Modes

[LeCouperin]

I didn't see a thread on here specifically designated for modes, if there already is one, I apologize.

The reason I wanted to make this thread is due to the lack of understanding/utilization of modes in music theory study. You can find information about them, but it is usually very limited, and discreet, and spread between mulitple sources. What I have below is a crash course on modes that I have developed through my limited time of studying them.


Modes are based around the major scale. C major is the easiest to correlate this too, for our sake of discussion. Using what PaleFolklore said earlier in the thread, a major scale is W-W-H-W-W-W-H. Which is referring to the (W)hole and (H)alf steps that compromise the intervals that make up a scale. It's easy to explain if you think of a piano. From C to C playing only white keys is the Ionian mode(or major scale). Now, if you go to the second degree of that scale, the D, and play all the white keys from D to D, you are playing in the Dorian mode. The reason it is a different mode(although you are essentially playing all the same notes) is the interval pattern, which creates a different sound. The intervals for the Dorian mode are as follows: W-H-W-W-W-H-W. Below is three charts; The first shows the intervals that compromise each mode, the second is simply a different way of looking at the layout of each mode(i'll explain the second chart more below), and the third is a diagram showing uses for the modes(tone, overall feel, etc.)


T=Tone/Whole Step
s=Semi-tone/Half Step

Ionian - I - C - T-T-s-T-T-T-s
Dorian - II - D - T-s-T-T-T-s-T
Phrygian - III - E - s-T-T-T-s-T-T
Lydian - IV - F - T-T-T-s-T-T-s
Mixolydian - V - G - T-T-s-T-T-s-T
Aeolian - VI - A - T-s-T-T-s-T-T
Locrian - VII - B - s-T-T-s-T-T-T

In the chart below, the 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 1, is referring to the scale you are playing. The first degree of the scale to the seventh, then back to 1 to finish out the octave. I feel this chart is easier for beginners to modes that have a fundamental knowledge of theory. Essentially, using this chart, start at any note of your choice. Play through the major scale of that note. Then, go back to this chart, and adjust your major scale to play whichever mode you prefer. For example if I was playing in C Major (C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C), and wanted to play in the Locrian Mode, I would then play C, Db, Eb, F, Gb, Ab, Bb, C.

IONIAN - 0 sharps, 0 flats 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1
DORIAN - 2 flats, 1 2 b3 4 5 6 b7 1
PHRYGIAN - 4 flats, 1 b2 b3 4 5 b6 b7 1
LYDIAN - 1 sharp, 1 2 3 #4 5 6 7 1
MIXOLYDIAN - 1 flat, 1 2 3 4 5 6 b7 1
AEOLIAN - 3 flats, 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7 1
LOCRIAN - 5 flats, 1 b2 b3 4 b5 b6 b7 1



This chart will help you identify places in which each mode would be useful in composition to evoke a certain mood or feel:

LYDIAN - very bright, upbeat. Good for anything very bright and upbeat such as pop, kids music, etc
IONIAN - very sweet, happy, bright. Perfect for happy songs, love songs, etc. Used for almost all childrens music
MIXOLYDIAN - middle of the road bright scale. Good for light rock, pop, country, etc
DORIAN - perfect middle ground. Not too bright, not to dark. Good for country, rock, blues.
AEOLIAN - gritty, bluesy, warm sounding rock scale. This is the standard rock and blues scale.
PHRYGIAN - dark, classical metal sound. A Randy Rhoads favorite.
LOCRIAN - very dark, dissident, brooding. Good for heavy metal, dark classical, etc


Basically, in utilizing the modes for solo's/melodies there are certain chords that allow the mode to "fully function" the way it's meant to. The chart I have made below shows when the modes can appropriately be used over those certain chords:

Maj7 chord (A major chord with a major seventh) - Ionian and Lydian.
min7 chord (A minor chord with a minor seventh) - Dorian, Phyrigian, and Aeolian.
7th chord or Dominant 7th (A Major chord with a minor seventh) - Mixolydian.
min7 b5 or Half Diminished 7th(A minor chord with a minor seventh, plus a flat 5th, making it a diminished chord with a minor seventh) - Locrian.



I know this is a lot of stuff, and i'm just beginning to understand modes myself, so it might not be the most well-rounded or well laid out series of information, but I hope it helps!

