Learning Modes - Some formulas

Once you start getting the idea of modes, one of the easiest ways to deal with them is knowing how they are spelled relative to their ionian version. We can Use the key of C as a great example.

C Ionian     C  D  E  F  G  A  B    C Major
C Dorian     C  D  Eb F  G  A  Bb   Bb Major
C Phrygian   C  Db Eb F  G  Ab Bb   Ab Major
C Lydian     C  D  E  F# G  A  B    G Major
C Mixolydian C  D  E  F  G  A  Bb   F Major
C Aeolian    C  D  Eb F  G  Ab Bb   Eb Major
C Locrian    C  Db Eb F  Gb Ab Bb   Db Major

Since C Ionian has no altered notes, we can use that as a very nice baseline

Ionian      - No Changes
Dorian      - b3 b7
Phrygian    - b2, b3, b6, b7
Lydian      - #4
Mixolydian  - b7
Aeolian     - b3, b6, b7
Locrian     - b2, b3, b5, b6, b7

So if we simply apply this formula to a major/ionian scale, we transform it into that mode.

Learning Modes - Extending the Chords

Now that we have a list of the triads that are diatonic to the modes of our key, we can extend them to include the diatonic 7th chords of the modes. We now have an even wider canvas to paint with. You may just thing that this is just slapping 7ths on each chord type. For Diminished and Minor, it pretty much is. But for the major 7ths you have to be careful. Because 2 will be major 7th and 1 will be dominant 7th.

I          Ionian,Lydian,Mixolydian
Imaj7      Ionian,Lydian
I7         Mixolydian
i          Dorian,Phrygian,Aeolian
imin7      Dorian,Phrygian,Aeolian
i°         Locrian
i°7        Locrian
II         Lydian
II7        Lydian 
ii         Ionian,Dorian,Mixolydian
iimin7     Ionian,Dorian,Mixolydian
ii°        Aeolian ii°7    Aeolian
bII        Phrygian,Locrian
bIImaj7    Phrygian,Locrian
iii        Ionian,Lydian
iiimin7    Ionian,Lydian
iii°       Mixolydian
iii°7      Mixolydian
bIII       Dorian,Aeolian,Phrygian
bIIImaj7   Dorian,Aeolian
bIII7      Phrygian
biii       Locrian
biiimin7   Locrian
IV         Ionian,Dorian,Mixolydian
IVmaj7     Ionian,Mixolydian
IV7        Dorian
iv         Phrygian,Aeolian,Locrian
ivmin7     Phrygian,Aeolian,Locrian
#iv°       Lydian
#iv°7      Lydian
V          Ionian,Lydian
Vmaj7      Lydian
V7         Ionian
v          Dorian,Mixolydian,Aeolian
vmin7      Dorian,Mixolydian,Aeolian
v°         Phrygian
v°7        Phrygian
bV         Locrian
bVmaj7     Locrian
vi         Ionian,Lydian,Mixolydian
vi min7    Ionian,Lydian,Mixolydian
vi°        Dorian
vi°7       Dorian
bVI        Phrygian,Aeolian,Locrian
bVImaj7    Phrygian,Aeolian
bVI7       Locrian
vii°       Ionian
vii°7      Ionian
vii        Lydian
vii min7   Lydian
bVII       Dorian,Mixolydian,Aeolian
bVII maj7  Dorian,Mixolydian
bVII7      Aeolian
bvii       Phrygian,Locrian
bvii min7  Phrygian,Locrian

Learning Modes - Another Step

In my last post, we looked at a very simple chord progression with a couple of chords. Most likely you will be playing music that is much more complicated. So what happens when a Cm shows up in your song in G major? There is a note in that chord that is not in your key! Well there are a couple things you can do here.

