Modes

[mr. beaumont]

A mode is a collection of pitches, like any scale. It just so happens that starting and playing a major scale from a note other than the 1 ends up being the same pitch collection.

Clear as mud, right?

Look at it this way...I like to relate all the modes back to a major scale that has the same tonic--this way you can clearly see what's changed.

So-- D major scale: D E F# G A B C#

Dorian formula: 1 2 b3 4 5 6 b7

D Dorian: D E F G A B C

Now, it just so happens that that pitch collection--D Dorian, is the same exact notes as a C major scale. This is cool to know when it comes to fretboard mapping, but confusing as all get out when it comes to understanding the sound...have a friend play a Dm chord and you play the D Dorian over the top...now you'll hear it.

[JonPR]

Originally Posted by Davis Webb

Okay I am hopelessly confused again. Can someone tell me, in plain words, what a mode is?

Think of it like a KEY.

The "key" of C major is not just a collection of notes: ABCDEFG, "starting on" C. The idea of a "key" presupposes a "keynote", or tonal centre: a note that seems to have a gravitational pull on the others, that the piece of music wants to resolve to and end on.
If you play the C major scale upwards and stop on B, it doesn't sound finished, right? You have to put that "do" on the end, to resolve it.
You get a similar effect (but not so strong) just from random playing on the scale: the C note is likely to be the one you most want to end on, that has the most "final" sound.

If we want to use that set of notes as one of the other modes, it's not just a matter of "starting on" a different note. That simply lets us spell the scale, for writing it out. That different note has to sound like a new keynote.

So if we want D dorian mode, we have to play the notes ABCDEFG (in any order), but making D sound like the keynote. Which also means stopping C sounding like the keynote.
The way to do that is either:
(a) to play D more often and always end phrases on D, or:
(b) to play the scale over a D bass note, or Dm chord (which will provide a D keynote automatically). We can then play the scale much more freely, in any order or pattern, because the D bass/root will be giving us the keynote against which the notes ABCDEFG will sound "dorian".

The important thing here is that doing (a) will NOT sound like D dorian if the chord is not Dm, or if the bass note is not D. If we play over (say) a G chord focussing on the D, it won't sound like dorian; it will sound like G mixolydian focussing on the 5th (D). So it makes no sense to talk about "applying" modes on different chords. The chords (or the bass note) govern the modal keynote.

Same with any other mode. It's not a matter of spelling, or the note you start on. It's a sound. It's how the notes relate to the nominated keynote.

Originally Posted by Davis Webb

I was taught by a good instructor that you simply start the root from a different note in the given scale, lets use C for an example. If you start with D, then its a different mode. You still use C and its related chords, such as Gmaj and Dmaj, to form the backup, but the soloist is using a different root in the same scale as their resolution point.

OK, but the effect is not a modal one.
"Starting on D" has no modal effect. If the chord is (say) Em, the C major scale starting on D just sounds like E phrygian starting on the 7th. And a starting note is not too relevant anyway to how a solo phrase might sound. (In any case, if the Em is part of a sequence in C major, it's not appropriate to call it "phrygian" anyway.)

IOW, it's not that it's a bad idea (or pointless) to do as your instructor was suggesting. It's just that it has nothing (effectively) to with modes.
He is using "modes" merely to mean a different layout or pattern of the scale of the key. This is (arguably) a valid usage, but mustn't be confused with the sound of modes as different kinds of tonality, which is the more important meaning.

D dorian mode is not "in the key of C". It's more like the "key of D minor", except it has a B natural instead of the Bb in D minor.
If you have a chord progression in the key of C major, it's "C ionian mode" throughout - because C is clearly the overall keynote to which all the other chords relate. If you have a Dm chord in that sequence, it's not a "dorian" chord. It's the "ii chord in C major". For it to be a dorian chord, it would have to be "i in D dorian": used outside the C key, with the Dm chord ruling.

[tstrahle]

I did a series of video lessons on the modes...

Start here - introduction - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPPBzB2nvss&feature=plcp

[Davis Webb]

Thanks, I think I am beginning to understand. Its how that tonic note relates to the chord that makes it live. Gotcha. Will continue my studies...fascinating.

[JonPR]

It would be a good idea to check some classic modal music too, in either jazz or rock:

So What - D dorian mode (bridge in Eb dorian)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEC8nqT6Rrk

Flamenco Sketches - 5 different modes (details here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flamenco_Sketches)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryqtjko1oHU

Oye Como Va - A dorian mode throughout (with the occasional chromatic passing note)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NsJ84YV1oA

Flying in a Blue Dream - mostly C lydian mode, but also with Ab, F and G chords all using lydian mode.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SINl5JY7LhI

Gloria - E mixolydian mode (very common classic rock sound!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkaMVLHxzWE

Tomorrow Never Knows - C mixolydian mode
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spjcPS4ekOA

Smells Like Teen Spirit - F aeolian mode (listen to the vocal melody)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYxkezUr8MQ

[815C]

There are quite a few modal Celtic fiddle tunes too (e.g Drowsy Maggie, Red Haired Boy, etc.).

I've practiced modes more than the average bear, but I rarely consciously use modes when improvising. I've found that practicing them is just another way to engraft the fretboard into your brain - and knowing the fretboard well helps me in arranging solo fingerstyle guitar arrangements.

When I practice modes, I always practice the arpeggios nested inside them as well. Doing this really helps to develop the ear. I find that this type of exercise brings out more interesting melodic lines when soloing at a gig - even though modes are not being used.

