Modes II

Welcome all to my complete lesson on modes. In this lessons, I hope to explain in detail what modes are, how they work and how they can be applied to music.

Table Of Contents

1. Enharmonics and Diatonics
2. Modes Defined
2.1 Modes Feelings
3. Constructing Modes
3.1 Example 1: Dorian Mode construction
3.2 Example 2: A# Phrygian Mode
3.3 List of Intervals
4. Chords Over Modes
4.1 The four Triads
4.2 Major Modes
4.3 The Minor Modes
4.4 what's left? Locrian
4.5 Extending your chords
4.5.1 Ionian Mode
4.5.2 Dorian Mode
4.5.3 Phrygian Mode
4.5.4 Lydian Mode
4.5.5 Mixolydian Mode
4.5.6 Aeolian Mode
4.5.7 Locrian Mode
4.6 Just looking for that feeling? 
4.7 Until next time! 
5. Modal Chord Progressions
5.1 What is a chord progression
5.2 Refreshing your mind
5.3 Moving Modes
5.3.1 Step 1 - Moving to the mode
5.3.2 Step 2 - Applying the rules
5.4 Roman Numerals
5.5 And there you have it! 

1. Enharmonically Speaking

Ok, before we go on, there's one thing you need to know. Enharmonics, and diatonics. A Definition for enharmonics means Two names for one meaning. Ok, lets use an audible example. Play the 2nd fret of the Low E String. Hear that? It is a half step above F, and can be called F#. However, it is a half step below G and so it can also be called Gb. These are exactly the same thing. Another example, the 1st fret of the B string. This is a C note. However, it's also called B#. Below, I have included a list of enharmonics, just for your knowledge:

A > A#/Bb > B/Cb > B#/C > C#/Db > D > D#/Eb > E/Fb > E#/F > F#/Gb > G > G#/Ab

The next thing, is Diatonics. This means you need, in a 7 tone scale, each note used at least once. For example, in the C Major scale, we use all the notes:

C D E F G A B C

This scale, is therefore, diatonically correct. Lets use another example. The F# Major scale, but make it diatonically incorrect:

E Gb Ab A B Db Eb E

Why isn't this scale diatonically correct? Well look at it. Where is the F note and C note? Why has the A and E notes been used twice? This can easily be solved using enharmonics:

E F# G# A B C# D# E
Fb Gb Ab Bbb Cbb Db Eb Fb

These are both enharmonically and diatonically correct versions of the E (or Fb) Major scale.

2. Modes Defined

Modes are much like scales. They are a series of intervals, which with a scale key provide a series of pitches. You can build modes of any scale. But for the time being, and to avoid confusion, I'll only be talking about modes of the major scale. The difference between modes and scales, is that a mode comes from a scale. For example, the C Major scale has these notes:

C D E F G A B C

A Mode is basically, the exact same scale, but starting on a different note. Therefore, the first mode of the C Major scale would be this:

D E F G A B C D

A good way to see how this works, is to look at the diagram of modes below. Each mode is derieved from the C Major scale.

C ionian:     C D E F G A B C
D dorian:     D E F G A B C D
E phrygian:   E F G A B C D E
F lydian:     F G A B C D E F
G mixolydian: G A B C D E F G
A aeolian:    A B C D E F G A
B locrian:    B C D E F G A B

There are 7 different notes in the major scale. This means, we can create a total of 7 different modes from the major scale alone. These modes are:

Ionian 
Dorian
Phrygian 
Lydian 
Mixolydian 
Aeolian 
Locrian

2.1 Modes Feelings.
Each mode of the major scale can create it's own, individual sound. However, you can only accomplish this sound by learning the theory behind modes. So what do I mean, "individual sounds"? Well, Each one of those 7 modes can, if used properly, sound distinctive. Guitarists use modes in to suit the feeling of the song they are trying to write. If they are trying to write a happy song, they'll use a certain mode, if they try to give the song a sad sound, they'll use another mode. And so on.

3. Constructing Modes

This part of the lesson will either be very confusing, or very simple, although, when you understand how it works, and it suddenly clicks, it'll all make sense! Ok, this is why, you need to know about the major scale and intervals. Lets start with the basics.

We know each degree, or note, of the major scale is the root note of a mode. Therefore, the first note of the Major scale, creates the first mode, which is Ionian. The second note of the major scale creates the second mode, which is Dorian. The third note of the major scale creates the third mode, which is Phrygian, and so on. Lets start with the 1st degree of the major scale.

This creates the Ionian mode. But you might be thinking; "Well, if the root note of the major scale creates the Ionian mode, does that mean there's two names for one scale?" The answer is yes. The major scale, can also be called the Ionian mode. This is our starting scale, so give each note of the Major scale an interval. In these examples, I will be using the C Major scale.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 - Major scale intervals
C D E F G A B C - C Major scale

You should be familiar with this. So, we've already constructed our first mode! Congratulations.

3.1 Example 1: Dorian Mode Construction.
Lets move onto the Dorian mode. This is the second mode of the major scale, so we start on the second note / degree. Because we are using the C Major scale, the root note of the Dorian mode will be "D", and this is our D Dorian mode:

D E F G A B C D

The next step, is to compare the notes of the D Major scale with the D Dorian Mode:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1   - Major scale intervals
D E F# G A B C# D - D Major Scale
D E F G A B C D   - D Dorian Mode

There are two differences between the notes. In the Major scale, there is an F#, however, in the Dorian scale, it's only a F. Also, In the major scale, there is a C#, however, in the Dorian mode, there is a normal C. So, how do we get the major scale to flatten it's 3rd and 7th notes? by putting a flat (b) sign before it's intervals:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1   - Major scale intervals
D E F# G A B C# D - D Major Scale
1 2 b3 4 5 6 b7 1 - Our new flattened 3rd and 7th intervals
| | | | | | | |
v v v v v v v v
D E F G A B C D   - D Dorian Mode

3.2 Example 2: D Phrygian Mode Construction.
Lets take a more harder one. Our base will be the Bb Major scale.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1
Bb C D Eb F G A Bb

We want to find out the intervals used in the Phrygian Scale. So, the phrygian scale is the 3rd Major mode, so we find the 3rd note of our Bb Major scale. It's D, therefore, we will be using the D Phrygian mode.