 

[Lord_Acheron]

ive taken several theory courses and might use this as reference in my writing. thanks!

 

[LeCouperin]

I've taken about a year of theory classes as of now, is there anyting about modes, that I didn't mention here, that you know of?

I now know about Phrygian Dominant, being the phyrigian mode with a #3...making the chord you would play with that scale (obviously) the Dominant 7th(like the Mixolydian), however outside of what I posted above, and this small tidbit, i'm afraid I don't know much else

 

[Mephistefales]

Here's how I introduce modes to my classes. It offers a little more insight into why they sound like they do. BTW--while everything LeCouperin posted is correct--I'm not attacking his post at all--this is sort of the next step in really understanding the innate functions and voice leading tendencies of the various modes.

First, I've added a little bit to LeCouperin's ordering of the modes from brightest to darkest:

Major-sounding
Lydian
Ionian (major)
Mixolydian
-------------------------------------------
Minor-sounding
Dorian
Aeolian (natural minor)
Phrygian
Locrian

While most theory programs introduce modes as diatonic scalar transpositions of the major scale, I feel this is nowhere near as effective a way to *understand* them. Sure, it makes it easy to spell them, but it's the same circuitous process as figuring out minor keys by starting with major and counting down to "la."

So, if we're in D dorian, then D is "do," tonic, the main pitch, whatever. The usual way of spelling modes doesn't facilitate this understanding very well, and the ear hears D dorian as "unresolved" to C, instead of being its own thing. In the above chart, I've partitioned the modes into "major sounding" and "minor sounding."

LeCouperin's post addressed this, but only in reference to the major scale. There are fewer altered tones to wrangle if we split the modes by major or minor pseudo-aural affiliation. Also, if we're talking about the way they sound and function--which is really what's important, right?--this bundles spelling them in with how they sound, in general. i.e. "major-like" or "minor-like."

Lydian:
Major w/ sharp 4th scale degree (4th pitch up a fret)
Example: Simpsons (3rd pitch of melody is the sharp 4)

Mixolydian:
Major w/ flat 7th scale degree (7th pitch down a fret)
Examples: intro and like parts of this tune: [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7sdZVSJhK0&feature=related[/ame]
FYI—the verses are in modified Hungarian major; the “aaah…” part is in melodic major.
Mixolydian creates a minor v chord that sounds like the first few chords in this:
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYYOtEZeQl0&feature=related[/ame]

Dorian:
Minor w/ #6th scale degree
Examples: Miles Davis So What; Scarborough Fair “rosemaRY & thyme”
If used judiciously, the #6 makes your eyebrows go up

Phrygian:
Minor w/ flat 2nd scale degree
Example: All over the place in metal
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gD5tU-5NXd4&feature=channel[/ame]
Even though the following example is not in Phrygian, here’s more Viking metal to make you feel like plundering the French coast: [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eABVwEgzIss&feature=related[/ame]
I just felt like including it b/c it's bad-ass, not relevant.

Locrian:
Minor w/ flat 2nd, and flat 5th scale degrees
Examples: beginning of yyz, beginning of shortest straw. A tune about getting pwned by the system is surely deserving of, and facilitated by, the darkest mode.

So, F mixolydian would be *like* F major (F G A Bb C D E F), but with a flat 7th scale degree (F G A Bb C D Eb F)

For the sake of overkill, here are all the modes in C:
Lydian: C D E F# G A B C
Ionian: C D E F G A B C
Mixolydian: C D E F G A Bb C
Dorian: C D Eb F G A Bb C
Aeolian: C D Eb F G Ab Bb C
Phrygian: C Db Eb F G Ab Bb C
Locrian: C Dd Eb F Gb Ab Bb C
Looks a lot like Le Couperin's 2nd chart, right? That's because it is his chart, mapped to C.

A good exercise to drive this home is to play the mode up and down and then play the arpeggio after that (1st, 3rd, 5th, octave and back down, remembering to observe the altered pitches). This will help you to hear the 1st scale degree of the mode as the main pitch, instead of the relative major or minor's tonic. The best thing you could do would be to do this with all the modes, in the above order, starting on the same pitch.