• Do not play an E during this chord
• Switch to C Minor
• Find some other mode that works

Well option 1 is simple enough, but we want to spice things up a little. Option 2 and 3 actually go together. If we look closely at C minor, we find that it is 3 flats. Bb,Eb,Ab. Now by looking at the key signature, we see that the relative Major to C minor is Eb Major. If we look at the relative Majors to modes of G, we have G-F-Eb-D-C-Bb-Ab. So Eb Major == 3rd mode of G, which is G Phrygian. To see what other modes of G we could play over this Cm chord, we simply need to see which of the modes of G contain a Cm chord. Well since Cm is C-Eb-G we can see that Eb Major, Bb Major and Ab Major have Eb's in them (as well as C's and G's). So our options for playing over a Cm in G are

• G Phrygian (Eb Major)
• G Aeolian/minor (Bb Major)
• G Locrian (Ab Major)

Get ready for a little bit of information overload. If we take the notes of the modes of G

G Ionian     G A  B  C  D  E  F#  G Major
G Dorian     G A  Bb C  D  E  F   F Major
G Phrygian   G Ab Bb C  D  Eb F   Eb Major
G Lydian     G A  B  C# D  E  F#  D Major
G Mixolydian G A  B  C  D  E  F   C Major
G Aeolian    G A  Bb C  D  Eb F   Bb Major
G Locrian    G Ab Bb C  Db Eb F   Ab Major

and then figure out what all the triads are

Ionian         G  Am Bm  C   D  Em F#°
Dorian         Gm Am Bb  C   Dm E° F
Phrygian       Gm Ab Bb  Cm  D° Eb Fm
Lydian         G  A  Bm  C#° D  Em F#m
Mixolydian     G  Am B°  C   Dm Em F
Aeolian        Gm A° Bb  Cm  Dm Eb F
Locrian        G° Ab Bbm Cm  Db Eb Fm

we can make a list of the modes that contain each chord

G   Ionian,Lydian,Mixolydian
Gm  Dorian,Phrygian,Aeolian
G°  Locrian
A   Lydian
Am  Ionian,Dorian,Mixolydian
Ab  Phrygian,Locrian
A°  Aeolian
Bm  Ionian,Lydian
B°  Mixolydian
Bb  Dorian,Aeolian,Phrygian
Bbm Locrian
C   Ionian,Dorian,Mixolydian
Cm  Phrygian,Aeolian,Locrian
C#° Lydian
D   Ionian,Lydian
Dm  Dorian,Mixolydian,Aeolian
D°  Phrygian
Db  Locrian
Em  Ionian,Lydian,Mixolydian
E°  Dorian
Eb  Phrygian,Aeolian,Locrian
F#° Ionian
F#m Lydian
F   Dorian,Mixolydian,Aeolian
Fm  Phrygian,Locrian 

Then we can generalize them into a more portable method using chord numbers

I     Ionian,Lydian,Mixolydian
i     Dorian,Phrygian,Aeolian
i°    Locrian
II    Lydian
ii    Ionian,Dorian,Mixolydian
ii°   Aeolian
bII   Phrygian,Locrian
iii   Ionian,Lydian
iii°  Mixolydian
bIII  Dorian,Aeolian,Phrygian
biii  Locrian
IV    Ionian,Dorian,Mixolydian
iv    Phrygian,Aeolian,Locrian
#iv°  Lydian
V     Ionian,Lydian
v     Dorian,Mixolydian,Aeolian
v°    Phrygian
bV    Locrian
vi    Ionian,Lydian,Mixolydian
vi°   Dorian
bVI   Phrygian,Aeolian,Locrian
vii°  Ionian
vii   Lydian
bVII  Dorian,Mixolydian,Aeolian
bvii  Phrygian,Locrian

Now if we use this chart we can easily get our list of available modes for many chords that may be in our tune. If we run across an Ab major chord in our key of G tune (which would be a bII), we see that G phrygian (Eb Major) or G Locrian (Ab Major) might work well. Which would make sense since playing Ab major over an Ab Major chord would make sense.