D Phrygian:
D Eb F G A Bb C D

So, we have the notes for the D Phrygian scale, now we need to compare them to the D Major scale:

D Eb F G A Bb C D - D Phrygian Mode
D E F# G A B C# D - D Major scale

As you can see, there are a lot of differences. Lets start from the left and work to the right.

1. Both the D's match up, so there ok.
2. The second notes don't match up. Ones a Eb, and ones a E. Therefore, we need to flatten the second interval of the Major scale in order to fit it in with the Phrygian Mode.
3. The 3rd degrees don't match up either. In the Phrygian mode, there is a F and in the Major scale there is a F#. Therefore, we need to flatten the 3rd degree of the major scale as well, to make that F# into a F.
4. The 4th, and 5th degrees are both the same, so we don't need to worry about them.
5. The 6th and 7th degrees of each scale don't match either. We need to flatten the 6th and 7th degree major scale to fit into the phrygian mode.

Therefore, to sum it up, we need these intervals:

1 b2 b3 4 5 b6 b7 1

If you apply these intervals to the D Major scale, you now have the D Phrygian mode. If you use this process for each mode, you will eventually be able to work out every interval for every mode of the Major scale!

3.3 List Of Intervals.

Ionian Mode     1  2  3  4  5  6  7 1
Dorian Mode     1  2 b3  4  5  6 b7 1
Phrygian Mode   1 b2 b3  4  5 b6 b7 1
Lydian Mode     1  2  3 #4  5  6  7 1
Mixolydian Mode 1  2  3  4  5  6 b7 1
Aeolian Mode    1  2 b3  4  5 b6 b7 1
Locrian Mode    1 b2 b3  4 b5 b6 b7 1

4. Chords Over Modes

4.1 The Four Triads.
You should be familiar with chord construction, however, if you'r not, I'll quickly go over it. Basically, a triad is a chord with 3 different pitches in it. An easy example of this would be C Major: C E G. See? Three different pitches. Now, there are four different types of triads, and these are:

Major
Minor
Augmented 
Diminished

Each one of these triads has a set of 3 intervals which you can apply to a scale in order to get the desired chord. Lets look at these intervals:

Major      1  3  5 
Minor      1 b3  5
Augmented  1  3 #5
Diminished 1 b3 b5

You should be familiar with intervals. These are the four triads we will be using extensively throughout the course of this lesson.

4.2 Major Modes.
Each mode has a dominant feature about it. Some modes have a major sound and some have a minor sound. In this section, I'll explain how you work these out based on intervals. Lets start with the Major modes. As you know, the modes are Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian and Locrian. 3 of these modes are what we call major modes. Why call them major? Well, lets look at the major triad again. it's intervals are 1 3 5. So what's so major about this? The Major 3rd and perfect 5th intervals! These two intervals tell us that this chord is major. Also, any scale with these two interval in it, is also major.So lets recap on our modes again, and look more closely at the intervals:

Ionian Mode     1  2  3  4  5  6  7 1
Dorian Mode     1  2 b3  4  5  6 b7 1
Phrygian Mode   1 b2 b3  4  5 b6 b7 1
Lydian Mode     1  2  3 #4  5  6  7 1
Mixolydian Mode 1  2  3  4  5  6 b7 1
Aeolian Mode    1  2 b3  4  5 b6 b7 1
Locrian Mode    1 b2 b3  4 b5 b6 b7 1

To find the modes which are major, we need to find which ones have a Major 3rd (3) and Perfect 5th (5) interval in them. This is easy! There's only 3 modes with 3 and 5 in them.

Ionian
Lydian
Mixolydian

These 3 modes are dominantly Major. However, they must not be confused with dominant chords.

4.3 The Minor Modes.
Now we have found out which of the 7 modes are major, we can find out which ones have a minor sound to them. We do this using the same process, however, lets look at the Minor triad.

Minor 1 b3 5

What's so minor about this chord? Again, look at the 3rd and 5th intervals. The 3rd interval has a 'b' in front of it. We call this a Minor 3rd. So, lets look again through our modes and find out which ones are minor!

Dorian   1  2 b3 4 5  6 b7 1
Phrygian 1 b2 b3 4 5 b6 b7 1
Aeolian  1  2 b3 4 5 b6 b7 1

These 3 modes are dominantly Minor. Again, these modes should not be confused with Dominant Minor chords.

4.4 What's Left? Locrian.
Okay. Now that we have found out the tonality of 6 of the 7 modes, we only have one left to look at - Locrian. Locrian is a weird one. If we look at the 3rd and 5th intervals, they are both flattened (Minor 3rd and Diminished 5th). So which triad does this mode fit under? We already know it can't be a Major triad, and we know it can't be a Minor Triad. Therefore, it can only either be Diminished or Augmented. If we look at our augmented triad, it has a Major 3rd and an Augmented 5th. So this can't be it. We need a triad which has a minor 3rd and diminished 5th. The only one which has these two, is the diminished triad. Therefore, Locrian is a Diminished Mode.

