I totally get what this article is telling me, but I have a question. Say I'm writing a song in C major(to keep it simple). If I write a solo over the C major chord, can I solo in C lydian or C mixolydian because they're major modes? similarly soloing in A dorian or A Phrygian over the Aminor chord? Is that what's up? Because I write songs all the time in different "modes", meaning I'll write in the key of C major but start on Aminor or Fmajor or whatever, but when I solo I always stay in the key of C major, never straying from the 7 notes in the key.

I think I'm finally getting modes. Free advice: memorize the mode names in order, starting with Ionian. That way, if you see F Lydian but don't know the key, you can figure it out quickly (C). I have a friend strum a G chord and I'll play different scales starting on G. It really helps me hear what the mode has to offer.

Great article. I have been struggling with understanding modes and this really clarified the concept. For those still struggling here are some things that has helped me: Remember that when playing over six strings a scale is repeated twice. Try playing only the first three strings/ (i.e. to the first octave you come to. This makes it easier to see the concept. Modes are not scales, they are voicings of the scale. Some modes sound major, while others sound minor. Simple. Modes merely refer to where you begin/end on the particular scale (root note). The scale does not change; the key, however, does. Don't let the names confuse you. As you find the modes you like look up their name. Just remember what number you started on within the scale. Use only the major pentatonic scale while learning. It really simplifies things and most lessons refer to it. Learn it on all the strings and know it well. good luck all!

for some reason the post I just made to anon34004 says it was made by anon 36580...don't know how that happened!!

anon 34004 - interesting method to find a lydian OF G and not G lydian. First time I've heard the term "lydian OF...." Of course, the Key of G has F# (7th note in the G scale) in it, which is the only difference between the Key of G and The Key of C. So, what you end up with is that you are playing C lydian (sharped 4th in Key of C = F#) and the note G is the 5th note in the lineup. Do you have similiar methods for phrygian, mixolydian, aeolian? How about other keys?

very good point anon34004. I usually don't think of modes at all but rather sounds - period... However, sometimes (especially a new tune on the fly) I do need to resort to the key and when I change modes I always think in terms of the Ionian mode.

i do not think about modes like this really.

i try to steer away from thinking of the dorian as a flat3, flat 7 and the lydian as a raised 4 etc etc.

i just think in the terms that if i was to play a lydian OF g. (note: not lydian ON g) i know that lydian is the 4th mode, so i can count from g, up 4 notes in the g scale.

g, a, b, c

so i know to play all the notes in the g major scale from c to c.

this way of thinking is much easier for me

as all you have to know is how to count and your major scales flats/sharps and you can play every mode.

if you were asked to play a dorian ON g for example.

you still count, but this time count backwards because what they are asking for is g to g in dorian.

so dorian is the 2nd mode, so count back two, so you get to your major.

g, f

so you will play from g to g, with all the notes in the f major scale.

something like

g, a, b flat, c, d, e, f, g

this just tries to eliminate thinking of modes as different scales

they all link into your major scale directly.

Funkbass - Thanks for your post! Good explanation. I wonder, though, is the reason for knowing modes mainly for guitar players - so they can play solos and know what/where to sharp/flat notes? I play piano and just learned of modes last summer and was curious about them. I can play from fake books so I know the chords, major, minor, dim, etc. but when I saw your post calling Dm7 D dorian and Em7 E phrygian, etc. that seemed to simplify the "thought process."

conchobhair,

They are scales, but the key signature and interval rules apply for every key. If you're

playing the Dorian mode of C, just remember you

play D E F G A B C D. So the Dorian mode of G is

A B C D E F# G A, and so on. The interval W-H-W-W-W-H-W) applies, regardless of what key you're in.

One way this is written is the Roman numeral style. This example is in the key of C

I Ionian chord cegb CMaj7

II Dorian chord dfac Dmin7

III Phrygian chord egbd Emin7

IV Lydian chord face FMaj7

V Mixolydian chord gbdf G7

VI Aeolian chord aceg Amin7

VII Locrian chord bdfa Bminb57

Now try this. I, VI, II, V. or I, VI, IV, V,

C Am Dm G C Am F G

Staying in the key of C, you'll hear how about

10,000 ballads and blues tunes were written.

I remember how much fun grasping this stuff was

when learning walking bass.

re musicinme... I believe what you are talking about is chord theory, not modes. Although the 3b 7b comments are correct, it's more about the intervals in a mode opposed to the 1-3-5 + alternates when you're talking about chords.

