[greasymike]

Was wondering if anyone can help me by telling me what modes (and keys which I think I have found) the following songs are in. If any of my info is wrong please let me know. I am not a musician. Pappy, I saw some posts of yours concerning modes elsewhere so any help would be appreciated.

The Promised Land C
Rainy Day Women F
Help On The Way > Fm
Slipnot! > Fm
The Golden Road To Unlimited Devotion D
Loser Am
After Midnight > D
Eleanor Rigby Jam > Em-C, Aeolian-Dorian
After Midnight > D
To Lay Me Down G
New, New Minglewood Blues E

Uncle John's Band G
Wharf Rat > A, Mixolydian
Beautiful Jam > B, Aeolian (Bm)
Dark Star > A, Mixolydian
China Cat Sunflower > G
The Eleven B
Black Peter A
Cryptical > E
The Other One > E
Cryptical E
Franklin's Tower A, Mixolydian

Viola Lee Blues G
Box Of Rain A
It's All Over Now, Baby Blue

Thanks.

Michael

[w1av]

Hi,

I am a musician and heavily into modal jazz. It appears that Jerry was deep into bluegrass and country before the Dead. Bluegrass is very Mixolydian. Thats probably why alot of Dead songs are Mixo flavored. I'd have to listen to more to figure it on other tunes. I am new listening to the dead but I know my modes. I do alot of jazz.

[tcsned]

Hey Mike,
The modes are cool to learn and to be able to apply them to whatever song you are playing. For me it's more about the key not necessarily the mode because there are several that work for every song. All those songs that are generally Mixolydian, drop down a step and play the Lydian or drop a 4th and play a dorian scale (I like this one). If nothing else it gets you to select different note combinations that when you play one form over and over again patterns in your playing develop that may or may not be a good thing. A new approach my yield some cool ideas.

Loser - you can do most of it in A minor but it has a D major chord in it which would make the song in G major and not C major. So the proper mode would be A dorian (the F in that key is an F# - that's the only difference).

Uncle John's Band - mostly in G major, the end jam over the Dm riff is D Dorian.

Dark Star - A mixolydian is correct, I like using the E Dorian (same key signature). I like this for a lot of those A-G type tunes and the Other One etc.