Hi everyone and welcome to this tutorial about the modes in music theory. For a lot of musicians, this subject seems to be causing a lot of confusion, as if exotic sounding terms like Mixolydian or Locrian were coming from another planet. But once you know what it is, it can become a great tool to help you with your composition or improvisation skills.
Some basic knowledge
First, let’s start with some basic knowledge that you’re probably familiar with.
- There are 12 different notes used in popular music
- The interval between each note is a semitone
- A scale is any set of musical notes, the scale containing all 12 notes is often referenced as the chromatic scale
- For a full cycle of 12 semitones, the interval is called an octave, for example from a C note to the next highest C note
Now let’s be a little bit more specific about the scales.
- A diatonic scale is a 7 notes scale that includes 5 whole tone intervals and 2 semitone intervals
- The major scale is a diatonic scale
- The interval template for the major scale is like this: W-W-S-W-W-W-S
So if we use C as the tonic, we get the C major scale: C-D-E-F-G-A-B, as shown in the next picture.
The C major scale has no alterations, it is the white notes on a piano
The major scale template
Great, now to help us visualize the major scale template, I’m going to put a transparent wheel with holes where the right notes are. Here is the C major scale.
Now let’s rotate the wheel from C to D with the tonic following, we get the D major scale: D-E-F#-G-A-B-C#. Rotate again from D to G, it’s the G major scale: G-A-B-C-D-E-F#.
So, what are modes in music theory?
Ok now we’re ready to get to the subject.
- A mode is a scale within a scale
- Each note of a scale can be used as a tonic to create a mode
- There are as many modes as there are notes in the scale
- The major diatonic scale has 7 modes: Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, and Locrian
So if we’re using our template from the C major and we’re using the C as the tonic, we get the Ionian mode. Of course, it’s obvious that C major and C Ionian represent the same thing, the only difference is one is a scale and the other is the first mode of that scale.
C ionian
W-W-S-W-W-W-S
(C-D-E-F-G-A-B)
If we move the tonic to the second note of the scale, the D, we get the Dorian mode. Notice how the mood changes from the Ionian mode, even if it’s the same set of notes. It’s because what’s changing is the relation of each note to the tonic, that is what makes the “color” of a mode.
D dorian
W-S-W-W-W-S-W
(D-E-F-G-A-B-C)
If we keep moving the tonic we get the 3rd mode, the Phrygian mode. This one has a more exotic sound, it is caused by the second note which is only a semitone higher than the tonic.
E phrygian
S-W-W-W-S-W-W
(E-F-G-A-B-C-D)
Next is the Lydian mode. This one is very similar in sound to the Ionian mode or major scale, the only difference is that the first semitone is between the 4th and the 5th note. The result is that the 4th note is higher, and that gives an uplifting quality to this mode.
F lydian
W-W-W-S-W-W-S
(F-G-A-B-C-D-E)
Also similar to the Ionian mode, the Mixolydian mode is a widely used mode in popular music, especially in rock. In this case, it’s the 7th note that is lower because of the switch of the interval between the last two notes.
G mixolydian
W-W-S-W-W-S-W
(G-A-B-C-D-E-F)
Take a listen to this mode, it sure sounds familiar. The 6th mode is called aeolian, but it is also known as the natural minor scale. In fact, the natural minor scale and the major scale that contains the same notes are called relative keys. They would have the same key signature on a musical score.
A aeolian
W-S-W-W-S-W-W
(A-B-C-D-E-F-G)
Finally the last mode, and also the least popular, the Locrian mode. It is never used in popular music but it’s good to know that it exists.
B locrian
S-W-W-S-W-W-W
(B-C-D-E-F-G-A)
All modes with the same tonic
We’re going to take a different approach to get the modes now. What if we want to know all the modes, but with the same tonic. This time we need to turn the template counterclockwise until the tonic fits in a hole, we will get the modes in the same order.
C dorian 
C phrygian 
C lydian 
C mixolydian 
C aeolian 
C locrian
C ionian: C-D-E-F-G-A-B
C dorian: C-D-Eb-F-G-A-Bb
C phrygian: C-Db-Eb-F-G-Ab-Bb
C lydian: C-D-E-F#-G-A-B
C mixolydian: C-D-E-F-G-A-Bb
C aeolian: C-D-Eb-F-G-Ab-Bb
C locrian: C-Db-Eb-F-Gb-Ab-Bb
Now with this list, it’s easier to visualize the difference between the modes. I’m going to make a chart with every mode, the notes will become numbers called degrees and I’ll add the alterations. Each square represents the 12 notes of an octave. This way you’re not restricted to using C as the tonic, you can use this chart for every key.
I recommend learning this stuff with the degrees first. Once you know it well, it’s easier to learn the notes of a particular key.
The previous chart shows the modes in the order they appear in the major scale, but I think there’s a better way to order them. This next chart shows the modes so that every adjacent mode has only a single note different, every mode has a single note lower than the mode on top of it. The bold note is the one changing, it also kind of the “signature” note of the mode.
Notice the arrow at the left, this order also follows the shading of the modes, it is useful when writing music and you want to express a certain feeling, or if you want to understand why a popular song sounds happy, sad, hopeful, angry, etc.
Combining modes and chords in music theory
Without chords there is no harmony, so we need to know what chords we can use for each mode. But first some basic knowledge.
- A basic chord is made with the degrees 1-3-5 of a scale
- 1-3-5 = Major chord
1-3b-5 = Minor chord
1-3b-5b = Diminished chord - Each mode has its own tonic chord that gives it an identity
We get 3 modes with a major tonic chord, 3 modes with a minor tonic chord, and the last mode has a diminished tonic chord.
Now it’s time for the trickiest part of this tutorial, but also the most useful. We want to construct a chord for every degree of every mode. Since all modes use the same template, the same chords are spread in symmetry to each degree.
What it means is that the chord of the 2nd degree of the Ionian mode is the same as the 1st degree of the Dorian mode, the chord of the 3rd degree of the Ionian mode is the same as the 1st degree of the Phrygian mode, and so on…
Roman numbers are used to represent degrees as chords. Majors are uppercased, minors are lowercased, diminished have a degree sign.
Finally, using the chart
After all this abstract theory, we can use this last chart to give us notes and chords to be used in any mode of any key. Notice how we can use the chromatic scale diagram with the chord chart to get everything we need to use the modes E Ionian, B Dorian, G Lydian, and D aeolian.
Conclusion
So this is it, I hope this tutorial about modes in music theory was useful to you. Remember that this knowledge is not necessary to be a great musician, it’s just a tool that you can use. The only real rule in music is that what you hear sounds good to you.
