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Composition/Arrangement/Theory / Re: I dont understand modes
« on: April 06, 2016, 12:13:20 am »
Oh hey there. ^.^
People have a tendency to overcomplicate modes. The simplest way to understand modes is that they're simply a scale starting on a different note. Ionian is the same as major and Aeolian is the same as minor.
Here is what modes look like relative to the key of C major.
C Ionian CDEGAB
D Dorian DEFGABC
E Phrygian EFGABCD
F Lydian FGABCDE
G Mixolydian GABCDEF
A Aeolian ABCDEFG
B Locrian BCDEFGA
HERE is where thing's get sort of complicated.
The MOST important thing when it comes to modes is to understand that in order to use them in a musical context the harmony underneath needs to support that mode. What makes music modal is the tonal center of the harmony. In the same way that C Major is not the same as A minor even though they share the same notes. A song in F Lydian is not the same as a song in G mixolydian. You can play a G mixolydian scale over a C ionian chord progression all you want and the song will never be in G mixolydian because the chord progression implies that the home is C Ionian. What makes music modal is the "home" of the chord progression.
This song for example in A dominant phyrgian.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdCrG13ATh0
Notice how the chord progression always resolves back to it's home chord? Well in this case that home chord is an A major chord. Why not just call it A major/ionian then?
The reason is because the surrounding notes of the chord progression are NOT in A major/ionian.
The notes of A major/Ionian are A, B, C♯, D, E, F♯, and G♯(1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7)
The notes in that song however are A, Bb, C#, D, E, F, and G (1 - ♭2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - ♭6 - ♭7)
The characteristics of Dominant Phrygian are b2, b6, and b7 relative to a normal major scale. The song uses the same notes and it's home chord is A Major which is why the song is in A Dominant Phrygian and not A Ionian/Major.
Obviously thats a lot of thinking involved. Learning the sound of a mode is the most important thing. Once you've learnt the sound of a mode you don't need to think about it and recognizing them will come to your ears naturally.
People have a tendency to overcomplicate modes. The simplest way to understand modes is that they're simply a scale starting on a different note. Ionian is the same as major and Aeolian is the same as minor.
Here is what modes look like relative to the key of C major.
C Ionian CDEGAB
D Dorian DEFGABC
E Phrygian EFGABCD
F Lydian FGABCDE
G Mixolydian GABCDEF
A Aeolian ABCDEFG
B Locrian BCDEFGA
HERE is where thing's get sort of complicated.
The MOST important thing when it comes to modes is to understand that in order to use them in a musical context the harmony underneath needs to support that mode. What makes music modal is the tonal center of the harmony. In the same way that C Major is not the same as A minor even though they share the same notes. A song in F Lydian is not the same as a song in G mixolydian. You can play a G mixolydian scale over a C ionian chord progression all you want and the song will never be in G mixolydian because the chord progression implies that the home is C Ionian. What makes music modal is the "home" of the chord progression.
This song for example in A dominant phyrgian.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdCrG13ATh0
Notice how the chord progression always resolves back to it's home chord? Well in this case that home chord is an A major chord. Why not just call it A major/ionian then?
The reason is because the surrounding notes of the chord progression are NOT in A major/ionian.
The notes of A major/Ionian are A, B, C♯, D, E, F♯, and G♯(1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7)
The notes in that song however are A, Bb, C#, D, E, F, and G (1 - ♭2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - ♭6 - ♭7)
The characteristics of Dominant Phrygian are b2, b6, and b7 relative to a normal major scale. The song uses the same notes and it's home chord is A Major which is why the song is in A Dominant Phrygian and not A Ionian/Major.
Obviously thats a lot of thinking involved. Learning the sound of a mode is the most important thing. Once you've learnt the sound of a mode you don't need to think about it and recognizing them will come to your ears naturally.
