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In the previous post from our “10 Things Every Musician Should Know” series, we began to look at how modes are constructed.  We showed you how to alter a major scale to arrive at modes.  Today, we’re going to look at what modes to play based on the given chord progression.

We’ve already established that the pattern of chord qualities for a major scale is as follows:

1M, 2m, 3m, 4M, 5M, 6m, 7d, 1M

If we shift to modes, not only do we shift the order of the intervals between the notes (whole step or half step), but we also shift the order of the chord qualities (major, minor, augmented, diminished).  In the last post, we showed how those intervals changed.  Now we’re going to build chords from each scale degree (flats denoted with lowercase “b”).

1. Ionian (Major) - 1M,  2m,  3m,  4M,  5M,  6m,  7d,  1M
2. Dorian - 1m,  2m,  b3M,  4M,  5m,  6d,  b7M,  1m
3. Phrygian - 1m,  b2M,  b3M,  4m,  5d,  b6M,  b7m,  1m
4. Lydian - 1M,  2M,  3m,  #4d,  5M,  6m,  7m,  1M
5. Mixolydian -  1M,  2m,  3d,  4M,  5m,  6m,  b7M,  1M
6. Aeolian (Natural Minor) - 1m,  2d,  b3M,  4m,  5m,  b6M,  b7M,  1m
7. Locrian - 1d , b2M,  b3m,  4m,  b5M,  b6M,  b7m,  1d

PRACTICAL USES OF MODES

So, as an example, let’s look at a common chord progression one of the major modes:

E     A     D     E

Now, let’s convert that to scale degrees:

1M     4M     b7M   1M

Judging from this information, we can base our playing around a Mixolydian mode.

Let’s look now at a common progression in a minor mode:

Em     A     D     Em

If we convert this to scale degrees, we have:

1m     4M     b7M     1m

In this case, we can base our playing around the Dorian mode.

If you begin to think in terms of modes based on the chords within a song, it can really open up the possibilities of your playing.  It can help you break out of the typical pentatonic box (not that there’s anything wrong with that–I am a guitarist, too) and help you to stay true to the chords underneath your melodies and solos.  It does take a lot of memorization and practice to get used to modes, but understanding them will help make you a better musician.

Stay tuned for our next post, when we get rhythmic.

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It’s time for yet another Installment of “10 Things Every Musician Should Know“.  This time, we’re going to talk about Modes.  We won’t discuss much about the history of Modes (although it’s rather interesting), but we will talk about their practical application.

Modes, for all intents and purposes, are “shifted” scales.  Given a major scale, if you shift the starting note without altering your pattern of whole steps and half steps, you essentially have a mode.  Modes, to most musicians, have a voo-doo-like mystique about them, but once you wrap your mind around the theory, they become fairly easy to understand and use.  In fact, most musicians use chord progressions based off of modes without realizing it.

In the list below, we’re going to take each scale degree of a parent major scale and give its mode.  We’ll also tell the pattern of whole steps (W) and half steps (h).

1. Ionian (Major):  W W h W W W h
2. Dorian:  W h W W W h W
3. Phrygian:  h W W W h W W
4. Lydian:  W W W h W W h
5. Mixolydian:  W W h W W h W
6. Aeolian (Natural Minor):  W h W W h W W
7. Locrian:  h W W h W W W

Another way to think about modes while you’re playing is to think of it as altering a major scale.  See the list below (flat is denoted with a lowercase “b”).

1. Ionian (Major) - 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  1
2. Dorian - 1  2  b3  4  5  6  b7  1
3. Phrygian - 1  b2  b3  4  5  b6  b7  1
4. Lydian - 1  2  3  #4  5  6  7  1
5. Mixolydian -  1  2  3  4  5  6  b7  1
6. Aeolian (Natural Minor) - 1  2  b3  4  5  b6  b7  1
7. Locrian - 1  b2  b3  4  b5  b6  b7  1

This will get you started knowing how modes are constructed.  In our next post we’ll go into greater detail by describing when to use modes based on the chord progression of the song you’re playing.

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As my Music Theory and Producing class comes to a close, I’m reflecting on things that my students should know for the final exam.  Then, it hit me that there are several things that every musician should know.  I’m sure these things will inspire future posts as I expand on some of the individual topics, but for right now, here’s the basic list:

1. Order of whole steps and half steps for a major scale and minor scale
2. Number of accidentals (sharps/flats) for each key
3. Which accidentals are present in each key signature
4. Chord qualities (Major, minor, Augmented, or diminshed) for each scale degree in a major and minor key
5. Relative majors and minors
6. Which scaled degree of the parent key is each mode built from
7. Which notes are altered in each mode if you started with a major (or minor) scale
8. Which chord qualities are altered from a major (or minor scale) for each mode
9. The differences between simple and compound meters and how to count them
10. How to count and conduct the most commonly used meters

Stay tuned for future posts as I expand on these topics in greater detail!

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