4.5 Extending Your Chords!
Ok, so now we know which modes are Major, which ones are minor and also which one is diminished. Below I've written it all out to make it simple for you:

Ionian Major
Dorian Minor
Phrygian Minor
Lydian Major
Mixolydian Major
Aeolian Minor
Locrian Diminished

Now, before you read on into this section, you should be confident about chord construction, as this part will go into depth about each mode. The thing we have to do here is to find out what's different about the mode we're looking at. Each triad can be extended to make it fit in better with it's mode. In this section, we'll look through each mode separately and look at possible chord combinations.

4.5.1 Ionian Mode Extensions.
Ok, lets start off with a nice easy one. The Ionian Mode. We already know we can fit a nice easy Major Triad into this mode. So what can we do to extend this triad? Well, look at the intervals which make up the Ionian Mode: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1. The one that's most "in your face" is that Major 7th. The intervals for a Major 7th chord are: 1 3 5 7. As you can see, these intervals fit into it easily enough as well. You can play this mode over any major chord. Possible variations are:

Maj7  1  3 (5) 7
Maj9  1  3 (5) 7  9
Maj11 1 (3) 5  7 (9)  11
Maj13 1  3 (5) 7 (9) (11) 13

4.5.2 Dorian Mode Extensions.
The next mode we'll work with is the Dorian mode. Again, we know this is a minor mode, because it has a minor 3rd and perfect 5th. Lets look at the Dorian Modes intervals: 1 2 b3 4 5 6 b7 1. What's the next "in your face" extension? Well, in our previous scale, we used the Major 7th. If we look at this chord, what helps to define this minor scale? The minor 7th (b7) of course! Therefore, this mode fits very well over minor7th (m7) chords:

m7   1 b3 (5) b7
m6   1 b3 (5)  6
m6/9 1 b3 (5)  6  9
m9   1 b3 (5) b7  9
m11  1 b3 (5) b7 (9)  11
m13  1 b3 (5) b7 (9) (11) 13

4.5.3 Phrygian Mode Extensions.
Phrygian is one of my favourite modes to work with. It can have a Spanish feel to it, and works as well over rock genres, but can be used over any genre. Phrygian has the intervals 1 b2 b3 4 5 b6 b7 1, and works over a Minor triad. This mode has a minor 3rd, perfect 5th and a minor 7th. Therefore we know, like the Dorian mode, it'll fit over a m7 chord.

m7    1  b3  5 b7
susb9 1 (5) b7 b9

4.5.4 Lydian Mode Extensions.
The Lydian mode can create a dreamy sound. It fits well over a Major triad. The only difference between the Lydian mode and the Ionian mode is it's Augmented 4th. This augmented 4th makes it an ideal mode to play Maj7#11 chords over:

Maj7    1 3 (5) 7
maj9    1 3 (5) 7 9 
Maj7#11 1 3 (5) 7 9 #11

4.5.5 Mixolydian Mode Extensions.
Again, there's only once difference between this mode and the Ionian mode. This is the Minor 7th. You can play any Dominant 7th chords over this mode:

dom7    1 3  5  b7
 - 7/6  1 3 (5)  6 b7
 - 9    1 3  5  b7  9
 - add9 1 3 (5)  9
 - sus  1 4 (5) b7 OR 1 2 (5) b7

4.5.6 Aeolian Mode Extensions.
The aeolian mode is the main recognised "minor" mode. It is also widely recognised as the natural Minor scale. It has a minor 3rd, minor 6th and a minor 7th.

m7   1 b3 (5) b7
m9   1 b3 (5) b7  9
m11  1 b3 (5) b7 (9) 11
(b6) 1 b3 (5) b6

In some cases, this mode can be used as a substitute from the Dorian Mode.

4.5.7 Locrian Mode Extensions.
This mode has a dark mood to it, helped by it's minor 3rd and diminished 5th.
This mode works over diminished chords, and is also good for m7b5 chords.

1 b3 b5
1 b3 b5 b7

4.6 Just Looking For That Feeling?
Below I have included a diagram, wrote by Elvenkindje which helps you to see the mood of each mode. The happy modes start at the top, and as you move downwards, they get progressivly "sadder".

Lydian:     1  2  3 #4  5  6  7
Ionian:     1  2  3  4  5  6  7
Mixolydian: 1  2  3  4  5  6 b7
Dorian:     1  2 b3  4  5  6 b7
Aeolian:    1  2 b3  4  5 b6 b7
Phrygian:   1 b2 b3  4  5 b6 b7
Locrian:    1 b2 b3  4 b5 b6 b7

5. Modal Chord Progressions

5.1 What Is A Chord Progression.
A chord progression is basically what it says. A progression, or series, of chords. Some chords sound good together, some sound bad. Some sound average and some sound awesome. Every band uses chord progressions, if not in their guitars, in their singing. Progressions are used as a base for improvisation, solos, singing and so on. Now, this is where modes come into it. If you remember back to the Modal Chords installation, you'll remember that we can build a chord for each interval, or degree, of the major scale. Because there are 7 notes in each mode, that means you can create 7 triads in total for each mode, one triad for each degree of the mode.

5.2 Refreshing Your Mind.
In installment 1, we realised that the major scale can construct 7 different modes. In installment 2, we realised that each mode has a certain triad that can fit over it. This is what we came to:

Ionian Major
Dorian Minor
Phrygian Minor
Lydian Major
Mixolydian Major
Aeolian Minor
Locrian Diminished

If you do not understand this, read back over installment 2! Without realising it, you have just worked out the Major scales, or Ionian Modes chord progression. How? You ask? Easy. Remember I said degree of a mode can create it's own chord? Well, in the diagram above, you have the modes for each degree of the major scale!

1     2     3     4     5     6     7          1
Major Minor Minor Major Major Minor Diminished Major

Ok, so, we have created the Ionian modes chord progression. What next? The rest of the modes!

