Unsolved Music Mysteries: Modes

If there is one subject that seems to pop up on almost every guitar blog and forum… it’s modes. They’re useful for writing music and improvising over chord changes. They can be used in any music style. Unfortunately, they’re usually introduced to guitar players as fingerings on the guitar, and not much beyond that. Thus, it’s not surprising that the guitar community struggles to get much use out of them.

To understand modes, it’s helpful to be fluent in the following areas:

• Major, Harmonic Minor, and Melodic Minor Scales (Know the notes and chords in all 12 keys)
• Intervals (2nds, 3rds, 4ths)
• Chord Construction (Triads & 6th/7th chords)
• Tensions (9, 11, 13)
• Subdominant Minor Harmony
• Basic chord progression analysis (number system)
• Modal characteristic notes
• Tonic chord of each mode

There’s really no way around not knowing these things to get into modes. For those that do… read on!

What exactly are they?

A concert with great lighting can be magical. A change of lighting and colour during or between songs can instantly highlight the emotions the artist is trying to convey in a really visceral way.

In artistic terms, modes are little bursts of light or tone colour.  Mood shifters if you like.  Writing music with major scales becomes limiting after a while.  Modes offer the writer and improviser a richer canvas of tone colour to draw upon and add another dimension to the flow of drama in the piece.

In Musical terms, they are scale inversions of a parent scale. They are also the tensions/extensions on top of the tonic chord. The three main parent scales include: Major, Harmonic Minor, and Melodic Minor. Any 7 note scale can be ordered 7 different ways:

C D E F G A B

can be reordered to:

D E F G A B C

or:

E F G A B C D and so on.

Further, it’s important to look at the modes stacked vertically into chords. Consider:

E Phrygian:

1. E F G A B C D E (1, b2, b3, 4, 5, b6, b7)
2. Tonic Chord = E G B D (E-7)
3. Extensions: F A C (b9, 11, b13)

The b9 (scale degree b2) is the unique extension or tension of this mode.

Tonic chord tensions usually contain the modal characteristic note. This is a huge part of what makes for a modal passage. The tonic chord is implied, and the characteristic note is in the melody, bass line, solo, or chord progression. The characteristic note is the one note that differentiates that scale from others with the same tonic chord

Each parent scale yields 7 scale inversions… or modes. The chords in the parent scale are the same chords in each mode.  Each mode has a tonic chord (1 3 5 7) with 3 extensions (9, 11, 13).

Those extensions can occur over the tonic chord, or they can be harmonized in a related chord of the mode. The listener perceives a different relationship between the home chord and the secondary chords of each mode. Some of those secondary chords add brightness or darkness to the mood of the song.

K… But what are they…really?

Drilling down further, the major scale is a series of notes a whole step apart, but with two half steps between the 3rd/4th note and the 7th/1st note. When you invert that (start on a different note) the half step locations are shifted and the sound of the scale changes. Consider:

C Phrygian

C Db Eb F G Ab Bb C

1 b2 b3 4 5 b6 b7 1

The half steps are between 1-b2 & 5-b6

VS

C Major

C D E F G A B C

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1

The half steps are between 3-4 & 7-1

C Phrygian is quite dark sounding. The harmony (chords) of this mode have been shifted in relation to the starting note and tonic chord. Consider:

C-7 DbMaj7 Eb7 F-7 G-7(b5) AbMaj7 Bb-7

I-7 bIIMaj7 bIII7 IV-7 V-7(b5) bVIMaj7 bVII-7

Modes are functional, meaning they depend on having a clear tonal centre. The tonic chord tells a lot about the sound of the mode. Each mode will have a tonic chord, but often the extensions (non chord tones or tensions) give that mode its overall distinct flavour.

IE:

The chords in C Major are: 

Cmaj Dmin Emin Fmaj Gmaj Amin Bdim.

The chords in D Dorian would be:

Dmin Emin Fmaj Gmaj Amin Bdim Cmaj

• In the key of C major, the Cmaj chord is home. 
• In D Dorian, the Dmin chord is home.
• In the key of Cmajor, the V chord is Major.
• In D Dorian the V chord is Min.
• In the key of C Major, the 7th chord (VII) is diminished. It’s root is a major 7th higher than C.
• In D Dorian, the 7th chord (bVII) is major and it’s root is a min 7th higher than D.

Each mode has a name, and a characteristic note.

Yeah, but what do they do?

Modes are useful in two primary ways:  Composing and Improvising.  In this blog, I will present a general overview of how modes are used in both.

Composing With Modes:

This is one of the most useful aspects of modes. They can be used to weave in and out of different moods and emotions when using them in a song. The mode can be baked into the chord changes, the melody, and or the bass line. The general recipe is for the listener to hear a tonic chord and one characteristic note of the mode either in a secondary chord change, or in the melody, or in the bass line. Sometimes all three.