As for other synthetic scales or altered modes, on of my favs is Lydian Dominant, or Lydian/Mixolydian. The following Darkane tune uses it in the riff at around 1:09, though in my quick listen, I think my ear heard a natural 4 at the end of the riff.
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKQXX3cdB_0&feature=related[/ame]

I'm also a huge fan of octatonic material (WHWHWHWH or HWHWHWHW). The emperor tune "Thorns on my Grave" has tons and tons of octatonic material, and he really manipulates it well. It's a very well composed tune, despite the awful drum sound and the fact that it contains possibly the worst transition of all time. So yeah--the rest of it is so good that it more than makes up for those drawbacks.

I just kind of barfed this out right now, so let me know if you find any errors

 

[Silcathia]

I think what has been posted here does explain the modes pretty well. I'm self-taught on theory for the most part, however, although I do take it seriously as an area of study!

One thing I will note is something I have read in a few different books, and that is that often you can analyze a particular song or passage in music in terms of its extent of use of the different scale degrees, and harmonies, and how they are used.

The major key is the most stable. If trying to write "modal" music in the mode of D Dorian, then you must be careful of how you employ the harmonies and how you use the scale degrees. For example, D Dorian has the following tones:

D Dorian: D E F G A B C D

Here's C major:

C major: C D E F G A B C

Notice that the same tones are found in each scale, but they are organized different! It comes down to the functions of the harmony and the tones themselves that will determine the overall "modal" feel. The ear has a tendency to "find" a key, and this depends on how you employ the harmonies you want to use. For example, let's say we're writing a passage which we want to be in D Dorian mode with the following harmony:

Dmin - Gmaj - C maj

We have to be careful because in the C major mode (Ionian), this is a famous II-V-I progression that could effectively sound like it is in C major mode! It's a typical cadential harmonic formula found in late 18th century classical music and is still used today in many genres of music.

I often look at most music in terms of it's "modal" mixture. First of all, where is the tonal centre, if there is one? Which harmonies are being employed? and what tones are being most emphasized rhythmically and duration-wise?

It is of course possible to write a piece of music in C major, that has degrees that aren't from the C major scale in it. For example, in the C-major scale the third degree is E. If there is an Eb somewhere, instead of an E, that is used in a prominent position harmonically then we may just have a mixture of modes being employed, as the Eb is actually found in the C-minor scale!

I have learned that much music can be analyzed as such, with a focus on mixture of major and minor modes of a given key, such as C major and C minor, unless the mode is very strictly adhered to.

 

[BlackMetalWhiteGuy]

I remember making some pretty comprehensive music theory posts in the past, so I just searched for posts by me containing the word "theory." Not all of this is specific to modes, but it still might be useful for someone.

Natural Minor - 0, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10, 12

Harmonic Minor - 0, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 11, 12

Phrygian - 0, 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10, 12

Phrygian Dominant - 0, 1, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 12

If you look closely, you'll notice that Natural Minor and Phrygian overlap, and so do Harmonic Minor and Phrygian Dominant. The Phrygian scales begin on the "7" in the Minor scales, and the Minor scales begin on the "5" in the Phrygian scales.

This relationship between scales is what the concept of "Modes" is based on and there are seven modes in total; one for each white key on the piano.

A - Aeolian Mode (Minor Scale)
B - Locrian Mode
C - Ionian Mode (Major Scale)
D - Dorian Mode
E - Phrygian Mode
F - Lydian Mode
G - Mixolydian Mode

In general, this is how the modes are used:

A - Aeolian (Minor [and Harmonic Minor]) - Everything
B - Locrian - Jazz
C - Ionian (Major) - Classical, Rock, Pop
D - Dorian - Jazz
E - Phrygian (and Phrygian Dominant) - Jazz, Ethnic, Metal
F - Lydian - Jazz
G - Mixolydian - Jazz

Any scale can be played beginning on any string, though I would definitely not play the whole thing on one string, simply because no one's fingers can actually reach that far. The strings are arranged so that you can play the same note (with few exceptions) on multiple parts of the neck. For example, a 12 on the low E string would play the same note as a 7 on the A string, or a 2 on the D string. Here's an example:

Highest
e -
B -
G -
D - 2
A - 7
E - 12
Lowest

To further clarify the layout of a fretboard (in standard tuning), you must first be familiar with the chromatic scale, which is the series of 12 notes on which all Western music is based.

Natural notes are white keys on a piano.

Sharps (#) and flats (b) are black keys.