5.3 Moving Modes.
Ok, This part is simple. To create mode chord progressions based on modes, there are two steps.

1 - Moving to the mode
2 - Applying the rules

5.3.1 Step 1 - Moving To The Mode.
So, Lets move to another mode from the Ionian Mode. Say, Dorian, seeing as it's the next one along. Dorian is the 2nd degree of the Major scale. So how do we make a chord progression of this? First of all, we need to look back at our chord progression of the major scale, this time, look at the intervals:

1     2     3     4     5     6     7          1
Major Minor Minor Major Major Minor Diminished Major

The major scale chord progression starts on "1" and ends on "1." This is because it's the 1st degree of the major scale. So, if Dorian is the second degree of the major scale, that means we start on "2" and end on "2"! Lets apply this to the chords:

2     3     4     5     6     7          1     2
Minor Minor Major Major Minor Diminished Major Minor

See! That wasn't so hard was it! All we've done, is shift the chord progression one chord to the left. So, we've taken the first chord, Major, at put it at the end. Lets try another one to get you in the hang of it. Lets do Aeolian. Aeolian is the 6th mode of the major scale, therefore, we need to start on "6" and end on "6".

6     7          1     2     3     4     5     6
Minor Diminished Major Minor Minor Major Major Minor

Understand it now? This is the first of the two steps to creating chord progressions.
You've successfully "moved the mode". Just for a visual guide, I've wrote out the basic chord progressions of each of the modes below:

Ionian     Maj Min Min Maj Maj Min Dim 
Dorian     Min Min Maj Maj Min Dim Maj 
Phrygian   Min Maj Maj Min Dim Maj Min 
Lydian     Maj Maj Min Dim Maj Min Min 
Mixolydian Maj Min Dim Maj Min Min Maj 
Aeolian    Min Dim Maj Min Min Maj Maj 
Locrian    Dim Maj Min Min Maj Maj Min

5.3.2 Step 2 - Applying The Rules.
There's one rule to apply to these chord progressions. This is where it might get a little tricky. it's important that you fully understand mode construction and the intervals for modes from this point. I have explained how to create a basic modal chord progression. The next part is how to get the sound to have a "mood". Each mode has intervals. These modes sound unique because they have flats and sharps, and they change depending on what mode your using. Below, I have re-wrote the intervals for each mode. This is to jog your memory, and to use as a guide for the next step.

Ionian Mode     1  2  3  4  5  6  7 1
Dorian Mode     1  2 b3  4  5  6 b7 1
Phrygian Mode   1 b2 b3  4  5 b6 b7 1
Lydian Mode     1  2  3 #4  5  6  7 1
Mixolydian Mode 1  2  3  4  5  6 b7 1
Aeolian Mode    1  2 b3  4  5 b6 b7 1
Locrian Mode    1 b2 b3  4 b5 b6 b7 1

So how do we apply the rule? Well, you need to transfer these flats (b) and sharps (#) to the chord progression. So, lets take an easy example, Lydian, because it only has 1 sharp and no flats. Lydian is the 4th mode of the Major scale. It only has one sharp, which is on the 4th degree. Lets take the Lydian Chord Progression now:

       1     2     3     4          5     6     7 - Intervals
Lydian Major Major Minor Diminished Major Minor Minor

Now, If we look at the intervals used on the Lydian chord progression, and compare them to the Lydian modes actual intervals, you can see, the chord progression is missing a sharp on the 4th degree. To correct this, we need to make the 4th chord in that progression, a sharp. Therefore:

       1     2     3     #4               5     6     7 - Intervals
Lydian Major Major Minor Sharp-Diminished Major Minor Minor

See what I've done? Lets take another example, but a little more harder. The Aeolian mode. The Aeolian mode has the intervals: 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7 1. So, look at the intervals. The 3rd, 6th and 7th degrees are all flats. So lets apply these to our Aeolian Chord Progression:

        1     2          3     4     5     6     7
Aeolian Minor Diminished Major Minor Minor Major Major

Changes to:

        1     2          b3         4     5     b6         b7
Aeolian Minor Diminished Flat-Major Minor Minor Flat-Major Flat-Major

See how it works?

5.4 Roman Numerals.
Ok, so now we have learnt how to create modal chord progressions! Congratulations! But sometimes we need to explain chord progressions. It seems inappropriate that we have to say each chords full name (like above) to say what chords are in a chord progression, therefore, we use roman numerals. You may have seen these in music theory, you may have seen them on a sundial. Roman Numerals are like numbers. Now, how do we change Major, Minor, Diminished, Flat, Sharp into Roman numerals? Well lets start with the basics. First of all, we have 7 chords. That means, we need seven roman numerals. These are:

I - ii - iii - iv - v - vi - vii

Now, these, on their own, don't say much. They say we have 7 of something. We need to define them to make them relevant to our chords. Lets start with Major chords. We can define major chords by writing our numerals in capital letters! Therefore, if our first chord was major, it would change from "I" to "I" If our 6th chord was major, it would change from "vi" to "VI." So, how do we define minor? Easy! We leave them in lowercase letters!

