Dorian vs. aeolian version of "Greensleeves," which do you like better?

Seems to me that it SHOULD have the major sixth, really. I think the song starts on a minor ii chord (hence sounds like Dorian melodicism), but the chord gets tonicized at the end of the verse (sometimes even with a picardy third if I'm not mistaken).

Maybe somebody else can prove me wrong, but I think in the Aeolian mode you lean on the minor sixth pretty hard when it comes around, like in a minor blues or "Autumn Leaves," say.

(xpost)

It seems that people always mention "Scarborough Fair" and "Greensleeves" as classic Dorian songs, with the extra major seventh leading up to the tonic as a classic maneuver.

Yes. But then it goes to an E dominant seven chord and seems to resolve on A minor, as though A minor has been tonicized.

If you were doing the kind of chord analyses you do in school, you'd have to say that it starts in the key of G major on a ii chord, though.

One more question: what did you mean by "Dorian melodicism"?

It's possible to have an E major chord in the key of G major. It would be considered a V/ii chord (i.e., the dominant of the ii chord - E being the dominant of A). But the way that phrase ends on A minor - it sounds to me like A minor has become the tonic.

Earlier in the phrase, when you first hit the G major chord, doesn't it kind of sound like a tonic chord? Like it could just rest there on G major?

"Dorian melodicism" - meaning just using the G major scale with A as your root. Given that the song starts on the A minor chord, goes to D major, G major - that's Dorian.

It's interesting that there's this key issue. I wonder if the phenomenon of people playing the melody with the minor sixth instead of major is because they think the song is in A minor! I would imagine that people who play it that way skip the D major chord and just go straight to G major.

I think we are getting mixed up between the melody and the harmonization - The MELODY having the minor or major 6 is going to tell us whether we are in Dorian or Aeolian mode. I think that F chord in the key of A Dorian is not so strange because the melody has an A and C in it at that point. I guess you could put an Am there but that would be jumping the gun, wouldn't it?

In fact that flat-VI chord before the V chord is a really strong cliche, I don't know about you, but I just feel it pulling me to the V, in something like "Equinox" or "Secret Agent Man" or "Little Sister" or any minor blues.

On the other hand, you might have a basically Aeolian melody in say A minor but you might still harmonize the A minor chord with a major 6th in the bassline. If you play that major 6th it sounds like "Impressions"- it's hip, it's cool. If you play the minor sixth, it sounds like "Stray Cat Strut" or "Blank Generation" or some corny cocktail jazz- all you need is Maynard G. Krebs on bongos.

And actually, in songs with that famous descending bassline- root flat-seven flat-six five, like "Walk Don't Run," say- I think the guitar is playing all major (barre) chords on those roots. Try it and see.

Someone please show me the error of my ways.

No, it's certainly not strange, but you have definitively moved away from A Dorian at that point if you do that. Another way of harmonizing it would be C major for the first bar and A minor for the second bar.

'Tis the season

This issue is actually discussed here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorian_mode

Oh man, this thread is confused.

Knowing a lot about music doesn't mean shit when it comes to making good music.

Giving a lot of 'tude on a message board about how much you presumably know about music doesn't mean ...

Awesome let's keep talking about that please

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