Modal Playing Strategies, Part 2 | John Stowell & Juan Dhas

John Stowell and Juan Dhas continue their modal playing series with an in-depth look at new vocabulary for playing over a major chord, including Lydian, Lydian #9, and augmented-major harmony references.

Using the bridge to "Little Sunflower", John and Juan demonstrate extensions of basic diatonic harmony in the keys of Eb and D major. Alongside modes of the melodic and harmonic minor that reference harmonic information for major chords, they also demonstrate chord inversions and voice-leading.

What's covered

• Lydian, Lydian #9, and augmented-major sounds over major chords
• Implied V chords
• Chord inversions and shapes as templates for generating single-line solo ideas
• Comping strategies and voice-leading ideas
• Modes of the melodic and harmonic minor applied to major-chord harmony

This is an advanced class for players ready to extend their major-chord vocabulary beyond basic diatonic harmony. Part 1 of the series is available here: Concepts for Modal Playing with John Stowell and Juan Dhas, Part 1.