instrument with a large ball-shaped body that has a large , smooth , and warm sound . Patterson is well-versed in both modal jazz and Middle Eastern modal music , making him the perfect candidate for my third interview .
CM : WHAT IS MODAL MUSIC ?
ROY PATTERSON : The academic answer would be music that lacks dominant to tonic cadence ; that is , not based on the concept of dominant chords creating instability that resolve to a stable tonic chord . Within the context of a mode , there are areas that are more transitory : notes are used to move to other notes or modes so even though a mode doesn ’ t have any dominant to tonic cadences , there are still tension / resolution points in the mode with departure points to modulate to other modes .
CM : DOES MODALITY DIFFER IN JAZZ COMPARED TO TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC ?
PATTERSON : Jazz has always absorbed what ’ s around it and these elements of modes were present very early on . You can even consider blues a modal type of music . The blues scale is essentially a mode , with its inherent phrasing in the scale . There ’ s a tendency to think that modal jazz started in the 1960s with Coltrane and Davis , but it began long before that . These artists in the ‘ 60s certainly advanced modal music in the context of jazz , but it was already a part of the music . Coltrane in particular was interested in early 20 th century music and eastern religions , so naturally there was an investigation of the music associated with those traditions .
CM : HOW DO YOU COMPOSE MODAL MUSIC ?
PATTERSON : A lot of my tunes are a combination of diatonic and modal elements . There might be eight to 16 bars of a mode and the last A section would be diatonic , for example .
The treatment of the melody in modal tunes is a little different . You ’ re not looking for that leading tone resolving to the tonic ; it ’ s based on the inherent tension release that ’ s already in the phasing of the mode . For example , I ’ ll end my first phrase on a nine , creating the expectation of some kind of resolution . The next phrase I ’ ll end on the one to create that resolution . I ’ m using the inherent structure within the mode to create a sense of instability and stability .
CM : WHAT IS THE STATUS OF MODAL MUSIC IN CANADA ?
PATTERSON : We have some incredible musicians in Canada that have come from other musical cultures , but if you listen to what ’ s on the radio , it ’ s not reflective of these musicians and artists . The potential is here . We have the artists , the creativity is here , but unfortunately , the funding agencies are supporting more mainstream stuff . It ’ s going to take groups of people to get the ears of administrators and governments to develop an openness and realize that there is some amazing potential here right now .
CM : WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE SOMEONE WHO IS LOOKING TO INCORPORATE MODAL SOUNDS INTO THEIR MUSIC ?
PATTERSON : First thing is they have to listen to the music ; that ’ s the most important thing . Whatever flavour of modal music – dorian would be Coltrane and Miles , Herbie Hancock , or listen to music from other cultures . Arabic music has a large improv component . Indian music and Brazilian Afro sambas are all modal pieces .
Alright , so just what is modal music ? Modal music is an approach to music where each song focuses on a specific mode . These modes are series of notes with their own inherent phrasing that dictates which notes to play , in what order to play them , and the articulation of each note . Modal music is about first establishing a mood or atmosphere of a mode , then exploring all of the different characteristics and complexities of it .
For music lovers , modal music opens up a whole new world of beautiful and culturally rich sounds . There are hundreds if not thousands of musical heritages , each one requiring a lifetime to master , that fall under this over-arching modal music tree . Getting into this music not only opens your ear to different sounds , broadening your musical horizon , but it draws attention to these extremely talented-yet-underrepresented musicians in Canada .
As musicians , we can use this approach to add new and interesting sounds and colours to our music , improve our phrasing , or simply to get out of a creative rut .
Roy Patterson told me that playing on one chord reminds him of playing music as a teenager . He and his friends would jam on one chord because that ’ s all they could do . To me , that ’ s where the beauty of modal music lies – the limitation breeds creativity . Imagine you ’ re playing on one chord for a 15-minute tune . Sure , it might be tricky at first , but it forces you to think of all the possible things you can do with one chord or one scale or one mode . It forces you to focus on interesting and perhaps more articulate phrasing , and it forces you to explore all the nooks and crannies of that specific sonic world .
Omar Shabbar is a gigging musician based out of Toronto .
He ’ s also an onsite guitar tech at The Root Down Studio ( www . therootdownstudio . com ) and a selfproclaimed gear head . In the rapidly changing industry of modern guitar gear , Omar attempts to discern innovation from distraction . Check out his YouTube channel , featuring dozens of gear reviews and performance clips , at YouTube . com / OmarGearReview .
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