I think the one thing missing in these discussions about the different modes is that you need to compare the mode to the original scale. The D dorian scale( where you have the 3rd and 7th notes flatted) compared to D major scale where the 3rd and 7th notes are *not* flatted but rather sharped shows the *reason* it is called D dorian and not simply D major.

Another thing to think about is being able to relate a song to a mode. For example, the song "Maria" from the Sound of Music would *not* be what it is (its unique sound) if it weren't for the *Lydian* scale...the reason being that in the key of C, the notes go C to F# to G for the melody. If you were to play it in any other *key*, for example the key of D, the melody would be D to G# to A because the 4th note in the key of D is G so it is the one that gets sharped. Hope this helps someone somewhere!

One thing to remember is, that although you are playing the same notes as an Ionian scale, you have to *emphasize* different notes based upon the key in which you are playing. Otherwise, your scale will sound Ionian despite the different key you are in. This takes some getting used to and is the nucleus of what you must practice.

Great article. What helps me to remember the spacing is to look at a keyboard. Find C, and play all the white keys until I arrive at the next C (Ionian). The next mode appears when you move up one note, to D (Dorian), and again, play all the white keys, the spacing of intervals is the next mode. Do this again, and again for each mode.

Or, write out the intervals on a paper; W-W-H-W-W-W-H, and repeat so that it looks like this; W-W-H-W-W-W-H-W-W-H-W-W-W-H. Cover the last half of the sequence, and you have Ionian. Then, cover the first step, and move the covered steps up one step. Do this for each mode, and you can see the relation between the intervals.

To understand modes, do this:

1. Learn how to play the G Major (aka Ionian) scale.

2. Play a solo by improvising with these notes, but remember that your root note is G. There! You just played a G Ionian (aka major) solo. Notice how "Major" it sounded.

3. Play a solo using *the same notes*, but this time think of your root note as A. In other words, play a solo in A, but use only the notes found in the G Major scale. There! You just played an A Dorian solo. Notice how "Dorian" it sounded.

4. Again, still using only the notes from the G Major scale, play a solo rooted at B. There! You just played a B Phrygian solo. Notice how "Phrygian" it sounded.

5. Now play a solo in C Lydian and notice how "Lydian" it sounds.

6. Now play a solo in D Mixolydian and notice how "Mixolydian" it sounds.

7. Now play a solo in E Aeolian (aka minor) and notice how minor (aka Aeolian) it sounds. (The natural minor scale is just a mode of the major scale. The "relative minor" of G major is E minor. The "relative major" of E minor is G major. Also, A=F#m, C=Am, D=Bm, etc.)

8. The final note of the G major scale that we haven't "rooted" on is F#. Play a solo in F#, but use only the notes of the G major scale. There! You just played a solo in F# Locrian. Notice how "Locrian" it sounds.

9. Now just realize that the major scale has 7 notes in it. Therefore is has 7 potential "starting points" or "root points" or "modes". If your buddies are playing in D major, you might try playing a solo in D Dorian (which is a mode of C major, and has all of the notes of C major, but you'd be thinking "D Dorian"). Or you might just solo in D major along with them (aka D Ionian). Or maybe try D Phrygian for a different feel. All of these modes can be thought of as totally different scales, but what makes them modes of eachother is that they all contain exactly the same notes.

Hope this helps!

Miguel3d

I like remembering them as I Don't Punish Little Monkeys After Lunch :) Enjoy!

Response to bitster:

What you are actually saying is this: you want to play a aeolian mode over the key of c. The answer is, you certainly can, but it assumes you like the way it sounds (and so do others). You are definitely on the right track. - Gm

This is very interesting reading.. I am a Rock / Metal / Country guitar soloist and my input follows.

1) For the styles of music I play I find I travel in and out of most all of the modes... for example if you consider the starting note as "the root or 1" of the scale then the intervals between the root, 2,3,4,5,6,7 vary as the mode varies. If the sound I want is a 2b (flat2) then it must be from either the phrygian or locrian modes. etc. I don't think in "modes" anymore, but rather "sounds". However, I recognize that I learned the sounds (of the varying intervals) by learning the modes.

Today, I think more in terms of the Key, the major scale (ionian mode), and when I step out of the key I think chromatically (where anything goes, notes and chords). Don't you just love music theory... I certainly do?

can someone tell me if this is correct? if i want to play in the key of C ionian major, but i want to use the aeolian mode A major t-s-t-t-s-t-t, i would start on C and still end on a C? so i can play any of the seven modes in any key? they will always end on the same note e2e or a2a ect.?