C, C#/Db, D, D#/Eb, E, F, F#/Gb, G, G#/Ab, A, A#/Bb, B

When the same note is written more than one way (due to a flat or sharp), this is called an "enharmonic equivalent." It is also possible to represent notes such as B#, Cb, E# and Fb. On a guitar it really makes no different because there is no distinction between natural (white keys) and accidental (black keys) notes, but on a piano you would play the next sequential white key. It is also possible in rare cases to see notes with double sharps or double flats (C## = D).

Anyway, now that you have a chromatic scale reference, this is how enharmonics on a guitar are represented:

Legend:
# - sharp
## - double sharp
A - augmented
b - flat
bb - double flat
d - diminished
m - minor
M - major
natural
P - perfect

I think the easiest way would be to start by learning diatonic notes and intervals, followed by the major and minor scale, which shouldn't take very long.

There are twelve diatonic notes. A diatonic note always produces the same pitch, regardless of how it's written. These twelve notes make up the chromatic scale, which is what Western classical music, rock, jazz, metal, pretty much everything you've heard is based on.

A
A#, Bb
B
C
C#, Db
D
D#, Eb
E
F
F#, Gb
G
G#, Ab

B to C and E to F are naturally occuring halfsteps, so we don't use accidentals (sharps or flats) between them. However, it's possible to have diatonic notes like B#/C, Cb/B, E#/F and Fb/E, we just usually don't bother. You can also have double flats and double sharps such as Ebb/D, or C##/D, but we use those even less often.

Intervals are counted in halfsteps.

Halfsteps (played sequencially or in a chord):
0 - unison
1 - minor second (m2)
2 - major second (M2)
3 - minor third (tritone) (m3)
4 - major third (M3)
5 - perfect fourth (P4)
6 - diminished fifth / augmented fourth (depending upon where it is in the scale) (d5 / A4)
7 - perfect fifth (P5)
8 - minor sixth (m6)
9 - major sixth (M6)
10 - minor seventh (m7)
11 - major seventh (M7)
12 - octave (P8)

Interval sequences for:
Major Scale - M2, M2, m2, M2, M2, M2, m2
Minor Scale - M2, m2, M2, M2, m2, M2, M2

Tablature for:
Major Scale - 0, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, 12
Minor Scale - 0, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10, 12

After that, learn the relationships between the two, ie. relative and parallel major.

Relative Major
A Minor - A, B, C, D, E, F, G, A
C Major - C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C

Parallel Major
A Minor - A, B, C, D, E, F, G, A
A Major - A, B, C#, D, E, F#, G#, A

Also notice that the A Major scale follows the same interval sequence as the C Major scale, just starting from a different note. This is called "relative pitch," which means that two different tunes sequentially follow the same pattern of interval leaps although they begin on different root notes. By contrast, "absolute pitch" means that each note has a distinct pitch that never changes, regardless of where it exists relatively within a scale or melody.

After you understand the relationships between relative and parallel major and minor scales, you can do the same with all the other modes, which are as follows:

A - Aeolin Mode (minor scale) * - common in metal
A, B, C, D, E, F, G, A
M2, m2, M2, M2, m2, M2, M2
0, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10, 12

B - Locrian Mode
B, C, D, E, F, G, A, B
m2, M2, M2, m2, M2, M2, M2
0, 1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12

C - Ionian Mode (major scale)
C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C
M2, M2, m2, M2, M2, M2, m2
0, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, 12

D - Dorian Mode
D, E, F, G, A, B, C, D
M2, m2, M2, M2, M2, m2, M2
0, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 10, 12

E - Phrygian Mode * - common in metal
E, F, G, A, B, C, D, E
m2, M2, M2, M2, m2, M2, M2
0, 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10, 12

F - Lydian Mode
F, G, A, B, C, D, E, F
M2, M2, M2, m2, M2, M2, m2
0, 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12

G - Mixolydian Mode
G, A, B, C, D, E, F, G
M2, M2, m2, M2, M2, m2, M2
0, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 12

As you may have noticed, each mode corresponds to one of the seven white keys on a piano. These are the diatonic modes.

Diatonic means that all seven letters are used once and only once within the scale, either in a natural, sharp, or flat state. Some exotic scales may require double sharps or double flats.

Although there are seven notes, you usually play eight, because you end on the same one that you started on. This is where the word "octave" comes from.

