The Major Modes

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Most musicians have heard of the modes, but relatively few of them know how to truly make music with them. It took me a long time to figure this stuff out; I had several guitar teachers try to explain the modes to me before I actually grasped the concept. When I did finally grasp the concept, though, I was amazed at how simple it actually is. It is difficult to explain, though, and that's why I had several guitar teachers who failed get the message across. If you are one of those people who has been frustrated by them, I think you might like the explanation that follows. It is a rather lengthy explanation because I'm trying to make everything as clear as possible. If you are able to devote some time to this, however, I think you will find it to be a very clear and practical explanation. I can't overstate the importance of learning what the modes sound like; use the audio samples and play-along files to hear them.

A brief historical note: Miles Davis is usually the first person credited with using the modes as a basis for improvisation, beginning with his famous album Kind of Blue (especially the songs "So What" and "Flamenco Sketches.") As it turns out, the modes are the basis for the improvisations of most "jambands", such as the Grateful Dead, Phish, and the Allman Brothers.

Origin of the Modes

The reason I call them the "major" modes is because each mode is derived from the major scale. The major scale is the most fundamental scale in Western music. You will recognize the sound of the scale as soon as you hear it (it is even familiar to non-musicians):

Listen to a C major scale

The C major scale is the easiest one to visualize on the piano because it is the only major scale that is played on all white keys, from C going up to the next C. Visualize it on the keyboard:

If we look at the intervals between the notes (in other words, the distance from each note to the next one), you can see that most of the time, there is a black key between the two white keys--for example, the note C# (a.k.a. Db) is between the C and the D. But there are two places where there is NOT a black key between the white keys--between E and F, and also between B and C. When there IS a black key between the white keys, the interval is a WHOLE STEP (which translates to two frets on the guitar--D is two frets away from C on the neck of the guitar). When there is NOT a black key in between, the interval is a HALF STEP (which translates to ONE fret on the guitar--notes that are a half step apart are on adjacent frets, as in C# to D).

Now, as we go through the C major scale, look at the pattern of whole steps and half steps created by the scale (W=whole step, H=half step):

C to D = W
D to E = W
E to F = H
F to G = W
G to A = W
A to B = W
B to C = H

This pattern of whole steps and half steps (WWHWWWH) is the defining characteristic of a major scale. In other words, it makes the major scale sound the way it sounds (listen again). This pattern is unique to the major scale--all other scales have different arrangements of half steps and whole steps.

We can spell out a major scale in any key using this pattern. Try plugging in this pattern starting on E (look at the above keyboard diagram for reference):

E-w-F#-w-G#-h-A-w-B-w-C#-w-D#-h-E
Listen

How the Modes are created

For starters, the major scale is also known as the ionian mode. It is the first mode, and can be considered the "parent" scale/mode from which all of the others will be derived.

To create the rest of the modes, we begin on a different note within the scale (a different "scale degree"). Let's go back to the key of C major for this so that we can just stick with the white keys on the keyboard. Now, start on D and go to the next D. Notice that this shifts the pattern of half steps and whole steps (W H W W W H W); this gives us the dorian mode of the key of D. Go from E to the next E, and the pattern has shifted again (H W W W H W W), and we now have the phrygian mode of the key of E. And so on. Here's a quick list of all the modes derived from the C major scale, along with a short midi clip to demonstrate what each sounds like. Each of these modes has a unique arrangement of whole and half steps, and therefore a unique sound. Notice that, in these examples, the bass note is changing--D in the dorian example, E in the phrygian example, F in the lydian example, etc.

C to C = C IONIAN (listen)
D to D = D DORIAN (listen)
E to E = E PHRYGIAN (listen)
F to F = F LYDIAN (listen)
G to G = G MIXOLYDIAN (listen)
A to A = A AEOLIAN (listen)
B to B = B LOCRIAN (listen)

Try this at a keyboard if you can--play and hold a low C with your left hand, and then play up and down the scale and make melodies on the white keys with your right hand (this gives you the C ionian mode). Now play a D with your left hand and try some melodies on the white keys (which gives you the D dorian mode). Try the same with E, F, G, A, and B. As the bass note (or "root" note) in the left hand changes, notice how different the notes of the scale (the white keys, in this case) sound in relation to it. This is basically what the modes are all about.

Get it so far? In sum, the modes are created when you play the notes of a major scale, but starting at different points within the scale, and over a different bass note (or "root" note).

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There are two different ways of thinking about the modes: derivative and parallel. Each way can be useful for different reasons, but you have to understand both ways to really "get it."

