Title: Modes
Level: Intermediate
Style: Theory
Instructor: Dave Good
In this lesson, I want to discuss and hopefully try to clarify
the confusion surrounding the modes. The ability to understand and utilize the
modes is one of the most important abilities for a modern guitarist to have. I
have my own way of explaining the modes, which I feel makes more sense than the
way most other teachers and textbooks explain them, so even if you have tried
to learn the modes before and gotten confused, stick with this lesson and you
should have a good idea of what they are and how to use them.
Before we begin, you need to know all the key signatures. If you don't,
you can still probably understand this lesson, but I would suggest going back
and applying this information in all the keys (as usual). All the examples
will relate back to the key of C, as this is the clearest way to descibe these
ideas.
And now for the lesson
----------------------
The Modes are, simply put, scales that are derived from the major scale.
For example, most of you (I would hope!) are familiar with the minor scale and
understand that it is built from the 6th degree of the relative major scale.
Correct? Of course. Now, what you need to realize is that the minor scale is
technically a mode, but is not usually referred to as such for various reasons
(these reasons go back hundreds of years, but do not bear repeating here).
So far, we can make a chart that looks like this:
Key of C
Scale Degree Note
1 C
2 D
3 E
4 F
5 G
6 A
7 B
8 (octave) C
Examining this, we notice that the key is C Major, and the relative minor key
to C Major is A Minor which is the 6th degree of the scale. There is a concept
at work here, in that you may build a scale starting on ANY degree of the major
scale-in fact, this is where the modes are found.
If you were in the key of C, and decided to start on D instead of C,
and continue through the key of C, you would have a scale that looks like this:
D E F G A B C D
Notice it has the same notes as the key of C Major, but begins on the
2nd degree of the C Major scale. This is what is called the Dorian mode.
If you were to get a friend, and have him play a C Major chord while you played
these notes, it would sound just like C Major. But, if you had him play a D
Minor chord, and you played these notes, then you would hear a difference in
the sound of the scale (to see why I said D Minor instead of Major, see my
earlier lesson on chord construction).
Similarly, you can do this with the 3rd degree of the C Major scale,
obtaining E F G A B C D E for your next scale. This is called the Phrygian
mode, and sounds darker and more mysterious than the Dorian mode. Again, play
this over an E Minor chord to hear the distinctive sound of this mode.
Like I said earlier, you can do this for each scale degree,
obtaining a different mode on each degree. The following chart
presents a summary of the modes that are obtained on each degree, and
the characteristics of each mode:
Key of C Major
Scale Degree Mode Name Characteristic Sound
------------------------------------------------------
1 Ionian (Major) Major (Majestic sounding)
2 Dorain Minor (Weepy. Used a lot in Country music)
3 Phrygian Minor (Dark, used a lot in Heavy metal)
4 Lydian Major (Sweet, used all over)
5 Mixolydian Major (The basis of rock and blues.)
6 Aeolian (Minor) Minor (The Natural Minor scale)
7 Locrian Minor (Vaugely oriental sounding)
Whether a mode is major or minor depends on the triad that is built
on the root. For example, the Mixolydian mode is major because its' root triad
is major. G Mixolydian is a major mode because in the Key of C, the chord
built on G is a major chord. This list of modes will hold true for any key.
Before I give the next lesson, I want you to go through and write out
all the modes in all the key signatures, so that you begin to know and get
familiar with what mode is associated with what scale degree. In the next
lesson I will show a second way of learning the modes, one that can be
slightly confusing if you have not yet learned which mode is in what key
signature. The next method will involve retaining the root note of the major
scale, but changing key signatures, thereby changing mode and really showing
the difference between the modes and the major scale.
As always, feel free to write me if you have any questions.
Dave Good
blj@tiamat.umd.umich.edu
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FUTURE LESSONS
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No Name Style Level Instructor
13 Octaves Theory B Bill Quinn
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