"If a blues song has a minor chord that functions as the
root, then it’s either in Dorian or Aeolian mode. Although
blues players rarely think of it as such because they so often
limit themselves to using only pentatonic scales. If
you compare the notes of the minor pentatonic to either
an Aeolian or Dorian scale, then you’ll realize that all the
pentatonic notes are in both modes. So the pentatonic
ends up being a simplified version of the parent major
scale either way. The modal scale includes two additional
scale degrees (the 2nd and 7th counting from the modal
root) that offer more melodic possibilities. Two good
examples of blues songs in Aeolian mode are “The Thrill
Is Gone” by B.B. King and “Maria, Maria” by Santana."
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