The next one. Diminished chords. Now, Diminished chords can function as Minor chords, because it has a b3, so we write them in lowercase letters. However, we also need readers to understand that it's not a minor chord, but it is, in fact a diminished chord. So how do we do it? To do this, we add a little symbol. The symbol is a little circle, which floats to the right of the numeral. This is the symbol: ° You can write this symbol by holding down "alt" on your keyboard, and pressing 0 1 7 6 in that order. So, if our 1st chord is diminished, instead of writing just "I" we will add ° to the end of it, to create this: "I°". If our 7th chord is diminished, we write: "vii°". The last two symbols are easy. Flat and Sharp, "b" and "#" respectively. So, now you know how to describe roman numerals. How do you apply them?
Well, lets take the Ionian Mode chord progression to start with:

Ionian: Major Minor Minor Major Major Minor Diminished

So, using our new knowledge of Numerals, lets change this into them. The 1st chord is a Major chord. Therefore our 1st roman numeral will be in capitals. The 2nd chord is a Minor chord. Therefore our 2nd roman numeral will be in lowercase. The 3rd chord is a Minor chord. Therefore our 3rd roman numeral will be in lowercase. The 4th chord is a Major chord. Therefore our 4th roman numeral will be in capitals. The 5th chord is a Major chord. Therefore our 5th roman numeral will be in capitals. The 6th chord is a Minor chord. Therefore our 6th roman numeral will be in lowercase. The 7th chord is a diminished chord. Therefore our 7th roman numeral will be in lowercase, and have a °. So, using this, lets change it into our numerals:

Ionian: I ii iii IV V vi vii°

This is our Ionian Modes chord progression in Roman numerals! Now, lets take another example, of a harder one. The Locrian Mode. We know that in long term, this is what the Locrian mode looks like:

Locrian:
Diminished Flat-Major Flat-Minor Minor Flat-Major Flat-Major Flat-Minor

So lets change this into roman numerals:

Locrian: I° bII biii IV bV bVI bvii

See how that works? Eventually, if you work out all the numerals for each mode, you'll end up with this:

Ionian     I   ii   iii   IV   V   vi   vii° 
Dorian     I   ii  bIII   IV   v   vi° bVII
Phrygian   I  bII  bIII   iv   v° bVI  bvii
Lydian     I   II   iii  #iv°  V   vi   vii
Mixolydian I   ii   iii°  IV   v   vi  bVII
Aeolian    I   ii° bIII   iv   v  bVI  bVII
Locrian    I° bII  biii   iv  bV  bVI  bvii

5.5 And There You Have It!
Well that's the end of this lesson. I hope you have understood this lesson, and that it'll come in use for you one day. Best luck!

Comments

[hairypineapple]

Very nice, hi 5!

[soulphonate]

Nice. And about bloody time some new lessons rolled our way. Thanks for the post. This community rocks!

[naedman]

wow, i read through it and this is an amazing article, i never really understood any other ones i read about modes, but this explained it very well.
Ill have something to chew on for a while.

thanks alot, 10/10

[fly fly fly]

really good. keep it up. describes modes in a good way, just wished it went into the description of sond more

[a god]

really nice. about time someone had a good lesson on the way.

[a god]

really nice. about time someone had a good lesson on the way.

[thatonestud]

thanks! what really helped me was how to create chord progressions from modes... im going to use that ssoo much!

[thefoldarsoldar]

Hooray for Logz!

[sindrel]

Nice lessons, though i knew much about modes before reading that, though i didn't know that much about chord progressions. One thing to ask: when we make for example a major chord a flat-major one, what exactly flattens in our chord? I don't understand that. Please reply or contact me at [e-mail], thx in advance!

[Metalhead3333]

Woah, I got lost at the major modes

Is a perfect interval a note which is neither sharp nor flat?

This is fun, learning all this stuff, even though it's so god damned tedious. Great lesson, it's really helping me along.

10/10.

[juangar1992]

wonderful lesson you're the only one who has made me understand thi thing about modes



thanx man, keep making lessons

[ooblah]

very helpful.

[fadetowhite]

my friend, when i become the next jaymz hammett, i will dedicate my signature gibson explorer to you

[knollenberg]

wow....this actually helped

[rojomeansred]

does anyone know where modes get there names from? they were all ancient places, but i don't know why they are called what they are.

[CanasClone]

Excellent, 10/10. Could you write a deeper lesson on chords though, especially how to use stranger jazz chord progressions? That's what I really don't understand.

[wizards?]

that was good....really good. Keep them coming this is helping a lot 10/10

[Dumpster510]

Good article but what do you mean by a Flat-Major chord or a Sharp-Diminished chord?

[branny1982]

very useful article.

just a note, you have quite few errors on the roman numerals at the end of the article.
a major is depicted with a capital numeral I
a minor is depicted with a lower case numeral i.

good work.

[branny1982]

just to add to this ^
i apologise if i am wrong to say that, you may be using different nomenclature to what i am used to, but i don't see how the first chord of minor modes can be major ?

[ProgIsGood]

Wow. So well explained. I already know lots about modes but I still got a lot out of this lesson 10/10.

[casa_punkista]

great job

[michal23]

About the chord progressions of modes - surely if you apply that rule after, the chords are out of key? Unless that is kind of the idea, then I don't understand =/

[ghostofhendrix]

This is a great lesson man u explained it really well! However, could you go a bit more in depth about the sounds/feelings of these modes and how to achieve these sounds e.g. which notes r good to use for different feelings-b3,7 etc? I pretty much understand modes now but i'd like to be able to implement them effectively- thanks again for the great lesson

[ghostofhendrix]

rojomeansred wrote:

does anyone know where modes get there names from? they were all ancient places, but i don't know why they are called what they are.

Probably Italy/Ancient Greece- thats where most music theory originates from

[fadetowhite]

mixolydian is cool

[metal4all]

Very well written Logz, great job.

[maelstr0m]

excellent lesson, as a person who has learned to play on a guitar alone, it taught me a lot.

[elcaballo]

i have gained much knowledge after reading this lesson

[Metalhead3333]

rojomeansred wrote:

does anyone know where modes get there names from? they were all ancient places, but i don't know why they are called what they are.

They were named in ancient greece, by a great man whose name escapes me... And I only heard who named them earlier today!

