Basic Theory

[Yoozer]

http://www.chordmaps.com/ is also a nice simple site for this.

He did say that I probably wont understand modes since its a little advanced.

While trying to teach someone something they're not ready for yet is usually not a good idea - a foundation helps a lot - I hope he'd at least explain the basics to you, and lets you listen to Coltrane's "Giant Steps" .

[Synth]

http://www.chordmaps.com/ is also a nice simple site for this.

While trying to teach someone something they're not ready for yet is usually not a good idea - a foundation helps a lot - I hope he'd at least explain the basics to you, and lets you listen to Coltrane's "Giant Steps" .

He definetly explained the basics. He told me, "this may not complety make sense to you, but in time while we go over some other stuff you will understand."

I'm also considering to just take piano lessons as well.

[Ytmh]

I just gotta add something to this.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musical_mode

I think here it explains in pretty good detail how modes work and how they sound like. Generally modal scales have certain special attributes which identify them. It's generally an interval, or something of the such which gives the mode it's character.

Modes were generally written back then for regular person's voice, so they don't feature many jumps and the like. It's also one thing that gives modal scales their character, when one sees the rather simple and scale-like movement by degrees rather than using jumps.

Mostly to write in a mode one must then understand what characterizes it, and then if one intends to further write in style, one must start thinking that this was regular people (not trained singers, etc) that sung these melodies. As such they can't be too complicated or long.

One major trait that characterizes modal melodies and such is that there is generally no leading note. That is, the seventh degree of the scale is generally not a major seventh interval.

So there, this should be enough. Study much~

[BardicKnowledge]

Until you have a basic grasp of major and minor keys, I would completely forget that modes exist for the time being -- they are very rarely used in modern music, and are complex enough that they may confuse you. With that said, one (very) quick explanation:

Most often they are used when a composer wants a melody that isn't built in a "regular" scale. For instance, the Lydian scale raises the 4th scale degree (C# replaces C in the key of G), which places a different interval (in this case, a tritone) inside the fundamental scale that melody is built out of.

For now, think of the major scale as the "normal" one, and then construct the minor scale by lowering the 3rd, 6th, and (optionally -- decide which sound you prefer for each situation) the 7th. So for g minor you arrive at the following... G A Bb C D Eb F G. Occasionally you stick in the F# from the original major scale anyway, because it is a more powerful resolution to the tonic (G). Unfortunately, "occasionally" is the best term I can give you -- it's really a decision that needs to be made by the composer / arranger in every individual case.