To create a modal chord progression OR modal melody, the following ingredients are needed for the listener to hear the color of the mode which in turn affects the mood of the song:

1) Clear Tonal Centre
2) Clear Tonic Chord
3) Characteristic note of the mode is present

The characteristic note can be:

1. In the Harmony
2. In The Melody
3. In The Bassline
4. All of the above.

It’s not always that cut and dried, but that pretty much covers it.  Again, modes are functional, meaning they rely on hearing a clear tonal centre.  A chord progression with no tonal centre will sound atonal… not modal. 

 A C-7 Chord vamped for 4 bars is not modal on its own. Why? Because there is no characteristic note in that chord on its own.  Putting the note A in the solo, melody, harmony (as a tension), and or bass line makes it sound Dorian. 

A secondary chord could also be added. This chord must be derived from the mode, contain the characteristic note as a chord tone or tension, and not obscure the tonic chord. IE, in C Dorian:

1. C-7 is tonic chord
2. A is the characteristic note
3. D-7, F7, A-7(b5), Bb6, contain the characteristic note
4. Cmin6/9, EbMaj7(#11), and G-9 all contain A as an extension

A C-6 or Cmin6/9 chord vamp is almost modal on it’s own.  It satisfies all conditions because the characteristic note of (A) is in the chord itself.  There’s pretty much only one scale that’s used over that chord which is Dorian, and in this case…. C Dorian.

 
Sometimes 2 chords can satisfy all three things:

C-7 | / / / / | / / / / | F7 | = C Dorian

The C-7 doesn’t have any characteristic mode on it’s own, but the F7 contains the note A.  The extended duration of C-7 creates the sense of that chord being home. The F7 is a secondary chord from the C Dorian scale. Collectively between those two chords, you would have the notes C, Eb, F, G, A, Bb.  Those 6 notes are enough collectively to imply the sound of the mode.

One way a simple C-7 extended vamp could be fashioned to sound Dorian would be for any member of the rhythm section to add the note A… either in a chord voicing, a solo break, or in the bass line.  A good rhythm section will often expand on a chord if it’s going to be vamped for an extended period of time.

More Examples:

C |/ / / / |B- |D/C | = C Lydian

C |/ / / / |G- |Bb |= C mixolydian

C- |C-/Ab |C-/Db | = C Phrygian

C- |A-7(b5) |G- |F7 | = C Dorian

Modal Interchange:

Consider the following chord progression:

|Fmaj7    |D-7    | 

|BbMaj7   |C7    | 

IMaj7 VI-7 IVMaj7 V7

This progression is not modal.

• All chords in the key of F major
• F is the clear tonal centre.
• all the notes of the F major scale are used collectively within all the chords
• F Maj sounds like home especially with the C7 to FMaj7 cadence. 

Now, let’s suppose we modify the precious chord progression to:

|FMaj7  |D-7 DbMaj7 |

|BbMaj7 Bb7|Fmaj7 GbMaj7  |

IMaj7 |VI-7 bVIMaj7 | IVMaj7 IV7 |IMaj7 bIIMaj7 |

There is no one scale that could accommodate all of those chords. While FMaj7 & BbMaj7 are both in the key of F, DbMaj7 Bb7, and GbMaj7 are not. This is called modal interchange.

• The DbMaj7 accentuates the b6 note in relation to F, and would therefore take the F Aeolian scale.
• The GbMaj7 chord accentuates the b2 note in relation to the key of F Maj which takes an F Phrygian scale.
• The Bb7 has the notes Ab (b3 in Fmajor) and D (6 in Fmaj) bringing out a Dorian Sound

In Summary, here are the primary ways modes are used in composition:

1. Pure modal chord progression – Clear tonic chord. All chords in the same mode. At least one secondary chord has the characteristic note in it.
2. Modal Interchange: The chord progression is largely major or minor, but borrows a secondary chord from a parallel mode (same tonic, different secondary notes and chords)
3. Static chord vamp with characteristic note in melody, bass line, solo, or chord extension. IE: Fmaj9(#11)
4. A static drone: Melody notes over top imply the tonic chord and extensions
5. A modal melody: Contains chord tones of tonic chord + modal extensions woven in

Improvising Over Chord Changes

This is the application of modes that gets the most attention. I also think this is where the guitar community en masse loses the plot. As mentioned earlier, they are often presented as fingerboard patterns. If that was the case, how do saxophonists, accordionists, tuba players, trombone players, harp players, violinists, or flautists play in the lydian or locrian mode?

While modes can be played ascending and descending on the guitar, their real value is how the notes themselves interact with chord changes.

Modes in a soloing context are more appropriately called “chord scales.” A chord scale has:

• All chord tones (1 3 5 7) of the chord it’s being applied to
• 3 chord tensions (9, 11, 13) or variations thereof (b9 #9 #11 b13)

Chord tensions are the most important aspect to grasp when using chord scales. Chord scales in essence are a tension management system.