Please *help* me. Ok, so there's seven modes to a scale.

Does this mean I can play in C ionian,

but use the E phrygian mode of h-w-w-w-h-w-w ????

Hi I think what he means is that modes are just different ways of playing the scale.

I'm thinking of it like the scale is a planet and the modes are different continents each having there own lifestyle? Hope I'm getting closer to understanding it all myself.

Anon has helped me bigtime. My only thing is can you go deeper on your subject about-- If you look at the position of the whole tones and the semitones, you will see that as you play each mode, one after the other in order, the semitones (H) are moved one place to the left?

This article and it's comments has helped greatly in refreshing my mind about modes, thank you!

Specifically, the fact that you can play in desired mode without having to know huge amounts of music theory, by finding the relevant major scale you are likely to already be familiar with, i.e. you want to play in F lydian, so play with your C major scale but start on and focus around the F instead!

Ok, so if I'm playing in C, I could use Aeolian since A's the relative minor of C, and does that mean I could also use F#, which is the relative minor of a?

For those who don't get the theory behind modes, here's a simplified version. You know that the Ionian mode is your basic C major scale, consistent of CDEFGABC. E to F is a natural half step, as is B to C. This form the pattern of 1 2 3-4 5 6 7-8, dashes symbolizing half steps. For example, from C, you can go up to C# and then to D, which is 2 half steps, making 1 whole step. The pattern stays the same; it's just the starting note for each mode changes.

For your basic C major scale:

Ionian: 1 2 3-4 5 6 7-8 starts on C

Dorian: 1 2-3 4 5 6-7 8 starts on D

Phrygian: 1-2 3 4 5-6 7 8 starts on E

Lydian: 1 2 3 4-5 6 7-8 starts on F

Mixolydian: 1 2 3-4 5 6-7 8 starts on G

Aeolian: 1 2-3 4 5-6 7 8 starts on A

Locrian: 1-2 3 4-5 6 7 8 starts on B

For every scale, whatever flats and sharps still apply.

They are just different scales, if you start looking for different types of scales you'll find hundreds of them. You could probably spend a lifetime memorizing scale boxes and be left with some to yet to discover.

The subject of modes has always bothered me a bit. Why would you tell someone to play E Phrygian instead of just C major? Why complicate a simple scale with 7 modes?

Well, I think the answer is that some song forms coincide with particular modes. Most rock and blues seem to agree with the Dorian mode. A blues rock song based around a D tonal center, having a D, D5, Dm, or D7 as the 1st chord can have a ripping solo in D Dorian, and it makes more sense to call it that than simply C major. Its a song in D so call it by its mode, not its base scale (key?).

Locrian mode does have uses...

it is used as a modulation when soloing with the diminished scale over the harmonic minor in genres as diverse as jazz, blues, and heavy metal. Also, in various sub genres of metal, it is the main key used in many songs; for example, metallica's "enter sandman" is written in E locrian. also, the opposite of my initial back-up may occur: a locrian solo modulating into the harmonic minor and/or phrygian may also be played over a rhythm based on the diminished. You see both examples used in modern rock music.

how do these modes of music help to inspire people??

Why do we use the mode we do? Does a change in mode involve re-tempering the scale? Can a computer change a Beethoven Symphony in a particular key into the same key in another mode and what would it sound like?

It is easier to understand modes (or "method") by examining origins. People of the world (almost universally) accept the 13 steps of the octave as now based on notes determined by the use of the 12th root of 2 (1.05946321). Three main world systems of music have been established by specific selection and exclusion of these 12 notes: Pentatonic (five notes of the octave used by the oriental people), Hexatonic (six notes of the octave used by the people of the Middle East), and Septatonic (seven notes of the octave used by people of Western Europe.

Each of these note systems can be easily understood by the use of a standard 12-hour clock. Pentatonic places the five notes at 1:00, 4:00, 6:00, 8:00, and 11:00. Hexatonic places the six notes at 1:00, 3:00, 6:00, 8:00. 9:00 and 12:00. Septatonic places the seven notes at 1:00, 3:00, 4:00, 6:00, 8:00, 9:00, and 11:00. The missing notes were not named, numbered, or existant in most instruments.

Names were given to each of the notes in the three systems, which, in the case of the septatonic, were letters of the alphabet. The note at 1:00 was given A, the note at 3:00 was named B, and so on around. Going one step further, The vocal solfeggio system was devised as a way to attach a given musical pitch to a given note (rather than just talk about note names and locations. In solfeggio, 1=A=La begins the low-octave note , 3=B=Ti, 4=C=Do, 6=D=Re, 8=E=Fa, 11=G=So, and 13(1)=A=La completes the high octave note.

