Tomo Fujita Guitar Wisdom

I’m working my way through the videos on scale modes (love the course). When Tomo teaches a new mode, he starts with C as the root and uses the intervals for the mode from there. This leads to him using notes that aren’t in the C major scale.

So for example, He’ll play a Dorian scale with the root of C. Is it fair to say that this Dorian scale with root C based on the B major scale?

And if that’s the case, what is the most ideal scale to play over a C major scale—a D Dorian, or a C Dorian? (e.g. D as the root for the Dorian scale, or C as the root for the Dorian scale.)

Thank you all!

Dorian is the 2nd degree scale of its key. That means to play a Dorian scale, you are finding the 2nd degree (note) of a key and using the 2nd degree as the root. Some examples to hopefully make it a bit clearer:

Key of C major contains the notes CDEFGAB (whole step, whole step, half step, whole step, whole step, whole step, half step). D is the 2nd note (degree) in that scale. Therefore D Dorian is in the key of C major. To play a D Dorian, you'd play the notes of a C major scale using the 2nd degree (in this case D) as the root.

So what changes are made to a normal (Ionian) D major scale to make it Dorian? Flatten the 3rd and flatten the 7th. For example: a normal (Ionian) D major scale is DEF#GABC#. If we flatten the 3rd (F#) and the 7th (C#) we get DEFGABC which are all the notes of the C major scale but starting at D (which is the 2nd degree of the C major scale).

Key of F is FGABbCDE... G is the 2nd degree of the key of F so G Dorian would be in the key of F major.

G major is GABCDEF#, flatten the 3rd and 7th and you get GABbCDEF.... all of the notes of the F major scale using G (2nd degree) as the root.

Looking at it from the opposite:

C Dorian... We have to find which key has C as the 2nd note (degree)... well, what's one whole step back from C? Bb. That means that C is the 2nd note in the key of Bb major meaning that C Dorian is in the key of Bb major.

One more example in the same context. E Dorian. What key has E as its 2nd degree? D major. That means that E Dorian is in the key of D major.

Regarding your question of what is the ideal scale to play over C major scale (or C chord or note), consider looking at the entire progression of a song and the notes being used and also know the character or mood and degree of each mode. You'll notice Tomo sometimes associate "happy" to major scale and "sad" or "dark" to minor scale.

Ionian, Lydian and Mixolydian are majors
Dorian, Phrygian and Aeolian are minors
Locrian is a minor with b5 so diminished

Lets say you are playing over just a C note drone in the background, you can pretty much use all modes on it. It'll be up to you to choose whether you want that C note to be happy or sad...

If the entire song only has C5 power chord, because it doesn't have the 3 or b3, you can pretty much use major or minor modes on it depending on the character or emotion you want to express, except maybe Locrian because of the b5. Though b5 can still be periodically used as passing note, but not as a chordal tone.

If the progression for example is C-Dm-F, then you can use the C Ionian and Mixolydian which both has D and F but not C Lydian because of the F#. It'll be up to your melodic choice when you want to use the 7 (from C ionian) or b7 (from C mixo) when the progression lands on the F.

If the progression is Cm-Bb-Ab (like the stairway riff but in Cm instead of Am), then C Aeolian will work but not C Phyrigian because of b2 (which will make Bb a minor) and not C Dorian because of 6 which means no Ab.

Just be careful not to use too much note in the mode that it makes your solo sound like scale exercise. Incorporate Tomo's teaching of the triads and diatonic scales to make your soloing more melodic.