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Hello,
My daughter is music teacher and has a degree in music but never really understood Modes. I was trying to understand / explain to her, but I still need to learn more. She pulled out her theory book and we read the Modes area. Sarah asked me to post a question.Is there a connection between the first note played that defines the Mode? So if playing in A Dorian then my first or landing note would be “B” and then in Mixolydian my first or landing note would be “E”. (I just joined so I don’t know if Brian reads all these posts.)
Any thoughts?
Thanks
Larry -
Hi Larry,
You are almost on the right track. You are correct that Dorian would indicate the 2nd degree in the scale, but since it is “A” Dorian, the A is the 2nd degree. That means you would actually be playing the notes of the G Major scale. Likewise, for Mixolydian over the same G scale, you would center on the D note, the 5th degree.
For the key of G Major (G Major scale) the modes are:
G Ionian
A Dorian
B Phrygian
C Lydian
D Mixolydian
E Aeolian
F# LocrianHope this helps!
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Hi Larry,
Totally agree with the above. When playing A Dorian, it is all the notes of the “parent key”, G major, but now your home base or tonal center is the A note and the chord your progression will resolve to is an Am, the second chord of the key of G major. Your chord progression can have 2 or 3 chords of the key of G major (the modal progressions are usually simple or else they start to sound like G major) but, again, Am will feel like the resolution. Each mode has one or two iconic features. The Dorian “key” has a minor i with a major or dominant IV (actually the ii and V of the parent major scale), made popular by Santana. Starting the G major scale on the second note gives a new sequence of intervals that result in a unique minor scale with a major 6 that sounds great over your “dorian” chord progression. Hope that helps and doesn’t confuse.
John -
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Can I ask a supplementary question relating to Modes?
If we are in G Major and chose to play C Lydian, do we play the Major Scale shape from C or do we continue to play the G major scale but simply start on C?
I should know this but each time I study Modes I come away more confused.-
Short answer is you play the G major scale. But the question then is how to make it sound Lydian, and that will depend upon context. Lets suppose you are playing in the key of G and the changes come to a C6 chord. If you are playing the G major scale, your result will be C lydian. But to really emphasize the Lydian sound, you would lean into the F#, which is the defining Lydian note.
People worry way too much about modes. Instead, try to focus on sounds that you think are cool, and then try to repeat them in different contexts. If you do that, and expand your ears, you will be playing lots of modal stuff without realizing it.
Finally, the first note that is played has no necessary relation to the mode of a piece or the section of the piece. The major scale is also the Ionian mode, but lots of songs are in major keys without starting on the root. Before even thinking about modes, I would be sure that I had pretty much mastered the major scales (or their pitch collections) everywhere along the neck. Once you do that, it won’t be very hard to have the modes of those scales fall into place. Then you can start on the harmonic and melodic minor scales.
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This is all certainly one way of thinking about modes. But, what really defines a mode is the harmony. The G major scale played while the bass plays a G is ionian. But if the bass plays an F, all of a sudden it’s dorian. Think not just of what you’re playing but what you are playing relative to the harmony.
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Hi Larry,
I totally understand where Sarah is coming from. ‘Modes’ are unheard of in classical piano, which is what I learned first. When I finally dug into it 2 years go, I had an epiphany – and then had to regurgitate it all so I didn’t feel overwhelmed. (i.e. I had to write it down.) I really, really don’t mean to use this forum as a way promote my blog (awkward!) but there’s no way to summarise this topic in a hundred words or less. Pass on my link to Sarah if she’s still interested: jaxenook.com/music-theory. By the way, if she plays the piano, she’ll see through my notes why I think guitar is superior in many ways! Also, I may know some theory now but it’s not yet in my fingers. That’s why I’m here 🙂
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