Tunes Ending on the Second Instead of the Tonic

[Brent Hutto]

One of my favorite "tricks" used by composers is ending a tune with something other than a move back to the root or tonic note of the key. Especially ending on the second degree of the major scale for a tune in a major key, for instance a song in G-major that ends on A.

A G-major tune I was playing this morning one-upped that trick by being notated with a second (double-stop) lower E under that final A, which means it's a perfect fifth but actually the 2 and 6 of the G-major scale. For some reason that makes the unresolved feel of the last note seem more restful.

The fact that the tune was intended as a slow Lament made it particularly sweet to end there.

[EdHanrahan]

Stretching the limits of my knowledge here, but I'm pretty sure that you're looking at (hearing!) Dorian mode, one of the versions of the minor scale. In your case, the "tonal center" of the tune is A, backed by an Am chord. But because the A Dorian mode uses the notes that happen to fall on the G major scale, the key signature of one sharp looks like it's in G. Except that it's not REALLY in a major key, nor is it in the related Em; it's in a mode of Am.

At this point, I find the naming of the common modes to be more obvious when relating to the notes of the C major scale, because some of the names start with their root note letter of the C scale:

- Ionic mode: The melody centers on C. (That's the good-old major scale. I equate the "I" of Ionic with the "I" of I, IV, V; C is the "I" note of the C-major scale.)
- Dorian mode: The melody centers on D. (Lots of rock falls here. Bob Jovi, anyone?)
- Aeolean mode: The melody centers on A. (This is the usual, or "natural", A minor scale.)

The other common mode in my experience is Myxolidian, centered on the V note of the scale. G myxolidian centers on G but uses the notes and chords of the C scale. Lots of old-timey stuff that uses the flat-7 major chord is Myxolidian. Think of "Darlin' Corey", starting in G but going to the F-major chord; that's in "G myxolydian" mode, using the notes and chords of the C major scale.

Fortunately for some of us, the Fiddler's Fakebook notes the mode of the less-than-standard tunes.

Yes, there are others (a mode for each note in the scale) and I know the names, but don't have a clue why, when, where, or how they get used!

That's it. I've babbled back everything that I know about modes, and probably more than I should have!

[Brent Hutto]

Ed,

I run across a lot of the Dorian and Myxolidian tunes in my fiddle-music books. This particular one (unless my ear is fooling me, which happens all the time!) is genuinely in G-major except for ending up on that A. Don't have the music in front of me but there might be one other spot where it settles on the A.

But the accompaniment uses G, C, D and E-minor rather than A-minor as you'd find on a Dorian tune.

BTW, I love "Darlin' Corey". If you ever run across a Martin Simpson CD called "Cool and Unusual" he has an otherwordly version of it...

[AlanN]

The jazzers do this often. And in our jazzy world, it's been done, notably by JR on the Tony Rice tune E.B.A, off either Backwaters or Still Inside. Reischman takes the tune out with the simple melody, and ends it with a gorgeous minor 9 voicing. Very fat sound.

[Brent Hutto]

Alan,

That's my favorite way of getting that second degree in there. Make it a nine and put it on top. There was some (20th century) classical guitar piece or another I used to play that drew out the ending as a slow arpeggio working to the high D on the 10th fret of the top string. I used to change that last note to the E instead, making an arpeggiated nine chord. Sweet!

[Rob Gerety]

Ending without resolving is really nice in some tunes. Emotionally powerful. Gives the tune more depth somehow.