Derivative Thinking

Derivative thinking is pretty much what was happening above; to think of the modes, we think of the major scale from which they were derived. We know that D dorian is derived from C ionian (C major) by taking the notes of C major, but going from D to D (and playing over a D root note). The same goes for E phrygian, F lydian, G mixolydian, A aeolian, and B locrian. Now let's look at some of the implications of this:

Example 1-A: When you are improvising over a G7 chord, which would call for the G mixolydian mode (a full chart outlining which mode goes with what chord is toward the bottom of this page), you can also think of it as C ionian, D dorian, E phrygian, F lydian, A aeolian, or B locrian. All of these modes are "enharmonic," meaning they all contain the exact same seven notes. As long as you are playing over a G7 chord with these seven notes, you are technically still in the mode of G mixolydian, but you can "think" in C ionian, D dorian, etc. because they all have the same notes. As we will see a little further down this page, this can be very helpful for getting around the neck of the guitar.

Example 1-B: Now let's say the chord that you are playing over changes to a Dm chord. You can keep using these same seven notes, but because the root is now Dm, you are now in the mode of D dorian. You can still "think" as though you are in G mixolydian (or A aeolian, B locrian, C ionian, etc.) if you like because the notes are all the same.

Let's change keys now.

Example 2: You are playing the Allman Brothers' song "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed," which has an extended jam in the mode of A dorian. A dorian contains the same notes as G ionian. In other words, to make the A dorian mode, you are taking the notes of a G major scale (G A B C D E F# G), but going from A to A and over an A root note. The modes of B phrygian, C lydian, D mixolydian, E aeolian F# locrian are all derived from G major (ionian) too, so you can "think" in those modes as well. The nice thing about this is that you can use the same set of fingerings for all of these...but we'll get to that in more detail in a bit.

Parallel Thinking

"Parallel thinking" refers to the "parallel" major scale. This is the major scale that starts from the same note (has the same root note) as the one in question. In other words, D major is the parallel major scale to D dorian (as well as D phrygian, D lydian, etc.). Likewise, G major is the parallel major scale to G mixolydian, G aeolian, etc.

Now, let's compare the D dorian mode to the D major scale:

D major = D E F# G A B C# D (Listen)
D dorian = D E F G A B C D (Listen)

Notice that the third and seventh steps (F and C) of the dorian scale are different--they are both "flatted," which means that they are lowered by a half step. This means that this mode will have a very different sound from the major scale (as you can hear in the examples above). In each mode, different steps (a.k.a. "degrees") of the scale are flatted (lowered by a half step) or sharped (raised by a half step) when you compare them to their parallel major scale. Because these alterations are different for each mode, each mode has a unique sound. This little chart will quickly show you which scale degrees are changed in each mode.

MODE NAME (CLICK TO LISTEN TO A DEMO)	NOTES IT CONTAINS	PARALLEL MAJOR SCALE	HOW THEY COMPARE
C Ionian Listen	C D E F G A B C	C D E F G A B C Listen	(same)
D dorian Listen	D E F G A B C D	D E F# G A B C# D Listen	b3, b7
E phrygian Listen	E F G A B C D E	E F# G# A B C# D# E Listen	b2, b3, b6, b7
F lydian Listen	F G A B C D E F	F G A Bb C D E F Listen	#4
G mixolydian Listen	G A B C D E F G	G A B C D E F# G Listen	b7
A aeolian Listen	A B C D E F G A	A B C# D E F# G# A Listen	b3, b6, b7
B locrian Listen	B C D E F G A B	B C# D# E F# G# A# B Listen	b2, b3, b5, b6, b7

You can read this chart by saying, for example, that the F lydian mode is the same as a F major scale except that the 4th degree is sharped. A aeolian is like A major except that the 3rd, 6th, and 7th degrees are flatted. And be sure to note the difference in the way it sounds--it can be very enlightening to listen to the mode example back-to-back with it's parallel major scale example.

Putting the modes to use, Part 1: Tonal Possibilities

As we have figured out by now, each mode has its own sound. Likewise, each mode is associated with a certain type of chord; in other words, each mode sounds particularly appropriate over certain chords. The following chart tells you which modes go with which chords:

MODE	ASSOCIATED CHORDS (not necessarily a complete list!)	TONAL CHARACTERISTICS	SONG EXAMPLES (click on highlighted ones to hear a sample!)
Ionian	major maj7 6 6/9 add9 sus4	Bright, happy, "typical."	Blue Sky (Allman Brothers), Eyes of the World (G. Dead), Water in the Sky (Phish) Harry Hood (Phish)
Dorian	minor m7 m9	A "minor" mode (because of the b3), but not as dark as the other minor modes.Very common for jamming in minor keys.	Purple Haze (Jimi Hendrix) Elizabeth Reed (Allmans), Whippin' Post (Allmans), The Other One (G. Dead), Birds of a Feather (Phish) David Bowie (Phish)
Phrygian	minor m7	Has a "spanish" kind of sound to it, largely created by the b2 degree.	White Rabbit (Jefferson Airplane)
Lydian	major maj7 maj7#11	Has an interesting, bright sound, not as "typical"-sounding as the ionian mode.	Saint of Circumstance (G. Dead), Reba (Phish) Many of Frank Zappa's solos
Mixolydian	major chords dominant 7th chords (e.g. C7, A7) 9th chords	Jerry Garcia's favorite mode.	Fire on the Mtn. (G. Dead), Dark Star (G. Dead), Let it Rain (Eric Clapton) Runaway Jim (Phish), Weekapaug Groove (Phish) Bathtub Gin (Phish)
Aeolian	minor m7	Also known as the "natural minor" scale. Darker than dorian, almost has a "classical" sound to it.	Stairway to Heaven (Led Zeppelin)
Locrian	m7b5	Very dark sound, not usually heard outside of jazz.	Can't think of any, but you should still try it out 'cuz it sounds cool.

