In episode 13 of Desi Serna’s guitar theory podcast you take a listen to the interval structure of the different modes of the major scale and hear how musicians would number chord progressions that are modal. This involves naming the tonic pitch in a mode “1” and then numbering its other degrees and chords from there with consideration given to any change in interval structure. This information is needed in order to study advanced concepts like modal interchange and borrowed chords because you must identify chords that are out of key by how they relate to the tonic chord on hand and not by their position in their own parent keys.
Guitar Theory podcast at iTunes
This free guitar lesson on music theory is based on the book Fretboard Theory Volume II: https://www.guitarmusictheory.com/fretboard-theory/fretboard-theory-volume-ii/
Just finished great job !I was writing out this modal perspective a while back and it was interesting to see how seeing the tonic or key guides you in understanding how to apply flats and sharps in each degree of the scale to make major minor based on the root of the chord.
I really enjoyed your explanation of how a song’s chord progression is viewed relative to the parent major or minor scale, but then approached as if the tonic is the first chord in the scale. I can see that with this foundation, almost any chord progression in a popular song becomes understandable.
Can’t wait to get to Fretboard Theory II.