular scale or key. This is called thinking ‘horizontally’ (i.e. in terms of scales and melodies).

Modality treats the chords as ‘decorative’ rather than ‘functional’. This gives you greater flexibility when improvising and, in fact, forces you to focus on creating interesting melodies – and not about just outlining the chords or modifying the solo to fit the chord progression.

In Modal Jazz, you can:

Target any note in the scale (There are no guide tones or avoid notes, though there are character tones – more on this later)
Start and finish a phrase whenever you like (so there’s no limitation on phrase length based on some chord progression)
Build and resolve tension whenever you like (because there is no fixed chord progression)

So, whereas, in a tonal II-V-I you have to fit your solo around the chords – both harmonically and in terms of timing and phrasing – in Modal Jazz the solo does NOT need to fit a particular chord progression, and instead must just be an interesting and unique melody.

But, even though a Modal Jazz solo is ‘freer’ than a tonal solo, there are, nevertheless, still some restrictions in modal improvisation. You should generally:

Stick to the relevant scale/mode (with occasional chromatic passing notes);
Avoid the diatonic tritone (as it sounds tonal);
Emphasise the root note in the bass (to establish the tonal centre);
Emphasise the character tone within the particular mode.

Character Tones

Character Tone = the unique note/degree that makes a particular scale sound like itself and helps distinguish it from the Major and minor scale, and from the other modes.

Character Tones for each Major Scale mode are listed below:

Mode	Scale Degrees	Modes of C Major	Character Tone
C Ionian	1 2 3 4 5 6 7	C D E F G A B	F
D Dorian	1 2 ♭3 4 5 6 ♭7	D E F G A B C	B
E Phrygian	1 ♭2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7	E F G A B C D	F
F Lydian	1 2 3 #4 5 6 7	F G A B C D E	B
G Mixolydian	1 2 3 4 5 6 ♭7	G A B C D E F	F
A Aeolian	1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7	A B C D E F G	F
B Locrian	1 ♭2 ♭3 4 ♭5 ♭6 ♭7	B C D E F G A	F

Notice that the character tone is always one of the notes in the diatonic tritone (either B or F – which are the two notes that make up the diatonic tritone in the key of C Major).

Modal Jazz Harmony

Now this is where it gets a bit confusing. Even though Modal Harmony does NOT employ ‘functional harmony’, there is still a tonal centre (and therefore a tonic chord) so there is still some pull to the tonic.

With tonal harmony there is a strong pull to the tonic (G7 wants to resolve to CMaj7). In modal harmony, however, because there is no functional harmony there is NOT as strong a pull to the tonic. However, because there still is a tonic, there is still some tendency to want to resolve to it. It is nowhere near as strong as in functional harmony, but it is still there.

As long as there is a tonic chord (that is, a root note) there will be some tendency to want to resolve to it, no matter how weak. This is because, by definition, the tonic chord always feels ‘like home’ or ‘resolved’ or ‘completely at rest with no tension’. This means that all the other chords are heard in relation to the tonic chord and therefore have some level of tension that will feel like they want to resolve back to the tonic.

As such, different chords have different levels of tension. The chords can then be divided into three categories:

Category	Tertian Chord (3rds)	Quartal Chord (4ths)
Tonic (most stable)	Tonic chord	Contains root note NO character tone
Cadential (least stable)	Contains character tone
Non-Cadential (passing chord)	NOT tonic chord NO character tone	NO root note NO character tone

(Note: You can also play chromatic approach chords)

This means chords can be classified as follows:

Bold = Root Note
Red = Character Tone

Tertian Chords (chords built in 3rds)

C Ionian	CMaj7	Dm7	Em7	FMaj7	G	Am7	Bø7
	CEGB	DFAC	EGBD	FACE	GBD	ACDG	BDFA
	Tonic	Cad	Non-Cad	Cad	Non-Cad	Non-Cad	Avoid
D Dorian	Dm7	Em7	FMaj7	G	Am7	Bø7	CMaj7
	DFAC	EGBD	FACE	GBD	ACDG	BDFA	CEGB
	Tonic	Cad	Non-Cad	Cad	Non-Cad	Avoid	Cad
E Phryg	Em7	FMaj7	G	Am7	Bø7	CMaj7	Dm7
	EGBD	FACE	GBD	ACDG	BDFA	CEGB	DFAC
	Tonic	Cad	Non-Cad	Non-Cad	Avoid	Non-Cad	Cad
F Lydian	FMaj7	G	Am7	Bø7	CMaj7	Dm7	Em7
	FACE	GBD	ACDG	BDFA	CEGB	DFAC	EGBD
	Tonic	Cad	Non-Cad	Avoid	Cad	Non-Cad	Cad
G Mixolyd	G	Am7	Bø7	CMaj7	Dm7	Em7	FMaj7
	GBD	ACDG	BDFA	CEGB	DFAC	EGBD	FACE
	Tonic	Non-Cad	Avoid	Non-Cad	Cad	Non-Cad	Cad
A Aeolian	Am7	Bø7	CMaj7	Dm7	Em7	FMaj7	G
	ACDG	BDFA	CEGB	DFAC	EGBD	FACE	GBD
	Tonic	Avoid	Non-Cad	Cad	Non-Cad	Cad	Non-Cad
B Locrian	Avoid

Note that we want to avoid the diatonic tritone as this sounds ‘tonal’ (i.e. it sounds like a Dominant chord which wants to resolve down to the tonic), therefore we want to:

Avoid the G7 chord – instead play the G triad
Avoid the Bø triad and Bø7 7th chord

As both these chords have the diatonic tritone in them (i.e. they have the notes B & F in them).