Putting the modes to use, Part 2: Map of the Fretboard

The other way I find the modes to be incredibly useful is as a "roadmap" for the neck of the guitar in any key. Start by associating each mode with a specific fingering, as seen in the picture below:

Notice that the Phrygian and Lydian fingerings are the same, except that the phrygian starts one note sooner. In other words, the lydian starts on the second note of the phrygian. The same is true for the locrian & ionian fingerings. Therefore, you only need to learn 5 fingerings: 1. Ionian/Locrian, 2. Dorian, 3. Phrygian/Lydian, 4. Mixolydian, and 5. Aeolian.

Example (click on the following mode names to see the fingerings in the window to your right): If we are playing the G mixolydian mode over a G7 chord, we can use the mixolydian fingering from the third fret. But we can also use the Aeolian fingering from A (5th fret), the B locrian fingering from the 7th fret (which is the same thing as the C ionian fingering from the 8th fret), the dorian fingering from D (10th fret), the phrygian fingering from E (12th fret), which is the same thing as the lydian fingering from F at the 13th fret. We are still in the mode of G mixolydian this whole time because the chord is a G7, but we can"think" in these other modes. For detailed examples of this, as well as play-along files to try it with, go back to the Modes Workshop Home and try out the mode study pages.

Do you see what's happening here? With the use of these 7 (and actually just 5) fingerings, we have just covered the ENTIRE NECK OF THE GUITAR. To change to other keys and other modes, all you have to do is move these five fingerings to other places on the neck. By the way, these fingerings ALWAYS occur in the same order: Ionian-Dorian-Phrygian-Lydian-Mixolydian-Aeolian-Locrian-Ionian-Dorian....

You are now able to play all seven modes in each of twelve keys,
using only five fingerings.

Easier than you thought it would be?

It should also be noted (and it is no coincedence) that each of these fingerings can be associated with the fingerings outlined in the CAGED system.

Final thoughts: Where to go from here

• The first, and best thing to do is to start trying it out. Return to the Modes Workshop home page and check out the individual Mode Studies. They feature audio samples and play-along midi files, as well as detailed diagrams, etc.
• Most importantly, try to really learn what each mode sounds like. Practice over a background chord or bass note so that you can hear the individual characteristics of the modes (what a b7 sounds like, what a #4 sounds like, etc.). A great way to learn this is to play a note, and then sing all the modes beginning on that note--in other words, play an A and try to sing the A ionian, dorian etc. over it. Check your work on a piano or guitar. It's a pain to do, but if you can learn it, you're golden.
• The modes are only one source for improvisational ideas. They could be considered the "bread and butter" of improvising, and should be understood before going further, but there are lots of other ways to come up with ideas when improvising (many of which sound much more adventurous than the major modes).
• If you are just learning this, you might find that your playing suffers while you try to assimilate this stuff into your personal bag of tricks. You may tend to "overthink" for a while. My suggestion is to learn to apply this stuff one song at a time, one mode at a time, one key at a time. It is impossible to learn all the modes in all the keys quickly.
• Don't get too accustomed to playing the fingerings from bottom to top and back down again (the way we usually practice scales). Do this at first to learn where the notes are, but as soon as you know them, you should begin playing around with them and figuring out how to create melodies within them. This is how you should practice every scale you ever learn. When you're improvising, how often do you really play a whole scale, starting at the root, from bottom to top and back to the bottom again? Having said that, though, scales can make excellent practice for technique, especially if you practice different patterns within the scale.
• "What's the difference between a mode and a scale?" This is a question I often hear. For all practical purposes, there isn't much difference. As we learned before, modes are derived from scales--they are scales played from different starting points. That's the only real difference. In practice, you can use a mode in exactly the same way you would use a scale. I look at both modes and scales as a "palette" of notes that I can choose from when improvising or composing.
• For the record, modes can also be derived from the melodic minor and harmonic minor scales in the same way these modes were derived from the major scale. These are tricks used by jazzers all the time, but not usually seen anywhere else, and beyond the current scope of this website.