Modes, Modes, Modes

CiaranK

Anyone know of a good, easy to follow explanation of the modal scales. Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian etc. Thanks

ultra55ound

This sums it up nicely: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKbPIGnqt80

CiaranK

Thanks very much, Theres lots on youtube, wasn't sure which ones were decent though. Thanks

damonjewel

Try and think of it by looking at a piano

Going from C to C playing only the white keys gives you your standard do-re- mi major scale (Ionian). Think of each key as a step

Now lets not start on C but start on the next note (or step) instead and play D - D again using the same white keys

This gives us Dorian mode which is a minor mode

Making our way up the scale to the next step

Starting on E going to E playing the white notes gives us Phrygian (minor)

F - F gives us Lydian (Major)

G - G gives us Mixolydian (Major, nice with a seventh chord)

A - A gives us natural minor

B - B gives us locrian (Minor)

So taking that on if you look at guitar and you play a major scale (lets say in A) then if you decided to start at a different step then you enter that mode.

Remember different scales such as melodic minor and harmonic minor have a different interval pattern to the major scale, and hence have a completely different set of modes.

hope that helps

CiaranK

Try and think of it by looking at a piano

Going from C to C playing only the white keys gives you your standard do-re- mi major scale (Ionian). Think of each key as a step

Now lets not start on C but start on the next note (or step) instead and play D - D again using the same white keys

This gives us Dorian mode which is a minor mode

Making our way up the scale to the next step

Starting on E going to E playing the white notes gives us Phrygian (minor)

F - F gives us Lydian (Major)

G - G gives us Mixolydian (Major, nice with a seventh chord)

A - A gives us natural minor

B - B gives us locrian (Minor)

I get this part I think. The Phrygian, the third, in C is Em. The Mixolydian, the fifth, in C is G major Etc.

So taking that on if you look at guitar and you play a major scale (lets say in A) then if you decided to start at a different step then you enter that mode.

Remember different scales such as melodic minor and harmonic minor have a different interval pattern to the major scale, and hence have a completely different set of modes.

hope that helps

This part I have trouble getting my head around.

damonjewel

CiaranK wrote: »

I get this part I think. The Phrygian, the third, in C is Em. The Mixolydian, the fifth, in C is G major Etc.







This part I have trouble getting my head around.

ok lets look at the intervals of C scale, there are whole steps(2 frets) and half steps (1 fret)

so C major looks like this

C ws D ws E hs F ws G ws A ws B hs C

So lets take a different major scale, in the key of A

A ws B ws C# hs D ws E ws F# ws G# hs A

You already said for the C major

"The Phrygian, the third, in C is Em. The Mixolydian, the fifth, in C is G major Etc."

So using the exact same steps the third is C# Phrygian, the Mixolydian is fifth E

So lets take another example D major scale, the fifth note is A, and hence A is the Mixolydian

raindog.promo

I see modes as the 7 different ways you can split up or play a major scale.

There is more to it than that, but I found thinking of it that way made it much easier to get to grips with them.

More details and pictures in this thread:
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=77424595

Thomas from Presence

Once you get your head around the mechanics of the modes to really get to know them and use them in improvisation it would be useful to learn the colours of each and how they differ from the major scale and natural minor scale in terms of the sound.

For example

Dorian Mode

Identical to regular minor scale except it has a major 6th. If you're into your pentatonics try dropping that note in (a real Rory G thing to do actually).

So say you did for your D minor pentatonic or D minor blues and kill the 7th you'd get a Dorian blues scale like this:

---

10

---

10--12

---

---

10---12--13

---

---

9----12

---

---

10-11-12

---

-10--13

---

It sounds tasty in blues. It's willfully ambiguous (sounds like a saucy major blues).

They all have their flavour and can really add some spice to riff, solos and chord progressions.

Take the phrygian - its the classic metal/spanish mode. The note that makes it that way is a flat 2nd. If you know a regular minor scale just flatten the second note and you've got a phrygian.

Here's a table with the flavours mapped out and the tonalities of the modes. If you can put these names with the sound or "colour" of the mode you'll have a more meaningful use of them.

Here's an article with the technical spec:
http://www.blguitar.com/lesson/advanced/guitar_mode_mystery.html

It's more learning but to really "own" the modes I think you need to hear and know what their differences are to be able to get the most creative use of them.

damonjewel

Here is some simple progressions that you can use to try and get an idea of the modes

Play the chords Am to Bm like in the solo of the Doors light my fire, play the G major scale over it this kind of has a Santana feel to it, you are in Dorian mode

Play the chords Am7 to D7 as in Pink Floyds Breathe play the G major scale over it and you are alternating through Dorian and Mixolydian.

Play from C to D7 again using the Gmajor scale and you are in lydian

And the if you reverse it i.e. Play D7 to C you're in Mixolydian

CiaranK

Thanks folks That helps a lot!

stateofflux

the best explanation i heard was: modes are starting on a different note in a major scale and coming back to that note. For example in the scale of c major : C D E F G A B C , to get a dorian mode just play D E F G A B C D

**what makes things sound 'modal' is the fact that you are coming back to the note in question quite often, usually in combo with the chord that is linked to the mode. for example going from d to d within a c major scale & using the d minor chord a lot will give a distinctive dorian vibe.

examples of some songs using modes would be
dorian: 'golden brown' stranglers, 'planet caravan' by black sabbath,
phrygian: 'white rabbit' by jefferson airplane
lydian: satriani-bells of lal
myxolydian: sweet home alabama by lynyrd skynrd, 'mayonnaise' by smashing pumpkins, sweet child o' mine

rcaz

Don't overthink it. Modes are just another way of distributing 7 notes within an octave. Like the way a minor scale is one way of arranging 7 different pitches within an octave, a major scale is another way, all the other modes are just different ways of doing it that aren't really major or minor.

And major and minor scales are already modes - the Ionian mode is exactly the same as the major scale, and the Aeolian mode is the natural minor scale.

I was intimidated by this stuff before I tried to learn it, and I think that's 'cause people have modes built up as some big deal, like some big trick that's a whole new thing you have to learn. It's just an extension (well, really, a precursor) to the more 'usual' tonal music theory we know in popular music.