Quartal Chords (chords built in 4ths)

C Ionian	CMaj7	Dm7	Em7	FMaj7	G	Am7	Bø7
	CFB	DGC	EAD	FBE	GCF	ADG	BEA
	Cad	Tonic	Non-Cad	Cad	Cad	Non-Cad	Non-Cad
D Dorian	Dm7	Em7	FMaj7	G	Am7	Bø7	CMaj7
	DGC	EAD	FBE	GCF	ADG	BEA	CFB
	Tonic	Tonic	Cad	Non-Cad	Tonic	Cad	Cad
E Phryg	Em7	FMaj7	G	Am7	Bø7	CMaj7	Dm7
	EAD	FBE	GCF	ADG	BEA	CFB	DGC
	Tonic	Cad	Cad	Non-Cad	Tonic	Cad	Non-Cad
F Lydian	FMaj7	G	Am7	Bø7	CMaj7	Dm7	Em7
	FBE	GCF	ADG	BEA	CFB	DGC	EAD
	Cad	Tonic	Non-Cad	Cad	Cad	Non-Cad	Non-Cad
G Mixolyd	G	Am7	Bø7	CMaj7	Dm7	Em7	FMaj7
	GCF	ADG	BEA	CFB	DGC	EAD	FBE
	Cad	Tonic	Non-Cad	Cad	Tonic	Non-Cad	Cad
A Aeolian	Am7	Bø7	CMaj7	Dm7	Em7	FMaj7	G
	ADG	BEA	CFB	DGC	EAD	FBE	GCF
	Tonic	Tonic	Cad	Non-Cad	Tonic	Cad	Cad
B Locrian	Avoid

Notice here that the Bø triad tonic chord includes its character tone, so you find yourself in the paradoxical situation of having an unstable tonic chord that wants to resolve to itself. This is why the Locrian mode is generally avoided in modal harmony, especially when using tertian chords (i.e. chord built up in 3rds).

Modal Cadences

Any chord which contains the character tone of the mode creates a weak pull towards the tonic chord – these chords have a ‘Cadential-like function’ (Note: I say ‘Cadential-like function’ because modal harmony does NOT use ‘functional harmony’. This is just a semantic issue, ‘functional harmony’ means a very specific thing – i.e. the type of harmony used during the Common Practice Period [Baroque, Classical & Romantic]. In Modal Harmony chords have ‘non-functional functions’. Apologies for the English language!). This ‘Cadential-like function’ isn’t as strong as a Dominant, but it still has a slight tendency to want to resolve to the Tonic.

The most common cadences for both Tonal (Functional) and Modal harmony are:

Functional Cadence (Strong pull to tonic)	G7	CMaj7
Functional Cadence (Strong pull to tonic)	V	I
Modal Cadence (Weak pull to tonic)	Em7	Dm7
Modal Cadence (Weak pull to tonic)	II	I

A Cadential chord has a stronger pull to the tonic if the character tone is the:

Root (strongest); then
5th; then
3rd; then
7th (weakest)

And so the standard chord progressions in both Tonal (Functional) and Modal harmony are:

Functional Progression	Dm7	G7	CMaj7
Functional Progression	Pre-Dominant	Dominant	Tonic
Modal Progression	FMaj7	Em7	Dm7
Modal Progression	Non-Cadential	Cadential	Tonic

Modal Jazz

Notice that Tonal chord progressions tend to move through the Circle of Fifths (Circle Progression), while Modal chord progression tend to be stepwise.

An Example

Let’s look at a I-V-vi-IV progression as an example (C | G | Am | F | in the key of C). This progression could technically be both tonal and modal. However you have keep in mind the following points:

The chord progression still moves in intervals of fifths: I-V and IV-I (which implies some tonality).
Even though there is no V7-I cadence, there is still a V-vi deceptive cadence which sounds tonal because the vi is a tonic functioning chord and a substitute for the I chord (again implying some tonality).
If you want this progression to sound modal, make sure the melody is not implying tonality. The melody should avoid using the diatonic tritone or arpeggiating the chord progression. So in the key of C, avoid playing the B and F together or successively.
Using tertian voicings (chord built in 3rds) will make it sound tonal, using quartal voicings (chord built in 4ths) will make it sound modal. So for example:

This will sound more tonal (tertian):

C = G C E
G = G B D
Am = A C E
F = A C F

This will sound more modal (quartal):

CMaj13 = B E A C
Gadd9add13 = B E A D
Am11 = A D G C
Fadd9 = G C F A

Using quartal voicings allows the chord voicings to move by step – making it sound more modal. Notice also that the quartal chords are very ambiguous. This gives the impression that you are playing the sound of a generic ‘key’ as a whole, rather than necessarily specific chords within that key.

Conclusion

So, in conclusion, in Modal Jazz, because of the lack of chord progression and lack of chord functionality, the focus of improvisation is on creating a coherent and meaningful melody rather than a mere restatement of the chord changes. Precisely because the chordal accompaniment is so boring, it forces you to create an original and interesting melody. But, even though you have more freedom in Modal improvisation, there are still some restrictions which are summarised below.

Tonality	Modality
Guide Tones	Character Tones
Functional Tension	Non-Functional Tension
Strong pull to tonic	Weak pull to tonic

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