The modes
Modes and other scales: Modes · Modes lab · Beyond the major scale · Beyond the major scale lab
Hear the white keys from a new home, then the same home with changed notes. The two tables — relative and parallel — live on Western theory · Modes.
Start on a different white key
Play the white keys from C and you have the major scale. In this chapter its other name is Ionian. You can keep calling it C major until the table below.
Play the white keys from D instead: D E F G A B C D. Hear it next to C major. The third is F. A major third above D would be F♯, so this one is minor — but degree 6 is B, which the plain minor scale would have lowered to B♭. That higher 6th is why it sounds minor and still hopeful. The name for white keys from D is D Dorian.
White keys from A are the minor scale again. Here it is called Aeolian, which is only the mode name for what you already learned. White keys from E sound darker still, because the second note is F, a half step above home. That one is Phrygian.
Seven starting notes, seven moods, one set of white keys. The names are Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, Locrian. You do not need a formula to hear them. The formula is for when you want Dorian, or any of the others, starting on a note that is not the white-key one.
Two ways to see them
Relative means the same notes and a new home. Parallel means the same home and changed notes. Both tables live on Western theory · Modes. The white-key buttons above are the relative picture. The Listen column below plays the parallel picture, every row starting on C.
Characteristic notes
Each mode has one or two signature notes that give it its flavor. Lean on these when you want the mode to sound like itself and not just its relative major/minor.
| Mode | Quality | Signature note | Where you hear it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ionian | major | — | pop, hymns, most "happy" music |
| Dorian | minor | natural 6 | jazz, funk, folk (“Scarborough Fair”), Santana |
| Phrygian | minor | ♭2 | flamenco, metal, film “danger” cues |
| Lydian | major | ♯4 | film scores, dreamy prog (think Star Wars “wonder”) |
| Mixolydian | major | ♭7 | blues, rock, Celtic, gospel |
| Aeolian | minor | ♭6 | sad pop/rock ballads, the plain minor scale |
| Locrian | diminished | ♭2 & ♭5 | rare — jazz over m7♭5, some metal |
Modes lab
Pick a root and a mode. The keyboard lights the notes, and Play mode sounds them one note per beat at the metronome's tempo.
All seven modes at a glance
Brightest to darkest. Hear the white-key versions above first. This table is the other picture: what you change in C major to get that same mood with C as home. A ♭ lowers that degree one key. A ♯ raises it. From C spells the result, and Listen plays it up to the next C.
| Mode | Built on | Formula | From C | Feel | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lydian | 4th degree | 1 2 3 ♯4 5 6 7 | C D E F♯ G A B | dreamy, floating, wonder | |
| Ionian (major) | 1st degree | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 | C D E F G A B | bright, happy, resolved | |
| Mixolydian | 5th degree | 1 2 3 4 5 6 ♭7 | C D E F G A B♭ | bluesy, rocky, dominant | |
| Dorian | 2nd degree | 1 2 ♭3 4 5 6 ♭7 | C D E♭ F G A B♭ | minor but hopeful, jazzy | |
| Aeolian (natural minor) | 6th degree | 1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7 | C D E♭ F G A♭ B♭ | sad, serious | |
| Phrygian | 3rd degree | 1 ♭2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7 | C D♭ E♭ F G A♭ B♭ | dark, Spanish, tense | |
| Locrian | 7th degree | 1 ♭2 ♭3 4 ♭5 ♭6 ♭7 | C D♭ E♭ F G♭ A♭ B♭ | unstable, dissonant |
Brighter LydianIonianMixolydianDorian AeolianPhrygianLocrian Darker