[niqolaise]

Great lesson, this helped me very much.

[difitzio]

There goes the most comprehensive guitar theory lesson you will ever see rolled into one!
Question though... I am learing modes and can play the 7 modes in the key of C. Was I wrong to say that when playing some lead in the key of C you just use those one of those modes to suit like-
Phrygian E F G A B C D. OR do you play all from the root C and pick your mode from there to suit the music- so if it was some spanish music youd use phrygian starting from C like-
C Db Eb F G Ab Bb C
If anyone has the answer to this it would be good!

[Death-Speak]

Do more lessons guy. This is probably the best lesson on theory I have read on this site!

[muchas]

very useful.. this is great.. lesson is great.. thanks for the effort man..

[crazy94]

i don understand lehh.. sry. but i really don get it. can anyone explain pretty pls??

[Dnalrafcmb3]

good lesson, if you take your time and read this, you can really learn a lot of useful information, especially for song writing

[Dnalrafcmb3]

Metalhead3333 wrote:

rojomeansred wrote:

does anyone know where modes get there names from? they were all ancient places, but i don't know why they are called what they are.



They were named in ancient greece, by a great man whose name escapes me... And I only heard who named them earlier today!

yeah, I know a lot of these are islands in The Iliad or The Odessey

[guy_tebache]

Metalhead3333 wrote:

rojomeansred wrote:

does anyone know where modes get there names from? they were all ancient places, but i don't know why they are called what they are.



They were named in ancient greece, by a great man whose name escapes me... And I only heard who named them earlier today!


yeah, I know a lot of these are islands in The Iliad or The Odessey

They are all named after the seperate cultures that made them. For instance the Ionian mode was made by the Greek colonists living on the Ionian coast of Turkey. These Greeks were part of a larger group which included the Athenians, called the Ionians. The Dorian Mode was named after the Spartans, who were originally made up of 5 Dorian tribes. Get the picture?
Good lesson. got to watch the details though. In the part at the beginning where you explain diatonics, you call an Fb major scale ( or E major) an F# major scale. This makes it confusing for novices and people learning modes for the first time. This kind of thing happened often, but overall still worth a 9/10. good work

[Jarvis1980]

difitzio wrote:

There goes the most comprehensive guitar theory lesson you will ever see rolled into one!
Question though... I am learing modes and can play the 7 modes in the key of C. Was I wrong to say that when playing some lead in the key of C you just use those one of those modes to suit like-
Phrygian E F G A B C D. OR do you play all from the root C and pick your mode from there to suit the music- so if it was some spanish music youd use phrygian starting from C like-
C Db Eb F G Ab Bb C
If anyone has the answer to this it would be good!

E Phrygian is the same scale as C Major. So, if you want a Spanish sound in the key of C you will have to play C Phrygian.
All of the modes derived from the C Major scale will obviuosly have exactly the same notes of that scale eg. D Dorin E Phrygian A Aeolian etc.
The best way to work out the mode you want to use the list of intervals and start from the root you want.
Ionian Mode 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1
Dorian Mode 1 2 b3 4 5 6 b7 1
Phrygian Mode 1 b2 b3 4 5 b6 b7 1
Lydian Mode 1 2 3 #4 5 6 7 1
Mixolydian Mode 1 2 3 4 5 6 b7 1
Aeolian Mode 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7 1
Locrian Mode 1 b2 b3 4 b5 b6 b7 1
I hope this helps. I think i'm right, it's been a while

[lung assault]

excellent lesson man, very well done!!! this really helped clear up a few black spots!!! awesome!!!

[JMG]

rojomeansred wrote:

does anyone know where modes get there names from? they were all ancient places, but i don't know why they are called what they are.

The modes were named after the Greeks tribes that played them. Example: the Aeolians made the Aeolian scale. The modern versions of the modes are a little different then the originals of he greeks though. They got chnaged as they became the church modes.

[C.C. Deville]

amaziong, this is the best modes lesson here now haha

[Wulver]

wow, this is amazing. I don't have much of a grasp on theory yet, but this really makes sense to me. Thank you so much, sir.

[Metal_Ibanez_89]

Very nice dude. I like how it described the 7 modes. However the chord progressions are confusing to me.

[For ODIN1031]

A question. You can make a mode from any scale?

[Page/Rhoads]

Man, too much crap to memorize. Who cares?

[squier_4_life]

branny1982 wrote:

very useful article.

just a note, you have quite few errors on the roman numerals at the end of the article.
a major is depicted with a capital numeral I
a minor is depicted with a lower case numeral i.

good work.

I think the article was probably written in Word, so everytime he wrote "i" it got capitalized. You'll notice he says things like "we change 'I' to 'I'". In cases like that, I'd assume the first i was supposed to be lower case, but it was capitalized by Word or some other spell check. Other than that, amazing lesson!

[squier_4_life]

Ok I don't know why it double posted... but sorry about that

[k4i]

Dnalrafcmb3 wrote:

Metalhead3333 wrote:

rojomeansred wrote:

does anyone know where modes get there names from? they were all ancient places, but i don't know why they are called what they are.



They were named in ancient greece, by a great man whose name escapes me... And I only heard who named them earlier today!

yeah, I know a lot of these are islands in The Iliad or The Odessey

Pythagoras.

[harrythehobo123]

you did an awesome job explaining that...I really like how to start off with a simple example and then give a difficult one. I'm also gonna have to copy down some of your tables

thanks

[the1nonlycrazi]

actually I just did a school project on the modes... the original greek modes were hypodorian, dorian, hypophrygian, phrygian, hypolydian, lydian, hypomixolydian, and mixolydian... although the ionians were named after the ionian league that lived in ionia... the greeks didnt use that modes its just named after one of the four main leagues... same with the aeolians ... which was know as aeolia on the continent of anatolia back in way old greekish times! and the locrian mode was named after a tribe locris aka the locrians which contained two districts and the eastern one we know of only because homer talks about ajax whose from locris... but not so much the western locrains... the dorians were named after the dorian league the league that SPARTA was from... the phrygians werent greek... neither were the lydians infact they were part of asia minor... so not all the modes are named after the greeks although they may be greek modes... its just lydia and phrygia associated with the greeks...