Tensions are either a half step (dark) above a chord tone, or a whole step above a chord tone (bright). I think this is what many miss. Consider:

|A-7 |D-7 |G7 |Cmaj7 |Fmaj7 |

|VI-7 |II-7 |V7 |IMaj7 |IVMaj7 |

It is technically correct to instruct a player to:

• Use the C major scale (or Cmaj pentatonic) for all the chords
• Use A Aeolian, D Dorian, G mixolydian, F lydian

It really depends on what type of sound you’re going for.

Thinking C major only will:

• have a more open sound overall.
• be easier to think while playing

Thinking different scales for each chord will:

• give a more precise sound
• bring out the sound of each chord
• be more challenging to be fluid with

Good soloists don’t think either one of those. They think both. Good soloists have vast concepts and intimacy with their instrument to communicate more intense ideas and emotions.

The first method is fairly obvious. All the chords contain the notes in C major. The notes in C major all work… so just use that right? Yes, but…

Each note of the C major scale hits each chord differently. Consider:

• F on A-7 is b13
• C on G7 is 11
• B is 13 on D-7 and #11 on Fmaj7

What people miss in the latter approach is that the modal names are just wrappers. Better still….a framework for dealing with each chord change. It is important to know what that framework is.

• The mode name implies the tonic chord and thus the chord tones
• The mode name implies the tensions (9, 11, 13 and all variations)
• The mode name implies the avoid notes (notes a half step above a chord tone)

What are avoid notes & what do they do?

If we change the word “avoid” to “cautionary”, I think this is a more apt description. These notes are a half step above a chord tone, so they’re often mildly to very dissonant. When soloing, it’s helpful to be aware of these notes and how they interact with each chord. Sometimes leaning into them adds drama. Sometimes it’s more appropriate to use them sparingly or not at all.

Knowing the framework of how each mode relates to each chord also informs the comping instruments (piano, guitar, vibraphone, harmonized voices) which notes to exclude from a chord voicing. Consider:

• b9 or b13 on a Min7
• natural 11 on a Maj7 or Dom7 chord
• b9 on a Min7(b5)

These are really strong, dark, and dissonant colours which are often best to avoid when comping (short for accompanying) a soloist. You want to leave space for the soloist to mix and match those colours as they please.

The avoid notes are both naturally occurring, but quite dissonant depending on how much you lean on them.

Modes can be used to solo over single chord, or an entire chord sequence. It’s very important to know how the chords in a chord progression are working. The progression can be purely modal, or contain modal interchange.

• Pure modal: All chords in the sequence are derived from the same mode
• Modal Interchange: A major or minor progression primarily, with chords added from a parallel mode that are outside of the primary key

Examples:

C-7 |F-7 |AbMaj7 |G7 |

I-7 |IV-7 |bVIMaj7 |V7 |

There is no one scale that contains all of those chords. The G7 in particular isn’t contained in any Major scale derived mode. There are a few concepts that are helpful here:

• Chord tones always sound “inside”
• Tensions add colour and drama
• Keeping as many notes in the overall major/minor scale the same sounds smoother/”inside”
• Changing notes of the overall key draws more attention and sounds more dissonant/”outside”

This is art. There’s no right or wrong, so it’s all about the choices you make to communicate the emotion you want. It’s about manageing consonance and dissonance. With that in mind…

A soloist could deal with this progression in a few ways. For an inside sound, a soloist could

• Use C Aeolian (or C-7 pentatonic) the whole way (tonal centre soloing but slightly bluesy)
• C Aeolian for the first 3 bars and C harmonic minor for the G7 (tonal centre based, but follows G7 more)
• C Aeolian, F Dorian, Ab Lydian and G Mixo b9b13 (Chord tones + Diatonic Tension Management for precise sound

For a more dissonant sound, a soloist could:

• Add chromatic approach notes to the chord tones for more resolved dissonance
• Play C Dorian or Dorian b9 on bar 1, C aeolian for bars 2 & 3, G altered on G7 (tonal centre + modal interchange for more colour)
• Outline |DbMaj7 |C-7 |EbMaj7 |Bb-7 | (Modal interchange + Tension harmonizing with 2ndary modal chords)

How can I go about learning modes and actually applying them?

The first thing is to learn them conceptually.  This is best accomplished in written form.  Here are some basic assignments to work through:

Stage 1:

• Write and memorize all three parent scales (major, harmonic & melodic minor) in all 12 keys
• Write and memorize the specific names of the triads and 7th chords generated by each scale
• Write and memorize the intervallic spacing of each note and chord from the root of the scale

Stage 2:

• Write and memorize each parent scale step wise alphabetically starting from each of the 7 notes in all 12 keys
• Name and memorize each scale inversion you just wrote
• Write and memorize the intervallic spacing of each note and chord from the root of each scale

Stage 3:

• Memorize the tonic chord of each mode
• Identify and memorize the characteristic note of each mode
• Identify and memorize each chord in the mode that contains the characteristic note
  

Stage 4:

Go back and play each task from stages 1-3 and:

• Learn and memorize the sounds of each item
• Use different fingerings
• Use different string groups

Stay tuned for part two of this article with examples and further tips on applying them.

Interested in learning more about using modes in YOUR Music?