What chords to solo over to get a sense of modes?

Hey All

Since modes are just playing the major scale, but starting on a different root note, I'm trying to figure out what chords I should use to solo over.

Say I was going for the mode starting on the 5th degree of thre Major scale (Myxolidian?) Would I just use a IV - V - I based progression, or do use I - II - V?

Guess what I'm saying is, in the key of 'C', would I treat the 'G' chord as the "I" of the progression?

Cheers and thanks!

-Markus

A common Mixolydian progression is V - IV. So if you used G mixolydian, the chord progression would be G7 and Fmaj. Each mode has a common sequence.

Thanks for the reply, noticingthemistake.

So am I correct in assuming you'd treat the G7 as the tonic chord, and resolve back to it as the root of the mixolydian scale (G), right?

And if that's the case, I'm a little confused as to why the IV - V progression is the strongest. if you're thinking of the FMaj-G7 Progression in terms of the C Major Scale, it's IV - V, so why doesn't the I of that scale work? (or would that pull the tonic sound back towards C Major?).

Alternately, If you're thinking in terms of G Mixolydian, with G as 'I', you've got a VII - I progression, so why aren't the IV and V of that scale "strong" progressions (CMaj and Dmin)?

Apologies for bombarding you with more questions :-)

Thanks in advance if you find the time to reply!

-Markus

Try G - D - A, treating A as the tonic, dom7th chord.

Peace,
-Rick

Originally Posted by: Markus_StoneThanks for the reply, noticingthemistake.

So am I correct in assuming you'd treat the G7 as the tonic chord, and resolve back to it as the root of the mixolydian scale (G), right?

Sort of, but I couldn't honestly answer that because I don't know how you use the tonic chord. It would be yes if you think of chord progressions normally starting on a strong beat with the tonic chord because that's what makes the mode what it is. It's the chord you start with, if it's tonic chord it's either major or minor. If it's another chord like the dominant (V), it's modal. Here's an example of each as a chord progression.

Major (Ionian)
| I | VI | IV | V |

Mixolydian
| V | IV | VI | V |

The first chord on a strong beat sets the mood for the music to come. You can use any chord sequence and it will still sound modal, unless you play a cadence or 5-1 progression, like V-I or any other movement of a fifth. I wouldn't confuse yourself with implying V as I if it's mixolydian, just think of it as starting with the V chord. That should answer the other two questions as well.

If not, let me know.

Thanks NTM;

That gives me a lot to be going on with.

Thanks very much for your help.

-Markus