Does this mumbo jumbo make sense? Have I made a chordal miscalculation? Sound off in the comments.

Learning Modes - Putting Something Together

Now that we can find a major scale that is equivalent to a mode we need to be able to know how to choose which modes to play. Here is one method that can yield some good results. For starters lets look at a very simple chord progression in the key of G:

|: G | C | G | D7 :|

We need to determine what modes work with which chords. To do this of course, we need to be able to spell our chords. First take G Major which is made up of G-B-D. Lets find which modes retain these 3 notes.

G Ionian (G,A,B,C,D,E,F#,G) - This works
G Dorian (G,A,Bb,C,D,E,F,G) - Nope it has a Bb
G Phrygian (G,Ab,Bb,C,D,Eb,F,G) - Nope Bb and Eb
G Lydian (G,A,B,C#,D,E,F#,G) - Yes
G Mixolydian (G,A,B,C,D,E,F,G) - Yes
G Aeolian (G,A,Bb,C,D,Eb,F,G) - No
G Locrian (G,Ab,Bb,C,Db,Eb,F,G) - No

So from this we see that G Ionian (major),G Lydian and G Mixolydian will work for a G Major chord.

Next we look at C Major which is made of C-E-G

G Ionian (G,A,B,C,D,E,F#,G) - Yes
G Dorian (G,A,Bb,C,D,E,F,G) - Yes
G Phrygian (G,Ab,Bb,C,D,Eb,F,G) - No
G Lydian (G,A,B,C#,D,E,F#,G) - No
G Mixolydian (G,A,B,C,D,E,F,G) - Yes
G Aeolian (G,A,Bb,C,D,Eb,F,G) - No
G Locrian (G,Ab,Bb,C,Db,Eb,F,G) - No

C major works with G Major, G Dorian and G Mixolydian

and Finally D7 which is D-F#-A-C

G Ionian (G,A,B,C,D,E,F#,G) - Yes
G Dorian (G,A,Bb,C,D,E,F,G) - No
G Phrygian (G,Ab,Bb,C,D,Eb,F,G) - No
G Lydian (G,A,B,C#,D,E,F#,G) - No
G Mixolydian (G,A,B,C,D,E,F,G) - No
G Aeolian (G,A,Bb,C,D,Eb,F,G) - No
G Locrian (G,Ab,Bb,C,Db,Eb,F,G) - No

So we will stick with G Major for the D7

When we map this out

|:G	C	G	D7 :|
G Major G Lydian (D Major) G Mixolydian (C Major)	G Major G Dorian (F Major) G Mixolydian (C Major)	G Major G Lydian (D Major) G Mixolydian (C Major)	G Major

So we have several options here we can play major all the way or use any combination we choose. When we use G Lydian we have a #4 note added and when we play G Mixolydian we have a b7 note.

We could of course look at the scales under the C chord in terms of C if you really wanted to, You would find that G Dorian = C Mixolydian,G Major = C Lydian and we already saw that G Mixolydian = C Major, but these are all enharmonic and so dealing with them all as modes of G can make it easier for some.

So here is an mp3 (inside the zip file) of these 3 chords that you can put on repeat on your computer and try jamming over these chords using these modes. I threw this together at 1:30am, so it probably won't sound very good. Anyway check it out and good luck!

Learning Modes - Finding the Relative Major

In my last article on modes we discussed how you can find a given mode by playing a major scale at a given interval from the original note.

First take a look at this slightly confusing table.

Mode	Tonality	Steps Down	1/2 Steps Down	Interval Down	1/2 Steps Up	Interval Up
Ionian (Major)	Major		0/12	Unison/Octave	12/0	Unison/Octave
Dorian	Minor	W	2	Major 2nd	10	Minor 7th
Phrygian	Minor	WW	4	Major 3rd	8	Minor 6th
Lydian	Major	WWH	5	Perfect 4th	7	Perfect 5th
Mixolydian	Major / Dom	WWHW	7	Perfect 5th	5	Perfect 4th
Aeolian (Minor)	Minor	WWHWW	9	Major 6th	3	Minor 3rd
Locrian	Diminished	WWHWWW	11	Major 7th	1	Minor 2nd
(Ionian)	Major	WWHWWWH	12/0	Unison/Octave	0/12	Unison/Octave

If you look at this chart you will get a quick reference to where you will find the scale you are needing.

