For some reason scales and modes are one of the most fun topics (for me at least) to talk about. Perhaps it’s because it gives the guitar player in me some instant ammunition to rip it up! Err… sorry about that. Anyway, let’s get going with scales and modes.

As always, we’re going to start working from the C Major scale. To once again refresh your memory:

C D E F G A B

What we’re going to do is build different scales off of each scale degree. It doesn’t get much easier than this:

C D E F G A B C

D E F G A B C D

E F G A B C D E

F G A B C D E F

G A B C D E F G

A B C D E F G A

B C D E F G A B

Naming the Modes

Play through each of them a little bit to get an idea of what they sound like. The idea here is that each mode has its own tonal center, despite the fact that they are technically all the C Major scale. Make sense?

Now, we have to give names to these things. Luckily, they already have names; we just have to know what they are. Well, back in the day the music dudes decided to give each mode Greek names. They are:

C Major scale starting on C = Ionian mode
C Major scale starting on D = Dorian mode
C Major scale starting on E = Phrygian mode
C Major scale starting on F = Lydian mode
C Major scale starting on G = Mixolydian mode
C Major scale starting on A = Aeolian mode
C Major scale starting on B = Locrian mode

Once again, these names are just something you’re going to have to commit to memory. Collectively, these seven modes are known as the “church modes.” Bear in mind that these mode names aren’t specific to the C Major Scale. Any mode based on the second scale degree of a major scale will be the Dorian mode of that scale. So, for example, Ab Dorian is based on the Gb Major Scale.

Alternate Method of Determining The Modes

Okay, so we have the names of the modes. Pretty cool, but the problem is that we’re still just operating in the key of C Major. That’s not a lot of fun. Obviously, you’re going to want apply this methodology (finding the modes) to all of the keys, but that’s also pretty boring in and of itself. Where things get fun is when you take the intervallic relationships within each mode and figure out what makes them tick.

I’ve already discussed the intervals of the Major Scale (from now on in this article referring to as the Ionian mode). We don’t need to go through this again. So let’s start with the Dorian mode and see how they relate to the intervals of the Ionian mode.

• Think of the Dorian mode as an Ionian mode with a flat 3rd and 7th.
• Think of the Phrygian mode as an Ionian mode with a flat 2nd, 3rd, 6th, and 7th.
• Think of the Lydian mode as an Ionian mode with a sharp 4th.
• Think of the Mixolydian mode as an Ionian mode with a flat 7th.
• Think of the Aeolian mode as an Ionian mode with a flat 3rd, 6th, and 7th. (The Aeolian mode is also known as “natural minor scale” by the way…)
• Think of the Locrian mode as an Ionian mode with a flat 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th, and 7th.

If you relate every mode to the Ionian mode, you start to see much greater differences than just having everything in the key of C Major. You can also simplify further by associating one mode to the intervals of another. For example, remembering Phrygian mode as an Ionian mode with a flat 2nd, 3rd, 6th, and 7th can be quite a lot to remember. However, intervalically-speaking, the Phrygian mode is the same as an Aeolian mode with a flat 2nd. Since the Aeolian mode already has the 3rd, 6th, and 7th scale degrees lowered in relation to the Ionian mode, just remember to further add a lowered 2nd and you have Phrygian mode. Similarly, the Locrian mode can be thought of as an Ionian mode with everything flatted except the root and 4th. Basically, whatever method you use to remember the associations is perfectly fine.

Experimenting With the Modes

Here is where things start to get fun. Although you should absolutely be able to relate each mode to its key signature/tonal center, applying these modes to your playing as they relate to smaller groups of chords within a composition opens up a whole world of sonic possibilities. For example:

When playing over a C Major chord, basic theory would dictate that you play the C Ionian mode (or any of the church modes associated with it). In many ways this sounds pretty cool. However, the problem lies with the ‘F’ note. The C Major chord has the note ‘E’ in it. The note ‘F,’ which is part of the C Ionian mode, is one half step away from the note ‘E’. a lot of the time this doesn’t sound that great, especially when you end up hanging on the ‘F’ note (accidentally or otherwise). Especially in jazz improvisation circles you’re often taught not to hang on the ‘F’ against the ‘E’ of the C Major chord. Of course you can break the rules, but we’re not quite there yet.

So what do we do? We certainly don’t want to take out one of the notes we can use; that would suck. So how about this: take a look back at the church mode explanations at the beginning of the post. Notice that the Lydian mode is the same as the Ionian mode with a raised 4th degree. Some quick calculations tell me that in the key of C Major the 4th is F. How convenient for us! If we raised the 4th (F) ½ step to F#, we no longer seem to have the problem of playing the ‘F’ over the ‘E’ of the C Major chord. Try it; play a C Major chord and then run over a C Lydian mode (C D E F# G A B C) to hear how it sounds. At least to me it sounds awesome.

With this in mind there are two approaches we can now use to play over a C Major chord. The first is that when we approach a Major chord we can substitute the Lydian mode for the Ionian mode. This is great, but doesn’t always work, so use it with caution. The second approach is that if you look at the C Lydian mode (C D E F# G A B C) and go back to my article on key signatures, hopefully you’ll recognize that C Lydian is exactly the same as the key of G Major. Pretty cool, eh? We now know that you can play any of the modes of G Major over a C Major chord.

Woo hoo! We’re making progress now.

Try this for a while. I will give you one word of caution, however; you don’t really want to play Lydian mode over EVERY SINGLE major chord you come across. In theory (pun intended) this is okay, but once we get into chords and chord theory you’ll understand why you don’t always want to play the Lydian mode over every major chord. For now just take my word for it.

Cool, so we can play over major chords now. What about minor chords? Well… let’s go back to our church modes chart and see which mode is most closely related to a natural minor scale. Any ideas?

Yeah, I’m sure you figured it out. The Aeolian mode (also known as the “natural minor” scale) would work perfectly. Try it. Play an A minor chord and then play the A Aeolian mode over it. Hear how it sounds. Do you like it? It’s pretty cool, but in my opinion it’s pretty boring after a while. *sigh* So let’s go back to the church mode chart and find the NEXT closest mode for a minor chord.

Have you found it yet? I’ll give you a hint… the Dorian Mode! (Okay, not really a hint, I gave it away. That’s how I roll!)

The Dorian Mode in ‘A’ would be A B C D E F# G A. Same as the G Major scale, and technically would also work over a C Major chord.

But we’re talking about the A minor chord here (A, C, E). The same rule applies with playing the ‘F’ against the ‘E’, though it’s less annoying when played over an A minor chord for some reason. Try playing the A Dorian mode over an A minor chord and hear how it sounds. It sounds good to me.

There are a ton of other possibilities, but I think it would be best to stop here – at least until we’ve covered chords, which will vastly open up the possibilities of what you can play. But for now I’ll leave you with this information. Try the Lydian and Dorian modes especially and see how you like it. At first they may sound “out,” but before too long you’ll really start to dig those hip new sounds.

Enjoy!