Next, I'd start learning the different modes of harmonic minor. This builds off of your knowledge of relative and parallel scales, so make sure you're comfortable with that stuff before you start learning this.

A Harmonic Minor - A, B, C, D, E, F, G#, A

The only difference is that we have augmented the 7th scale degree. However, we refer to it as "natural 7" rather than sharp or augmented seven, because we describe things in theory by comparing them to the Ionian Mode (major scale) and the harmonic minor scale's 7th degree is a major seventh and therefore a "natural 7."

A - Aeolian Natural 7 (harmonic minor) * - common in metal
A, B, C, D, E, F, G#, A
M2, m2, M2, M2, m2, m3, m2
0, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 11, 12

B - Locrian Natural 6
B, C, D, E, F, G#, A, B
m2, M2, M2, m2, m3, m2, M2
0, 1, 3, 5, 6, 9, 10, 12

C - Ionian #5 (harmonic major) [#5 means Sharp 5, not Number 5)
C, D, E, F, G#, A, B, C
M2, M2, m2, m3, m2, M2, m2
0, 2, 4, 5, 8, 9, 11, 12

D - Dorian #4
D, E, F, G#, A, B, C, D
M2, m2, m3, m2, M2, m2, M2


E - Phrygian Natural 3 (commonly called phrygian dominant) * common in metal
E, F, G#, A, B, C, D, E
m2, m3, m2, M2, m2, M2, M2
0, 1, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 12

F - Lydian #2
F, G#, A, B, C, D, E, F
m3, m2, M2, m2, M2, M2, m2
0, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12

G# - Altered bb7, Altered o7 (harmonic mixolydian) [o and bb both mean "double flat"]
G#, A, B, C, D, E, F, G#
m2, M2, m2, M2, M2, m2, m3
0, 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 12

There is also a melodic minor scale that goes like this.

A, B, C, D, E, F#, G#, A

In classical theory, you play it like this ascending (going up), but like a natural minor scale (with natural F and G notes) descending (going down). In Jazz, I think they play the sharp Fs and Gs regardless, but it really doesn't matter. Overall though, this scale is really fucked up and stupid, I wouldn't bother learning it if I were you.

natural - all the white keys are natural notes. Also, all the notes on a guitar (or pretty much any instrument) correspond to one key on a piano, but where the notes are located on a guitar depends upon your tuning, whereas on a piano, they're always in the same place unless something's wrong with it.

# - sharp, ## - double sharp, A - augmented - a higher note is a sharper note. # indicates that it's one note above a natural note, while ## indicates that it is two notes higher, but this notation is not common. Augmented means that at least one note in a chord is played sharper than usual.

chord - more than one note is played at the same time.

b - flat, bb - double flat, d - diminished - the opposite of sharp.

m - minor a common type of chord or scale notation.

M - major - the other common type of chord and scale notation on which all Western theory is based.

P - perfect - the fourth and fifth scale degrees of a major and minor scale are the same. Since they represent both major and minor intervals, we say they're perfect.

For most types of death metal, these are the basic scales that you'll want to know:
- Minor
- Harmonic Minor
- Phrygian
- Phrygian Dominant
- Diminished

If you're more into technical, experimental, and progressive death metal, then you'll want to have a pretty solid understanding of how all the diatonic scales correlate with each other, and be familiar with the different modes of harmonic minor.

Here are all the diatonic modes:
C - Ionian (Major)
D - Dorian
E - Phrygian
F - Lydian
G - Mixolydian
A - Aeolin (Minor)
B - Locrian

Each mode can be played using ONLY THE WHITE KEYS on a piano, starting from the note indicated. The interval ratios are the same regardless of the instrument you're using, so A minor on a piano uses the same notes as A minor on a guitar. Furthermore, B minor uses the same intervals as A minor, except that you're starting from B rather than A, which means that you'll have two sharps in B minor, while A minor is only natural notes.

Here are the modes of harmonic minor:
C - Ionian #5
D - Dorian #4
E - Phrygian Natural 3 (Phrygian Dominant)
F - Lydian #2
G - Altered bb/o7 (Harmonic Mixolydian, Super Locrian Diminished)
A - Aeolin Natural 7 (Harmonic Minor)
B - Locrian Natural 6

# - Sharp
bb - Double Flat
o - Double Flat