Please watch video above for detailed info:

Hi Guy’s,

Today, a quick look at the amazing 7th mode of limited transposition employed by the great French composer Olivier Messiaen.

This is a ten note scale [and is almost a chromatic scale apart from two notes: In this blog Bb to E as a tritone]. It has 6 Transpositions:

MODE 7 ANALYSIS:

This mode consists mainly of half steps [semitones], but, there are two whole steps that divide this and give this mode its unique sound.

Messiaen Mode 7

Let’s now create an interesting guitar line from this mode 7.

This works well as a Robert Fripp style phrase/line as the intervals lend themselves well to tritone developing material.

Phrase 1:

Phrase 2:

Now, let’s repeat these two phrases up an octave:

1]

2]

LINE in Full:

LINE 2:

This line is devised from various intervals like 6ths and 7ths and 3rds that are nice to alternate pick on the guitar for that angular sound once again. This also shows how easy it is to exploit various intervals with this mode/scale form.

Bar 1:

Bar 2:

Bar 3:

LINE in Full:

Dyads/Double Stops:

These modes works well with 2 note chord voicing’s as Dyads or Double Stops: These are great for comping or creating composition from on the guitar. Also, they are useful for plucking and then playing a lead mode 7 line on.

Messiaen mode 7 Dyads: Example 1

Messiaen mode 7 Dyads: Example 2

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