r0g3r
11-08-2002, 12:41 AM
There seems to be quite a bit of confusion with regard to modes. So being the nice guy that I am, I'm going to try and explain them in the simplest possible way.
All scales have modes. Each mode of a scale has a unique tonality. Early on modes were used much like scales. In species counterpoint for instance, the main melody (called the cantus firmus) begins and ends on the root note of whichever diatonic mode was selected for the piece. This is similar to the way in which the relative minor scale (the Aeolian mode) is used in modern forms like Rock. Modern modal theory is a bit more encompassing than this though, and hopefully you'll have a good understanding of modes by the end of this post.
Let's try a simple exercise that will give you an immediate sense of how each mode of the major scale sounds. For the purposes of the exercise, download this small clip of me playing the C major scale: C Major Scale MP3 (128 kb) (http://www.monumentweb.com/c.mp3)
If we harmonize the C major scale (build chords from each note of the scale) we get the following sequence of chords:
C, Dm, Em, F, G, Am, Bdim
If you play each of these chords behind the C major scale mp3 you downloaded, you'll be hearing all 7 modes of the major scale. Each chord you play will represent one mode. Do them one a time, repeating each until you're familiar with it's sound (notice how each mode has it's own unique vibe). Even though I'm still playing the same notes, in the same position on my guitar in the mp3 clip, the modes are still changing as you change chords. Here is a list of the modal names for each mode you're playing:
C major chord: Ionian
D minor chord: Dorian
E minor chord: Phrygian
F major chord: Lydian
G major chord: Mixolydian
A minor chord: Aeolian
B diminished chord: Locrian
Derivative Application
There are two distinct ways that you can use modes. The first is the one mentioned above that is used in species harmony. This type of modal use is called "derivative." These modes are relative to the parent scale. They are derived from the same notes of the parent scale. This is the same reason that the relative minor (aeolian mode) is called "relative." It is a derived mode.
Here is an example:
Download this short riff (from an old unfinished song of mine):
F# Phryigan Riff (219 kb) (http://www.monumentweb.com/Phrygian-Riff.mp3)
Now over that riff, improvise using the notes of the D major scale.
----------------------------------------------------2--3--5---
-----------------------------------------2--3--5--------------
----------------------------------2--4------------------------
-----------------------2--4--5--------------------------------
------------2--4--5-------------------------------------------
--2--3--5-----------------------------------------------------
(EDIT: D Major Scale = D E F# G A B C#)
This riff is written with the tonal center (tonic, root) being F# Phrygian. In other words, it begins on and resolves to F#, but it has the same notes as it's parent (relative) scale, which is D major. So by playing the notes of D major in any position, you are playing in the phrygian mode. In the above example I gave you the position that begins on the 3rd, the one that is generally associated with the phygian mode, but you could very well play any of the positions on the fretboard, as long as you're playing the notes from D major.
Is it making any sense yet?
Parallel Application
The other way of applying modes is in "parallel." This is where you play modes that are not necessarily from the same key that your overall harmony is derived from. For instance, if I'm playing over a C major progression, and I come across the Dminor or Dminor7 chord, If I improvise using the all natural notes of C major, it will give the vanilla sound of D dorian, which is relative to C major. However, I can also play any other scale or mode that contains the chord tones that are in the D minor 7th chord (though some choices may be more appropriate than others in a given context).
To better understand this concept download this clip of me playing a Dm7 chord:
D minor 7 MP3 (95k) (http://www.monumentweb.com/Dm7.mp3)
Let's imagine this chord is happening in the context of a C major chord progression.