[the1nonlycrazi]

and no pythargoras did not name the modes...

[Kentris.5]

the1nonlycrazi wrote:

actually I just did a school project on the modes... the original greek modes were hypodorian, dorian, hypophrygian, phrygian, hypolydian, lydian, hypomixolydian, and mixolydian... although the ionians were named after the ionian league that lived in ionia... the greeks didnt use that modes its just named after one of the four main leagues... same with the aeolians ... which was know as aeolia on the continent of anatolia back in way old greekish times! and the locrian mode was named after a tribe locris aka the locrians which contained two districts and the eastern one we know of only because homer talks about ajax whose from locris... but not so much the western locrains... the dorians were named after the dorian league the league that SPARTA was from... the phrygians werent greek... neither were the lydians infact they were part of asia minor... so not all the modes are named after the greeks although they may be greek modes... its just lydia and phrygia associated with the greeks...

Just so you know, back then, and even until recenty decades many of the people living in Anatolia (ie Asia Minor, or Turkey) were Greek. If you've ever heard of something called the Byzantine Empire, which was the Greek speaking Eastern half of the Roman Empire which lasted until the 1400's, then you'd know that indeed, Greeks were residing in that region for quite some time. In fact, it was during the Balkan Wars that Greeks were kicked out by the Turkish government, and vice versa, and that was only at the end of the 19th century, which is pretty recent historically speaking.

[nickwentinsane]

lol,I am greek, and my family is Greek, and I think its awesome that you know some pretty acurate Greek history kentris.5, but do note that the text book doesn't tell the whole story. The Turks and Greeks have been going at it for ever, so the end result of the Balkan Wars was not quite as suprising as one might be led to believe. Greeks have always hated Turks and vice versa. My own last name Vosdoganis comes from the name of a turkish village. The name was Stephanopolis or something to that effect before, but after a small group of a few hundred soldiers or so had conquered the small village there whole company inhereted the last name of the city they had conquered when they returned to Greece. Don't mean to go off on a tangent, but I guess my point is that a lot of Turks hate Greeks and a lot of Greeks hate Turks.

OH, and aweosme lesson on modes, the olny thing that seems to confuse me is the scale alterations from the beggining of the article. For example the part about altering the D Major scale to a D dorian, isn't the D dorian based on the C major scale just played starting on the second degree of the scale, so why are the alterations needed for the modes?

[rojomeansred]

the1nonlycrazi wrote:

actually I just did a school project on the modes... the original greek modes were hypodorian, dorian, hypophrygian, phrygian, hypolydian, lydian, hypomixolydian, and mixolydian... although the ionians were named after the ionian league that lived in ionia... the greeks didnt use that modes its just named after one of the four main leagues... same with the aeolians ... which was know as aeolia on the continent of anatolia back in way old greekish times! and the locrian mode was named after a tribe locris aka the locrians which contained two districts and the eastern one we know of only because homer talks about ajax whose from locris... but not so much the western locrains... the dorians were named after the dorian league the league that SPARTA was from... the phrygians werent greek... neither were the lydians infact they were part of asia minor... so not all the modes are named after the greeks although they may be greek modes... its just lydia and phrygia associated with the greeks...

Sparta actually have much to do with the Dorian league although they were Doric people.

and pythagoras figured out the mathematical equations for music he didn't name any of them.....just what I found in the little research I did, but thanks for all the helpful answers everyone!

[munky797]

In the very beginning of this articl about enharmonics he uses the F# Major scale as an example, I believe that scale has 6 sharps. It mus just be a type o but it could cause so confusion among beginners. Did anyone else notice this?

[munky797]

Metalhead3333 wrote:

Woah, I got lost at the major modes

Is a perfect interval a note which is neither sharp nor flat?

This is fun, learning all this stuff, even though it's so god damned tedious. Great lesson, it's really helping me along.

10/10.

A perfect interval would be a fourth or a fifth. example a fifth is the shap made by a two note power chord. a fourth is the shape used in the tuning of guitars(with the exception of the G-B, that's a major third). an example of this would just be hitting you e and A string simultaneously. The last perfect interval is the octave or 8th. All of these are called perfect because when these two notes or "intervals" are hit in unision they create a "perfect" sound i.e. there is no dissonance

[cortez0]

nice lesson! thanks for explaining

[EhudH]

this lesson helped me a whole lot man!!!
thnx dude wish you would post more lesson on other subjects in the future

[EhudH]

P.S.
Do i need to remember every mode on every root of the quint circle (C,F,Bb,Eb,Ab,Db,Gb,B,E,A,D,G)i.e. knowing all the notes of every scale in all the possible pitches or is it enough just to remember the intervals and the flats and sharps really really good???

[.pip.]

Enharmonics the same as chromatic intervals?

[.pip.]

*Are enharmonics the same as chromatic intervals?

[MetalD00d]

Logz, Love your work dude!
For me, you've managed to explain Modes and Chord progressions in exactly the right way. It all just clicked in place nicely.

Others have asked for you to go into more details on feelings of modes. People you have to experiment by yourselves, what do YOU think each of the modes express? Have a play around with the Phrygian mode, do you really need someone to tell you its Spanish sounding?

Props Logz!

