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I listen to all types of music, but I think you’ll see from this blog that pop music is what gets me excited. From years of working as a mixing engineer via the internet, I’ve found  that most pop songwriters (barring those at the very top) have little, if any, formal music education. But the internet is changing all that, and I want to help in any way that I can. I’ve researched modes online to see what’s out there, and frankly most of it is either downright confusing or written exclusively for guitarists. So without further adieu…

Keith’s Crash Course on Modes For Self-Taught Musicians

If you’ve ever played a pitched instrument, you probably know that there are two types of keys: major and minor (aka the “happy” and “sad” scales, respectively). But what if I told you that there are also 5 other exciting, sexy scales to choose from?

Play a major scale.* Now play those same notes, but this time start from the sixth note (or “degree”) of the scale. You’ll notice that it’s darker–you’re playing what’s known as the “relative minor” of your original key. Every major scale has one. Take C major and A minor, for example: they are comprised of the exact same notes (the white keys on the piano) but sound very different.

Already knew that? Here’s something you may not have tried: start from another degree of the major scale other than the first or sixth. These scales are called modes. You’ll notice that they have an unusual but not entirely unfamiliar sound. (Technically, the major and minor scales are also considered modes, but songs written in these two most common scales are typically not thought of as “modal” music.) Each mode has its own general vibe. Listed in order of the degrees that they start on from the major scale:

1 – The Major Scale (aka “Ionian Mode”) – The most common scale there is (although in today’s pop music the major scale is in close competition with pentatonic minor).

2 – Dorian Mode - Minor with an exotic twist.** Can have an Asian vibe to it. (see: the first half of “Come Alive“). Minor scale shape with a raised 6th degree.

3 – Phrygian Mode – Darker than the regular minor scale. Most commonly used in metal and rap (see: “Swagger Like Us“). Minor scale shape with a lowered 2nd degree.

4 – Lydian Mode - Major but with an exotic twist. Used mostly in film music. (see: intro to “Dancin Days“). Major scale shape with raised 4th degree.

5 – Mixolydian – Major with a rock edge. Defined the 90s pop rock sound (see: “Since U Been Gone“). Can sometimes sound Eastern. Often referred to as “Mixo” for short. Major scale shape with a flatted 7th degree.

6 – The Minor Scale – All styles. Also called “natural minor” or “aeolian mode.”

7 – Locrian Mode – A very unstable, confusing-sounding version of minor. (see: “YYZ“) Some argue that our ears cannot perceive a song as being Locrian for reasons which I will not get into. Minor scale shape with a flatted 2nd and 5th degree.

Just to make things even clearer, with the notes CDEFGAB, you can play the following scales:

C Major, D Dorian, E Phrygian, F Lydian, G Mixolydian, A Minor, and B Locrian.

One important question to ask is, “if all these scales use the same notes, how do we know what mode a song is in?” After all, if you read my compositional analysis of “Kids” by MGMT, you know that major key songs don’t always start on the root note.

Unfortunately that answer is mostly beyond the scope of this article. One thing that I will say, though, is that it is sometimes tough to get your listener to hear a song as being modal, because If you use certain chords in a modal composition, the listener will stop hearing the song as being modal and instead begin to hear the song in the relative major or minor key (the one that has the same notes as whatever mode you’re in). Because of the dense harmonies involved, there is typically very little bass movement in modal jazz because it is easy to stumble upon these chords to avoid.

Modes are not the end-all be-all of music. Far from it. There are many other harmonic possibilities including pentatonic scales (5 notes per scale instead of 7), harmonic minor, songs where the key changes from section to section, songs that borrow chords from parallel keys, and even songs with two different keys at once (polytonality). The list goes on. Nonetheless, being aware of modes will give you yet another tool for your songwriting toolbox.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this post. If there’s something you still don’t understand, feel free to leave a comment and I will do my best to clarify it. For those of you who are resisting music theory, I understand, but know that my theory-related articles are not to meant to imply that everyone should conform to overthink or intellectualize their art. But at the very least, these concepts will help you understand why you love or hate certain songs.

*If you program beats (as opposed to using a keyboard) but want to follow along, go to the piano roll/note editor in Logic/Reason/GarageBand/Fruity Loops/etc. and program in a major scale.

**I once heard a great rock guitar player talking about getting through jazz solos who gave this advice: play dorian over everything and people will think you’re hip.