Over that chord try playing each of the following scales or modes:
D Dorian:
----------------------------------------------------------------12--13-15---
----------------------------------------------------12--13--15--------------
----------------------------------------10--12--14--------------------------
---------------------------10--12--14---------------------------------------
---------------10--12--14---------------------------------------------------
--10--12--13----------------------------------------------------------------
(EDIT: D Dorian = D E F G A B C)
D dorian is the relative mode to our parent key of C. This is the same effect as playing the C major scale over our C major progression. Nothing new here. But I just wanted you to see how we're going to vary things in the other examples.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
D Phrygian:
----------------------------------------------------------------11--13-15---
----------------------------------------------------11--13--15--------------
----------------------------------------10--12--14--------------------------
---------------------------10--12--13---------------------------------------
---------------10--12--13---------------------------------------------------
--10--11--13----------------------------------------------------------------
(EDIT: D Phrygian = D Eb F G A Bb C)
The D Phrygian is not relative to our hypothetical key of C major. But instead is related to the key of Bb major. The key of Bb major also contains a D minor 7th in it's harmonization, but it occurs at the 3rd scale tone and not the 2nd as in our current parent key C. So I'm shifting the tonality by playing the D phrygian mode, in parallel to the parent key implied by our hypothetical C major harmony.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
D Dorian b2:
----------------------------------------------------------------11--13-15---
----------------------------------------------------12--13--15--------------
----------------------------------------10--12--14--------------------------
---------------------------10--12--13---------------------------------------
---------------10--12--14---------------------------------------------------
--10--11--13----------------------------------------------------------------
(EDIT: D Dorian b2 = D Eb F G A B C)
This is a mode from a different scale. The addition of the b2 to the name means we're not dealing with the dorian mode that is relative to the diatonic major scale. This is the 2nd mode of the Melodic minor scale. This is likely to be an excellent choice to play over the ii chord in our hypothetical C major harmony. The C melodic minor scale harmonization contains our D minor 7th chord at it's 2nd scale degree.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
One reason the Dorian b2 mode is useful over our minor 7th chord, is because it gives us an "upper leading tone" that allows us to resolve to the root of this chord more smoothly. Since the dorian normally has a minor 7th, and therefore lacks a leading tone, this is useful.
Another example of the usefulness of parallel modes is to play the lydian mode over major chords. For instance, over a C major chord, you could play C Lydian (same notes as G major). The benefit of this is that the Lydian mode has a raised 4th, and the 4th is an "avoid note" when playing over major chords. By using the Lydian mode, in place of the major scale (ionian mode) the 4th is automatically avoided.
Hopefully these examples have helped some of you better understand modes. The basic concept isn't that hard to understand, but there are a lot of misconceptions about modes that unfortunately get passed on in various ways.
All scales have modes. Each mode of a scale has a unique tonality. Early on modes were used much like scales. In species counterpoint for instance, the main melody (called the cantus firmus) begins and ends on the root note of whichever diatonic mode was selected for the piece. This is similar to the way in which the relative minor scale (the Aeolian mode) is used in modern forms like Rock. Modern modal theory is a bit more encompassing than this though, and hopefully you'll have a good understanding of modes by the end of this post.
Let's try a simple exercise that will give you an immediate sense of how each mode of the major scale sounds. For the purposes of the exercise, download this small clip of me playing the C major scale: C Major Scale MP3 (128 kb) (http://www.monumentweb.com/c.mp3)
If we harmonize the C major scale (build chords from each note of the scale) we get the following sequence of chords:
C, Dm, Em, F, G, Am, Bdim
If you play each of these chords behind the C major scale mp3 you downloaded, you'll be hearing all 7 modes of the major scale. Each chord you play will represent one mode. Do them one a time, repeating each until you're familiar with it's sound (notice how each mode has it's own unique vibe). Even though I'm still playing the same notes, in the same position on my guitar in the mp3 clip, the modes are still changing as you change chords. Here is a list of the modal names for each mode you're playing:
C major chord: Ionian
D minor chord: Dorian
E minor chord: Phrygian
F major chord: Lydian
G major chord: Mixolydian
A minor chord: Aeolian
B diminished chord: Locrian
Derivative Application
There are two distinct ways that you can use modes. The first is the one mentioned above that is used in species harmony. This type of modal use is called "derivative." These modes are relative to the parent scale. They are derived from the same notes of the parent scale. This is the same reason that the relative minor (aeolian mode) is called "relative." It is a derived mode.
Here is an example:
Download this short riff (from an old unfinished song of mine):
F# Phryigan Riff (219 kb) (http://www.monumentweb.com/Phrygian-Riff.mp3)
Now over that riff, improvise using the notes of the D major scale.
