Introduction to Modes

The Modes of the Major Scale

In this lesson, we will build a set of scales and chords that will provide you with more variety and be incredibly useful for your improvisation. This knowledge will enable you to build sequences and understand how chords relate to each other.

Understanding C Major Modes

We are going to learn the modes of C major. The good news is that you won't need any sharps or flats in these scales; they all follow the key signature of C major.

1. C Major Scale

Let's start off with the familiar C major scale. So far, so familiar, hopefully.

• Major 7 Chord (C): I will take my root, third, fifth, and seventh to build a major 7 chord from C.

2. D Dorian

For my second mode, I'll shift the context and start on D this time. I will still play, as it were, on a piano, all the white notes. So, no sharps or flats.

• Playing from D to D: I'll again use my root, third, fifth, and seventh chord tones.
• The Dorian scale is a great fit for a minor seventh chord.
• Although I'm playing notes derived from C major, this scale has a distinct minor tonality.

3. E Phrygian

If I then play my C major scale starting on an E, I get a different scale again.

• Playing from E to E: Again, this doesn't sound like C major either because I've shifted the starting point to E.
• It maintains the minor tonality with E, G (minor third), B (fifth), D (seventh).
• This mode is called the Phrygian mode and is sometimes referred to as the Spanish mode.
  • You might hear it in the music of Chick Corea and Miles Davis's "Flamenco Sketches."

4. F Lydian

If I shift my starting point to F but still play with the C major key signature, I get what's called a Lydian scale.

• Playing from F to F: This scale definitely has a major sound.
• It differs from the A major scale by having a sharpened 4th or a sharpened 11th.
• You might recognize this theme, as the Lydian mode has a bright, quirky sound.

5. G Mixolydian

Next, if I play my C major from G to G, we explore the Mixolydian mode.

• Playing from G to G: This is another scale we've studied before.

6. A Aeolian

From the 6th, I'm going to play from A to A.

• Playing from A to A: This is another minor 7 chord with a slightly different character from Dorian, and it's called the Aeolian mode.

7. B Locrian

Finally, the last of our set of major scale modes runs from B to B, and it is the darkest and most minor of all the scales; this is called the Locrian mode.

• Playing from B to B: Its guide tones, chord tones are root, third, and it has a flattened fifth, similar to the blues, and a seventh.
• This scale can be challenging to use as a melodic source, but the Locrian type minor 7 chord does come in very useful, as we'll discover later on.

Summary

From playing without any sharps or flats, I've created a palette of seven different types of chords.

These modes, as the name suggests, have been around much longer than jazz. They are widely used by jazz musicians, but the Greek names, Dorian, Locrian, Mixolydian, and Phrygian, suggest a rich history in music. Modes are also present in medieval church music, with Gregorian chant often based on modal scales.