Modes of the Major Scale

I was thinking of some of my favorite scales to play and draw from when improvising and it got me thinking about the building blocks of those scales. I eventually want to share those scales with you, but in order to fully understand them, you need to know some basic building blocks first. So here we go!

The Modes of the Major Scale

A Mode is a scale that is constructed from notes that belong to another scale. These notes move in the same direction (Sequential up and down), they just start and end on different points, and end up creating entirely new scales of their own.

Example 1: Ionian (AKA The Major Scale)

Here we have the Ionian Scale, also known as the Major Scale. The defining factor of a Major scale is it's 3rd note. The note E, relative to C is a major third (Eb would be a minor third).

Example 2: Dorian

The Dorian Mode is classified as a Minor Scale because of it's third note (In this case, F) is a minor third from the root, D (F# would be the major third). The defining characteristics of the Dorian Mode are the flat 3rd and the flat 7th. The famous Jazz Standard "So What" is played entirely in this mode, moving between two different keys. D Dorian is made up completely of notes belonging to the C Major Scale. It's just that we begin and end on the 2nd degree instead of the 1st.

Example 3: Phrygian

The Phrygian Mode is also classified as a Minor Scale because of the G note in relation to the root of E (G# would be the major 3rd). The formula for Phrygian is flat 2, flat 3, flat 6, and flat 7. The E Phrygian Scale is built up of notes belonging to the C Major scale as well, starting and ending on the 3rd degree (E).

Example 4: Lydian

The Lydian Scale is classified as a Major Scale. This one has a beautiful sound and the only difference between this scale and the Major Scale is that the 4th note is sharped. F Lydian uses notes from the C Major Scale, beginning and ending on the 4th degree of C (F).

Example 5: Mixolydian

In Jazz music, this is probably one of the most important modes, if not THE most important mode. An entire sub-genre within Jazz called Bebop was built from this sound. Another name for this type of sound is "Dominant". The Dominant sound usually creates tension that eventually resolves to the Major sound, thus creating the 5-1 progression, as this scale is built off the 5th degree of the major scale (In this example G is the 5th degree of C, meaning all the notes within this scale, like the other examples so far, belong to the key of C as well). The only difference between the Mixolydian Scale and the Major Scale is that it has a flat 7th (F# would be the Major 7th in the key of G).

Example 6: Aeolian

The 6th degree is the Aeolian Mode. Classified as a minor scale. This is the exact same scale as the "Natural Minor". The correlation between this scale and the related major scale of C is where we come up with the term "Relative". The key of A Minor is the "Relative Minor" of C Major, and vice-versa, The key of C Major is the "Relative Major" of A Minor. The formula for Aeolian is flat 3, flat 6, and flat 7.

Example 7: Locrian

The 7th degree is Locrian. This scale is the most complex of the Major Modes. It is classified as a Minor Scale, but more specifically, it can be called a Diminished mode. What classifies a sound as "Diminished" is that it has a flat 3rd as well as a flat 5th. With the exception of the first note and the 4th note, ALL the other notes are flatted.

Taking things a little deeper:

Now that we have covered all of the modes, it's easy to get stuck when we begin to identify modes in other keys by just diverting to the "Parent Scale" that the mode belongs to. This can be ok for some people and works just fine. However, it's also good to know with your "Ear" the specific sound of these modes. In order to do that, you should also work at being able to identify them on their own. Independent, in a sense, from it's parent scale. You build the scale using it's particular formula and play with it for a while so that your ear gets used to that sound.

Here we take the Dorian mode, but play it in the key of C. In this example, it's easy to figure out that we can use notes belonging to the key of Bb major, since C is the second degree of Bb. But I show you this to demonstrate that you can, and should build these scales from scratch and drill them into your ears to get used to their sound.

Here are more examples of the same. I am just building each mode starting with the same starting note, so the sound actually changes in my ear. When you go through each mode only relative to it's parent key, your ear can get stuck and only hear that parent key, no matter where you start or stop the scale.

That's all for now! Please let me know if there are any questions or if you have any comments or suggestions related to the Modes of the Major Scale. Thanks!