----------------------------------------------------2--3--5---
-----------------------------------------2--3--5--------------
----------------------------------2--4------------------------
-----------------------2--4--5--------------------------------
------------2--4--5-------------------------------------------
--2--3--5-----------------------------------------------------
(EDIT: D Major Scale = D E F# G A B C#)
This riff is written with the tonal center (tonic, root) being F# Phrygian. In other words, it begins on and resolves to F#, but it has the same notes as it's parent (relative) scale, which is D major. So by playing the notes of D major in any position, you are playing in the phrygian mode. In the above example I gave you the position that begins on the 3rd, the one that is generally associated with the phygian mode, but you could very well play any of the positions on the fretboard, as long as you're playing the notes from D major.
Is it making any sense yet?
Parallel Application
The other way of applying modes is in "parallel." This is where you play modes that are not necessarily from the same key that your overall harmony is derived from. For instance, if I'm playing over a C major progression, and I come across the Dminor or Dminor7 chord, If I improvise using the all natural notes of C major, it will give the vanilla sound of D dorian, which is relative to C major. However, I can also play any other scale or mode that contains the chord tones that are in the D minor 7th chord (though some choices may be more appropriate than others in a given context).
To better understand this concept download this clip of me playing a Dm7 chord:
D minor 7 MP3 (95k) (http://www.monumentweb.com/Dm7.mp3)
Let's imagine this chord is happening in the context of a C major chord progression.
Over that chord try playing each of the following scales or modes:
D Dorian:
----------------------------------------------------------------12--13-15---
----------------------------------------------------12--13--15--------------
----------------------------------------10--12--14--------------------------
---------------------------10--12--14---------------------------------------
---------------10--12--14---------------------------------------------------
--10--12--13----------------------------------------------------------------
(EDIT: D Dorian = D E F G A B C)
D dorian is the relative mode to our parent key of C. This is the same effect as playing the C major scale over our C major progression. Nothing new here. But I just wanted you to see how we're going to vary things in the other examples.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
D Phrygian:
----------------------------------------------------------------11--13-15---
----------------------------------------------------11--13--15--------------
----------------------------------------10--12--14--------------------------
---------------------------10--12--13---------------------------------------
---------------10--12--13---------------------------------------------------
--10--11--13----------------------------------------------------------------
(EDIT: D Phrygian = D Eb F G A Bb C)
The D Phrygian is not relative to our hypothetical key of C major. But instead is related to the key of Bb major. The key of Bb major also contains a D minor 7th in it's harmonization, but it occurs at the 3rd scale tone and not the 2nd as in our current parent key C. So I'm shifting the tonality by playing the D phrygian mode, in parallel to the parent key implied by our hypothetical C major harmony.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
D Dorian b2:
----------------------------------------------------------------11--13-15---
----------------------------------------------------12--13--15--------------
----------------------------------------10--12--14--------------------------
---------------------------10--12--13---------------------------------------
---------------10--12--14---------------------------------------------------
--10--11--13----------------------------------------------------------------
(EDIT: D Dorian b2 = D Eb F G A B C)
This is a mode from a different scale. The addition of the b2 to the name means we're not dealing with the dorian mode that is relative to the diatonic major scale. This is the 2nd mode of the Melodic minor scale. This is likely to be an excellent choice to play over the ii chord in our hypothetical C major harmony. The C melodic minor scale harmonization contains our D minor 7th chord at it's 2nd scale degree.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
One reason the Dorian b2 mode is useful over our minor 7th chord, is because it gives us an "upper leading tone" that allows us to resolve to the root of this chord more smoothly. Since the dorian normally has a minor 7th, and therefore lacks a leading tone, this is useful.
Another example of the usefulness of parallel modes is to play the lydian mode over major chords. For instance, over a C major chord, you could play C Lydian (same notes as G major). The benefit of this is that the Lydian mode has a raised 4th, and the 4th is an "avoid note" when playing over major chords. By using the Lydian mode, in place of the major scale (ionian mode) the 4th is automatically avoided.
Hopefully these examples have helped some of you better understand modes. The basic concept isn't that hard to understand, but there are a lot of misconceptions about modes that unfortunately get passed on in various ways.