[Bob Wood]

Great lesson! I learned a lot and understood it all. I may have to review for a while, but excellent all the way around. Thanks!

Bob

[Nephellim]

Excellent lesson!

[fenderbender_1]

nice lesson

[Dirty Rocker.]

Wow. I stumbled upon this article, and was completely floored. I've been a musician all of my life, and picked up a guitar about 13 years ago, but until now, had no idea what modes were. Thanks!

[mouldysandwich]

you sir are a genius. awesome lesson!

[nido]

Understood ,,,Nice lesson!!!

[joshjebl]

thnks great lesson you just gave me the tools to progress i have been confused for years

[dodee]

hjkhjkj

[dodee]

sorry about my last comment, i waz just testing something...
anyway, great lesson, i just started guitar in the holidayz so i cant get lessons from school (which iz where im gonna get them from,cuz u get to miss classes)so in the meantime im learning on UG and its helped me a lot although some lessons are quite misleading an d it sux when u think you finally understand it only to find out that the lesson was wrong...
but this lesson is reallly good thx!!!!!

[johnstamos]

yeah, really good lesson; great for anyone who knows modes but doesn't know how to use them

Hmm, this was ment to be the second lesson.
There still the first one to be accepted and also a 3rd one i believe.

Ill get onto Dyuha about accepting them

[AmplifySilence]

GREAT lesson, i was actually looking for an answer and the lesson contained it, thanks a bunch.

[JIMMY PAGEII]

IT WAS STATED IN THE BEGINING OF THIS LESSON THAT THE FIRST FRET OF THE ''B'' STRING IS A ''C'' AND THAT IT IS ALSO A B#. ''THERES NO SUCH THING AS A B#.,PAGE

[deathpidgeon]

good job mr. logz

[Jawshuwa]

JIMMY PAGEII wrote:

IT WAS STATED IN THE BEGINING OF THIS LESSON THAT THE FIRST FRET OF THE ''B'' STRING IS A ''C'' AND THAT IT IS ALSO A B#. ''THERES NO SUCH THING AS A B#.,PAGE

Yes, there is. "C" and "B#" (or "Cb" and "B") are enharmonics, just as "E#" and "F" (or "E" and "Fb") are enharmonics.

They're not generally written as such in music, for reasons that I cannot remember, so for simplicity's sake, let's go with "there's no such thing as B#."

^ Exactly

[gdavid]

thanks .. it was very usefull :P

[nghienviec]

Great lesson! I tried many times trying to not to get confused with modes and scales and progressions I guess this time it kinda clicked in now. Thanks a bunch!!!

[teh_Beatles]

Im not done reading...

But this possibly the best lesson ever on UG.

Epic win.

[hippiecat78]

Dude the lesson totally rocked.. i too ka lil schooling from a friend about modes.. memorized them all but didnt get the jist of how to apply them.This was the filler i was missing from all those lessons.. you are such a help here.. rock - on!~!

[silverplate]

Dead solid perfect.

[lumpy890]

Good job man, this is probably the best article I've ever read. I've been studying modes since the dawn of time and I learned a few things, thanks alot.

[Destroying Ange]

pretty goo dthanks I lerned Alot

[teknotard]

Just as a note. The chord Roman numerals are a bit wrong. Locrian would be spelled.

i° II iii iv V VI7 vii

You only capitalize the Roman numerals in figured bass when they are major and lower case in minor. But other then that looks good

[teknotard]

of course i should have said i° (b) II (b)iii iv (b)V (b)VI7 (b)vii

[Macan]

What a lesson!

[devilex121]

looks rather complicated but explained perfectly

[anuj291]

excellent content thanx a lot

[democritus]

nice one! thanks

[rokstar666]

Great lesson!!!! All I'd like to add is that it's usful to study the modes in order of descending brightness; by which I mean playing the modes in order of how many modifications each has to Ionian...ie. mode with one flat (Mixolydian b7), then the mode with two flats (Dorian b3 b7) and so on. Then you see that it is not the spoon that bends....

[Antipolitik]

Super lesson... best I've read ever. Thanks!

[filthylittleboy]

locrian mode has a minor third
Dorian 1 2 b3 4 5 6 b7 1
Phrygian 1 b2 b3 4 5 b6 b7 1
Aeolian 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7 1
Locrian 1 b2 b3 4b5 b6 b7 1

[filthylittleboy]

munky797 wrote:

In the very beginning of this articl about enharmonics he uses the F# Major scale as an example, I believe that scale has 6 sharps. It mus just be a type o but it could cause so confusion among beginners. Did anyone else notice this?

yeah;
Father
Charles
Goes
Down
And
Ends
Battle!

E## is F# so you are correct

except that F# is the root of the phrygian mode of D major

i love this stuff

[nickwentinsane]

JIMMY PAGEII wrote:

IT WAS STATED IN THE BEGINING OF THIS LESSON THAT THE FIRST FRET OF THE ''B'' STRING IS A ''C'' AND THAT IT IS ALSO A B#. ''THERES NO SUCH THING AS A B#.,PAGE

yah there is, and its enharmonic with C

[nickwentinsane]

when i had read this before, i didnt get it, now its starting to make a whole hell of a lot of sense, i finally get the modes!!!!!

[gunsnroses2503]

I learnt more just then about modes..
Then i have in 7 years of playing
all i can say is i love you

[Joahem]

Modes are the way of new life.
and this explains very well

[DrGeorge]

You deserve a Ph.D. for this lesson. Very well explained with theory mixed with practical application. What more could a guitarist want.
Thank you

[DrGeorge]

You deserve a Ph.D. for your explanation of Modes. The article defined theory mixed with practical application of Modes. Thank you for the wonderful work.

Thanks

[LesPaulfreak15]

that lesson rocked i never understood modes before