In my opinion, modes are the most misunderstood category of music theory, especially among guitarists. Many guitarists have only a basic understanding of the modes, if any. You hear them sometimes, casually saying things like, “Oh yeah, well, modes are easy. You just start playing a major scale on any degree and that’s a mode.” Well, in a way, that is all the modes are. Sort of. Okay, not really. We’ll see why this simple view just isn’t useful. In addition, we’ll learn why modes are often confused with chord scales, which, I must admit, is an easy mistake to make and probably where the first misconception about the modes comes from.

Why don’t we start with an explanation of how to derive the modes? This is where the simplistic explanations come from, after all. Take a major scale and play it, beginning with the root and ending with the root. This is what is known as the Ionian mode. Western harmony is largely based on this mode because of its strong inherent cadences. For example, two of the most prevalent cadences in western music are arguably: I, IV, V and ii, V, I. These are both taken from the Ionian mode.

In order to learn how to build the rest of the modes, we’ll take a major scale and begin to play from various notes as though they were the root. For example, begin playing a major scale starting and ending with the second note in the scale. These intervals are collectively known as the Dorian mode. If you do this with every degree of a major scale, you’ll end up with the following modes:

  • I = Ionian
  • ii = Dorian
  • iii = Phrygian
  • IV = Lydian
  • V = Mixolydian
  • vi = Aeolian
  • vii = Locrian

This is unfortunately the point at which many guitarists’ knowledge of the modes ends.

I have found the best way to think about and use the modes is contrary to what many music educators teach. I like to think of the modes as altered major scales. For example, for me, a Lydian mode is nothing more than a major scale with raised 4th. Similarly, Dorian is nothing more than a major scale with a lowered 3rd and 7th.

The reason I find it convenient to think about modes in this way is twofold. First, this allows me to construct artificial modes more readily. For example, when I learned about the bebop scale, I could instantly see patterns for a major scale with a flatted 7th thrown in.

Secondly, and more importantly, we need to realize that every mode has a set of characteristic notes. These characteristic notes give the modes their distinctive sound and allow us to choose appropriate chords to emphasize these sounds.

Here, I have listed how each mode differs from the major scale:

  • Ionian = no difference
  • Dorian = b3, b7
  • Phrygian = b2, b3, b6, b7
  • Lydian = #4
  • Mixolydian = b7
  • Aeolian = b3, b6, b7
  • Locrian = b2, b3, b5, b6, b7

The notes on the right are altered notes relative to the major scale (Ionian). Let’s take a look at those notes for a moment. The first thing you should notice is that many of these modes share the b7 tone. This is important because it means that if you played a root to b7 interval, no one would hear if the overall sound was Dorian, Phrygian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, or Locrian. What we’re looking for are the altered notes that are unique to a particular mode.

Let’s look at the Dorian mode first, since that’s quite popular in jazz and an interesting case. At first glance, you might conclude that Dorian isn’t at all that interesting. After all, a b3 and b7 don’t really make it unique in the bunch. After thinking about it, however, you’ll realize that the combination of the b3 and natural 6th make it stand out.

Try this: record yourself playing an A minor chord over and over again slowly. Play an F# over it–a lot. Now, try using the F natural (Aeolian). Hear the difference between them? That’s Dorian. We’ve identified how to make something sound Dorian. That’s pretty cool. Now, let’s try it with another.

Lydian is very popular among the rock crowd because it represents a way to play major tonalities without sounding too happy. In Lydian’s case, it’s pretty clear that that the #4 is what gives this mode its characteristic sound. Play an A Major 7th chord over and over again slowly. Now play a D# over it a few times. Hear that? That’s the Lydian sound. No other mode sounds quite like that, and that’s precisely the point! We’ve discovered the characteristic note that makes it unique. Lydian has a kind of ambiguous quality, sort of like it wants to be minor and major at the same time. Also pretty cool.

Here’s a list of the characteristic tones for each mode (i.e. what note sets it apart in its minor or major context):

  • Ionian (Major) = none
  • Dorian (Minor) = natural 6
  • Phrygian (Minor) = b2
  • Lydian (Major) = #4
  • Mixolydian (Major) = b7
  • Aeolian (Minor) = b6
  • Locrian (Minor) = b5

Remember, I’m showing you only which note makes this mode unique within a given major or minor context. What do I mean? Each mode is major or minor. These notes differentiate that mode from others that share the same tonality. For example, compared to all other minor modes, the Aeolian mode is differentiated by its b6. The mixolydian mode, for example, is differentiated from all other major modes by its b7.

Try playing every one as we did earlier, picking a root chord and playing single notes over just that chord. Begin to experiment with playing other notes surrounding the characteristics, but don’t forget to really lean on those characteristic notes.

Okay, now we’re going to take a look at how a modal piece is harmonized. That is, we’ll examine what sort of chord movement we can use in a modal piece. The problem with modal music is that our ears are so used to certain kinds of resolutions that the modal harmonies can sound unstable.

For example, take the Mixolydian mode. If we’re not careful, it’s going to sound like we’re going to resolve eventually to an associated I chord. Even the humble ii chord, in the case of the Dorian mode, will tend to the I if we’re not careful.

Generally speaking, but not always, harmonizing in modal playing is best done with simple triads because unless you’re very careful, the sevenths and/or tensions in the harmonization can clash with the characteristic notes and ruin the modal effect. One exception is the Lydian mode, which can happily rest on a Maj7 chord.

Don’t fret (get it? GET IT!?), there are characteristic chord progressions that effectively emphasize the various modal tonalities. Of course, your imagination is what counts and these are only a few examples (triad based, except Lydian):

  • Ionian = none
  • Dorian = i, ii (ocassionally the bVII, but be careful!)
  • Phrygian = i, bII
  • Lydian = I maj7#11
  • Mixolydian = I7, bVII
  • Aeolian = ii dim, V, i
  • Locrian = none (that I know of)

The general idea with modal playing is that you want to emphasize the root with perhaps a bass-pedal figure or triads. Modal progressions tend to be quite limited and are generally not very strong in of themselves. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The restless music of post-bebop Miles Davis, for example, relied on these sounds exclusively and introduced an entirely unique genre of music: jazz fusion.

The last thing I want to talk about is the difference between modal playing and using chord scales. There is a difference!

Chord scales could (and probably will be) the subject of another lesson, but let’s just say that they are used to determine what scale would be appropriate to play over a given chord in a given measure of a chord progression. The reason they get confused with modes (and modal playing) is that a chord scale is very often the same as a particular mode.

For example (and this drives me nuts), I constantly hear people say, “In the ii-V-I progression, you play a Dorian over the ii, a Mixolydian over the V and an Ionian over the I.” Technically speaking, this is quite true. The problem is that a ii-V-I progression is a typical progression of the Ionian mode. As listeners, we don’t hear a Dorian sound over that ii (unless there were more than a few beats). The progression is short enough that we’re likely hearing an only Ionian sound.

In other words, it would be very difficult indeed to construct a piece which contained the Dorian, Mixolydian, and Ionian modes from the same key. It is arguably impossible to call one measure of a ii chord “Dorian” in that situation. It is correct, however, to refer to the chord scale you could play over the ii as a “Dorian” chord scale.

Sure, the difference is subtle, but if you’re not familiar with modes or chord scales, things get confusing quickly, especially when you start thinking that Dorian and Mixolydian sound an awful lot like Ionian. Why? Because that’s what you’re playing over that ii-V!

Well, I hope you learned a thing or two about the modes. The best way to learn how to incorporate these unusual and unique tonalities in your music is to experiment. Remember: hang on those roots and characteristic notes!