signature from its relative major, which is B flat. The key signature for B flat
has two flats: a B flat and an E flat.Getting Moody ................................................................................................
It’s no big secret that playing a good song is an easy way to set the mood of
a room. For some reason, that’s doubly true in film. How many times have
you watched a film with a wall-to-wall soundtrack of busy, unconnected pop
songs and had it spoil the picture for you? How long does it take to get the
creepy but incredibly simple soundtracks of films like Halloween or Friday the
13thout of your head after watching them?The connection between music and mood isn’t even confined to the human
realm, either: Birds, bees, and four-legged animals of all sizes modulate their
vocal utterances to try to attract mates or scare away competition. And if
you think dogs barking isn’t musical, then we must insist you take one more
listen to the Jingle Dogs’ Christmas Unleashed.The ancient Greeks believed that not only did music itself invoke mood and
even provoke certain behaviors, but that the modesthe songs were written in
were just as responsible. The original name for the Greeks’ set of seven musi-
cal scales was échos, later renamed modusby the Romans who adopted the
system.Plato himself recommended that soldiers preparing for war should listen to
music written in Dorian and Phrygian modes (more on these modes in the
next section). In a modern context, that would mean that before heading
off for any great confrontation, one should listen to songs like The Doors’
“Light My Fire,” Steppenwolf’s “Born to Be Wild,” Jefferson Airplane’s “White
Rabbit,” and Yngwie Malmsteen’s “Heavy E Phrygian.” On the other hand,
Plato discouraged these same soldiers from listening to songs in the Lydian
or Ionian modes because it would interfere with their bloodlust. Therefore,
putting on R.E.M.’s “Man on the Moon” is not a good idea before going off
to war.Plato and Aristotle also believed that an affinity towards certain musical
modes were insights into a person’s character, and that people who were
fond of music in the Ionian, Aeolian, and Locrian modes were too relaxed and
easygoing to do well in high-power political or military positions. After read-
ing this chapter, you might want to take a look at the sort of music you your-
self prefer listening to and see what musical modes most often pop up in your
personal CD collection.Chapter 6: Scales and Modes, Moods and Melodies 59