These notes are the same as the seven strings of an ancient stand-up or lap-top harp, or the white keys of the piano or organ today. It therefore comes as no surprise to realize that musicians did not just form their melodies from one starting point, but increased the variety and interest of music by the simple technique of starting their melodies on any one of the seven notes (or the five or six note systems of the orient and Middle East). An octave started at each of the seven different starting points had its own name, or ”mode”: A=Aeolian, B=Locrian,C= Ionian. D-Dorian, E=Phrygian, F=Lydian, G=Mixolydian-- each scale producing its own flavor of music, dark or light. Octaves started on C, F, and G produced sunny, light-hearted (“major”) music, while octaves starting on A, D, or E produced darker, moody “minor” music. The scale starting on B didn’t seem to go anywhere important, and is essentially a scale without friends, but trying to find some.

Modal music persisted until the introduction of the “black” keys— a simple evolution to allow pitch adjustment for vocalists—at which time the uncomplicated seven-mode system fell apart by having, not the original seven systems but rather gaining 77 more, and being reduced to the now-familiar “Diatonic” scale (the ancient Ionian mode, or Do-Re-Mi-Fa-So-La-Ti-Do) with the incredibly complex key system of sharps and flats. It may come as a surprise, however, to discover that the majority (85%) of the music we listen to today is made of the same exact modal structure (though not necessarily the same ancient starting point in the octave) as music was in the past—identical for the most part, with the exception of the language used to describe it.

The most popular mode (if it can be called that now) is Mixolydian, with its wonderful exclusive inclusion of what we now call the flatted 7th note. No other “major” mode had it, though it exists in the three “minor” modes.

It turns out that the selection of the particular seven notes and the ensuing modal scales found in Western European music was a pure stroke of genius, (although a “cheap parlor trick” for prodigious writing of tunes), giving us the greatest amount of musical enjoyment for centuries. But then, when the “black” keys were introduced around 1300 AD, music was given an astronomical boost in power on the ever-present foundation of modes, from which we may never recover.

I think of modes as distinct keys just like Major and Minor (which are basically just the Ionian and Aeolian modes except Minor usually has a raised 7th). Although some like Dorian and Phrygian may have a minor tonality they are all unique.

I've been struggling to understand the concept of modes and how they are used. do they follow the chord sequences in a song for example or do you choose a mode and play it throughout the piece?

headscratcher.

What are modes used for? If i were to write a song would i use one mode? do they apply to notes or chords?

If you look at the position of the whole tones and the semitones, you will see that as you play each mode, one after the other in order, the semitones (H) are moved one place to the left.

This indicates that to play in a certain mode, all you need to do is play a major scale over one of it's key chords. So you could figure out which mode you are playing when using the C major scale and playing over the chords C, Dm, Em, F, G, Am, and Bmflat5.

Best thing is to record yourself playing a particular chord, and then try playing major scales in various different keys over the top of yourself to see what each one sounds like. Then figure out what it's called and why it sounds that way.

think about the white keys (only) of a piano - if you have a keyboard nearby it helps to visualize the whole step and half steps

c to c is a major scale cdefgabc

d to d is dorian mode defgabcd

e to e is phrygian mode efgabcde

f to f is lydian mode fgabcdef

g to g is mixolydian mode gabcdefg

a to a is aeolian mode abcdefga (also known as natural minor)

b to b is locrian mode bcdefgab (not as usable but who am I to judge?)

the minor scale types are

natural minor or aeolian mode

abcdefga

harmonic minor

abcdefG#a

melodic minor

abcdeF#G#a (going up or ascending)

agfedcba (going down or descending)

modes are a variation of a scale.

each scale has 8 tones, and all modes do are alter where the half and whole tones lay in the scale.

there are 7 modes to a scale. they just change what the tones are within the scale according to the whole tone/ half tone pattern.

a way to see how modes sound different is by starting on middle C, and doing a scale upward.

then start on D, and play the WHITE keys only to d again.

Then do it with E, F, G, A, and B. you will be to hear a difference in the way the scale is composed. this is due to the different tonality patterns.

No. From this article, it appears clearly that there are seven modes to a scale. Therefore modes are inherent constituents of a scale and not the same thing.

I don't fully comprehend modes yet but this article has helped a lot in a succinct fashion.

So this is probably a dumb question, but is "mode" just another word for "scale" in music? The words seem to be used interchangeably here.