Fretboard and Songwriting Theory for Metal Heads (and other genres too): Using 'the secret' to unlock the fretboard and your songwriting potential by Unknown

Author:Unknown
Language: eng
Format: epub

The point I am trying to make here is to truly master the fretboard, we must be familiar with the sound of each mode to bring to the forefront what we hear in our mind. Like I said at the beginning of the book, knowing theory does not make you a musical genius. However, if you can get the ideas in your head out faster by knowing the sound you are after and where those notes are, your ear and your creativity (and your band) will thank you.

MODAL INTERCHANGE AND ‘BORROWED CHORDS’

(My favourite song writing trick)

This is when things got really interesting for me. Being a huge fan of bands like The Beatles and Queen, as well as film composers such as John Williams, Danny Elfman, and Hans Zimmer; I found myself being drawn to not only the notes of modal interchange found commonly in heavy metal music, but also the chord options modal interchange creates, utilising something commonly referred to as ‘borrowed chords’. These are chords temporarily borrowed from other modes using the same tonal centre, without changing key. This will now give us a lot more chords we can use, not just the seven a lot of people have come to rely upon.

For example:

C Major (Ionian) = C(I) Dm(ii) Em(iii) F(IV) G(V) Am(vi) Bdim(vii)

This is all very nice, but we have heard these combinations of songs done a million times before, especially as most people will take out the diminished, or at best replace it with a slightly more palatable half diminished. There are only so many more songs that I can take with the now clichéd I, V, vi, IV. It was great, and still is in the right context, but it has now been done so many times that it has become predictable and a little stale.

Now we know we can borrow notes from other modes, seeing as notes and chords are related, surely we can borrow chords from other modes too? Hence the highly clever name: ‘Borrowed Chords’.

If you didn’t think I was geeky enough for wanting to write this book in the first place, you are about to see a whole new level. As I said in the title of this chapter, this is my favourite songwriting trick. I must be drawn to it due to my influences, even at such a young age, but I still get excited at finding ‘the magic chords’, even if it comes down to two chords! Let’s see what other chords we can borrow from other modes:

​ C Major (Ionian) = C Dm Em F G Am Bdim

​ C Dorian = Cm Dm Eb F Gm Adim Bb

​ C Phrygian = Cm Db Eb Fm Gdim Ab Bbm

​ C Lydian = C D Em F#dim G Am Bm

​ C Mixolydian = C Dm Edim F Gm Am Bb

​ C Aeolian = Cm Ddim Eb Fm Gm Ab Bb

​ C Locrian = Cdim Db Ebm Fm Gb Ab Bbm

Look at all the options we have, without even looking at

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