If I'm improvising over a jazz standard I tend to use chord tones and licks vs. scales and modes. However, having a strong grasp of the modes of the major, harmonic minor, and melodic minor have really helped me become a stronger guitarist.

[Davis Webb]

So since the scale of C has no sharps nor flats is this an example modal arranging?

Lets work with the C scale. Assuming we choose the tonic of D. Chords are then something that has to fit in the C scale, which means no sharps or flats in the chords. So we play the progression, D, C, G and resolve back to D. The scales and motifs start on a D note. We are playing chords that contain most of the notes from a C scale. However, we resolve back to the D note and we resolve the chord progression back to D. We are only permitted notes from the C scale in our melody.

Sound right?

[mr. beaumont]

Huh?

Theory explains...not dictates.

[Bern]

Originally Posted by 815C

If I'm improvising over a jazz standard I tend to use chord tones and licks vs. scales and modes.

I think this is an important concept. Forcing modal scales consciously into a piece of music can sound just like that...forced, although, using licks can sometimes sound like that just as well. If one plays for a while and one did his homework regarding modal concepts, if creatively applied, modal sounds develop all by themselves during playing.

[JonPR]

Originally Posted by Davis Webb

So since the scale of C has no sharps nor flats is this an example modal arranging?

Lets work with the C scale. Assuming we choose the tonic of D. Chords are then something that has to fit in the C scale, which means no sharps or flats in the chords. So we play the progression, D, C, G and resolve back to D. The scales and motifs start on a D note. We are playing chords that contain most of the notes from a C scale. However, we resolve back to the D note and we resolve the chord progression back to D. We are only permitted notes from the C scale in our melody.

Sound right?

For D dorian mode, yes.
Of course, when you say "the progression, D, C, G", you mean Dm, C, G .
And you don't have to start "scales and motifs on a D note". Ending them on D (most of the time) is enough).

[JonPR]

Originally Posted by mr. beaumont

Huh?

Theory explains...not dictates.

Theory doesn't even "explain", most of the time. (It doesn't tell us why or how music works.) It merely describes.
You are of course right that it doesn't prescribe.
- except when we want to perform a particular exercise on a specific concept, or in a specific well-defined style, as part of a learning process. Then we need to observe the right rules in order to get the right answers.

[Paikon]

music theory is a language and like every other language isn't perfect except maybe the ancient Greek and Chinese languages

[Davis Webb]

Originally Posted by JonPR

For D dorian mode, yes.
Of course, when you say "the progression, D, C, G", you mean Dm, C, G .
And you don't have to start "scales and motifs on a D note". Ending them on D (most of the time) is enough).

Thanks JonPR! Okay I am starting to understand this. I wish my guitar teachers were as good as you folks are at teaching theory. This opens up a whole new set of composing options for me. Sincerely, thanks folks for helping us on this one.

[815C]

Another way to look at it is like this. Take a major scale (I used C major in the example below) and just play an octave of the scale starting on each scale tone.

You can see the mode names below along with the 7th chord that is built using the 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 7th tone from each mode.

Modes can be used in lots of ways - not just matching a mode to a particular chord. They can be used to create sound textures that are cool. Once you recognize the characteristics of each mode, they can be fun to experiment with in song writing and soloing.



C D E F G A B C D E F G A B C...C major scale/Ionian Mode...C E G B = CM7
..D E F G A B C D...............Dorian Mode.................D F A C = Dm7
....E F G A B C D E.............Phrygian Mode...............E G G D = Em7
......F G A B C D E F...........Lydian Mode.................F A C E = FM7
........G A B C D E F G.........Mixolydian Mode.............G B D F = G7
..........A B C D E F G A.......Aeolian Mode................A C E G = Am7
............B C D E F G A B.....Locrian Mode................B D F A = Bm7b5


Obviously, the example above can be done with any scale (e.g melodic minor, harmonic minor, etc.) to take this concept a bit further. Music is cool - You can keep drilling down till you are 100 years old and never hit the bottom.

[JonPR]

Originally Posted by Davis Webb

Thanks JonPR! Okay I am starting to understand this. I wish my guitar teachers were as good as you folks are at teaching theory. This opens up a whole new set of composing options for me. Sincerely, thanks folks for helping us on this one.

Don't forget to listen to modal music, as I suggested above. You need to know how it sounds, to know whether you want to use those sounds .

Another example of modes in action:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUm15jxuMvM
Listen to the solo that starts around 1:00. This is in Ab dorian, a vamp of 2 beats on Abm and 2 on Bbm.
(The original was in A dorian, using Am and Bm, scale notes from G major; much easier. Unfortunately, for some reason, every youtube I can find is a half-step down .)
The rest of the song is not modal, btw.

The Beatles used mixolydian mode a lot: first as a bluesy variation on major (eg Love Me Do); then (after 1965) because they thought it had an "Indian" sound.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOxlWSZzcVA
- this is classic mixolydian mode (in E); but listen for the change at 0:32 ("she asked me to stay"), where they switch to E dorian (Em-A-Em); then at 0:44 ("...chair") they play F#m-B7, which is a conventional ii-V change in E major - which leads back to the E mixolydian vamp.
Here's more Beatles mixolydian (both Lennon and Harrison latched on to the sound; McCartney much less so):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euaU68dF-44
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljnv3KGtcyI
(Neither of these are entirely mixolydian, but are based mainly on the mixolydian sound.)