Lets take a example:

Say we are playing a G major chord, we have 3 mode options that might sound good with it. Ionian, Lydian and Mixolydian since they are the 3 "major" tonality modes (that is the 3rd is a major 3rd in the mode). So how do we get to G Ionian, G Lydian and G Mixolydian? I always have an easier time going up an interval rather than down so in the chart above, I have converted the intervals down from the WWHWWWH pattern we talked about in the previous article to ascending intervals.

• G Ionian = G Major, since Ionian = Major
• G Lydian is the major scale starting a perfect 5th above the scale in question. So a perfect 5th above G is D. So G Lydian = D Major
• G Mixolydian is the major scale starting a Perfect 4th above the note in question which is C, so G Mixolydian = C Major.

How about minor? If we are playing an F minor chord and want F dorian, F Phrygian or F Aeolian, then we find

• A minor 7th above F is Eb. Eb Major is F dorian
• A minor 6th above F is Db.Db Major is F Phrygian
• A minor 3rd above F is Ab. Ab Major is F Aeolian

Now something you may have noticed is that if we are playing F minor, why don't we play an F minor scale? We actaully do!. When we play Ab major as F aeolian, we are playing F minor. Since Aeolian is the same as natural minor.

So now we can grab a mode from a given chord.

Learning Modes - The Relative Major Way

Ok so I did not invent this, but I did come up with it out of my own studies (as my college theory prof told me...the hard way). But I like many others learned early on 3 things about modes

1. The seven modes were just "starting" on the 7 notes of the scale. So If you were playing a C major scale and went from D to D it was D dorian, E to E was E Phrygian, etc.
2. Modes could sound really cool.
3. Modes were hard to apply in real life.

So I have had an idea to make a play-along CD/MP3 set for my guitar students where they would get simple to progressively more intricate chord progressions to try to improvise over and give them advice on trying different modes with them. The problem was trying to find a quick way to determine what mode went with what scale.  I did not want C major, D Dorian, E Phrygian, etc. I wanted C Major, C Dorian, C Phrygian, etc. So what was a quick way to find this. Well, I started by writing them out.

C Major	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

Then of course since modes were just scales starting on different notes of a certain key then each of these should be enharmonic to a major scale. So I wrote those out

C Major (Ionian)	C Major
C Dorian	Bb Major
C Phrygian	Ab Major
C Lydian	G Major
C Mixolydian	F Major
C Aeolian	Eb Major
C Locrian	Db Major

Well that was all helpful and all but I wanted a pattern to follow. How could this list of keys be related? Well Somehow I noticed a pattern

Bb is a whole step below C, Ab is a whole step below Bb and G is a halfstep below Ab. Whole, Whole Half. Well if you are familiar with how a major scale is built, it Goes

Whole, Whole, Half, Whole, Whole, Whole, Half 

in the forward direction (C,D,E,F,G,A,B,C)

When you look at the relative major keys that make up the modes of a given key. They use the same pattern going backwards.

C,Bb,Ab,G,F,Eb,Db,C

So if you are in C and want to play C Lydian, since lydian is the 4th mode. You can go down Whole (to dorian), Whole (to Phrygian) , Half (to Lydian) which is the Key of G Major. So if you play G Major over a C major that is C Lydian. Which works since Lydian is the same as a raised 4th. F is the 4th note of the C scale and in the key of G it is sharped.

Now should you ignore how to spell your modes without this method? Certainly not! but this can give you a "cheat sheet" way of getting into a given mode.

Next time we will talk about applying this to the guitar.