I’m sure a lot of you out there who are just getting into jazz have heard about modes. And if your experience was anything like mine what you’ve heard is very difficult to understand gibberish. Today we’re going to take a look at modes and why they work in a rather easy to understand way.
Modes are commonly taught as being the notes of a major scale but started on a different tone. i.e. the Dorian in the same as a major scale but starting on the second. A C major scale played from D to D. While in a historical sense this is correct, and this does tell us what the notes of the mode in question are our understanding also halts there and modes become one of those pieces of musical junk that litter our minds. Understanding modes this way is great for a test on medieval music it doesn’t give us the understanding that can immediately give a person new to jazz improvisation some tools to sound good.
But with a slight shift in the way we think about modes, we can greatly expand our beginning improvisation vocabulary. Right now we’ll deal with three of the seven major modes, because they are the ones we use most often. These are the Mixolydian, Lydian and Dorian modes.
So instead of trying to think about the Mixolydian mode as being the same a major scale played from the fifth to the fifth, which in the key of C that would be G-A-B-C-D-E-F-G, lets think of it as a major scale with a flatted seventh. Now for the important part. In jazz we don’t often play over triads. More often than not we will be playing over seventh chords, or chords that are extended even more. But sevenths are by far the most common. So in approaching a C7 chord in an improvisation we recognize that that chord is spelled C-E-G-Bb. It would be imprudent then for us to use a scale that is spelled C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C, because the B natural will clash with the Bb in the chord. Solution, lower the seventh in the scale that we are playing what follows from this is a mixolydian mode.
C7 = C E G Bb
C Mixolydian mode = C D E F G A Bb C
See how well they line up when we write them out like that. The same could be done with a minor seventh chord and the Dorian mode. One can think of the Dorian mode as being a natural minor scale with a raised sixth, or a major scale with a lowered third and seventh. Lets see how that lines up to the notes of our Cmin7 chord.
Cmin7 = C Eb G Bb
C Dorian mode = C D Eb F G A Bb C
So now we’ll apply the same to a Lydian mode over a Cmaj7 chord. Notice that the chord no longer has any tones altered from the major scale, so using the major would be perfectly appropriate in this case.
Cmaj7 = C E G B
C Lydian mode = C D E F# G A B C
Now you’re all probably wondering “why the F#?” Simple, F natural won’t sound very good because it’s a half step away from the third, also F# will give us the jazzy flatted fifth sound (a raised fourth and a flatted fifth are the same) I recommend using the raised fourth on the way up and the natural fourth on the way down.
So there you go, you now know why the modes are used, and have a better idea of how to experiment with them. Essentially these modes give you a ready-made scale that works over the type of chord you’re playing over. To practice this try just the modes up and down over a backing track like an Abersold twelve bar blues for instance. Play the modes up from the root to the octave in swung eighths, if two bars of the same chord are present then go back down. Then reverse, start on the top and play down an octave, it two bars of the same chord then go back up. If you really want to get crazy then play the mode on the way up and arpeggiate the chord in quarters on the way down. You can do this on any set of changes that you like, and it’s not only a great way to practice this material, but it helps cement the changes of a tune into your ear so that you can take more chances.
Best wishes and happy practicing!
more articles by Caleb Raney
May 18th, 2007 at 2:00 pm
Nice take on modes. I like using C Lydian over |C add#11 C| Dsus4 D | where the F# ends up being the #11 for the C chord and the sus 4 for the D chord.
May 19th, 2007 at 5:21 pm
That’s certainly a great use for the Lydian! However, playing over chords that are that far extended is beyond the reach of an introduction to modal useage. I think the critical part for the young improviser is to know what the tetrachord is. Since most of the extended chords that we play have a seventh chord contained in them, it makes the task of playing the changes not seem quite as daunting.
May 22nd, 2007 at 12:59 am
Caleb,
Your explanation of the modes is in fact confusing and badly written. Take this frase of yours, for instance: “Right now we’ll deal with three of the seven major modes, because they are the ones we use most often. These are the Mixolydian, Lydian and Dorian modes”
Did you mean to say three of the seven MOST IMPORTANT modes perhaps?
You should have also corrected Chet when he said “where the F# ends up being the #11 for the C chord and the sus 4 for the D chord”
F sharp the SUS 4 of D?
May 23rd, 2007 at 6:59 pm
Mike,
I’ll clarify, “major mode” refers to any mode derived from the major scale. As opposed to other less common sets of modes, for instance modes derived from a melodic minor scale. Which is what I’m discussing in the second paragraph. The Dorian mode can be thought of as a C major scale played from D to D, similarly a G mixolydian mode has the same notes as a C major scale, but is centered around G. So the major modes are derived from the related major scale. The most common example of this is the understanding of relative major and minor keys. C major (Ionian) and A minor (Aeolian) have the same notes and are therefore related, but have a different tonal center. When dealing with modes one expresses this relationship by refering to the mode as a major mode.
As to what Chet said, I generally aim to be encouraging or at the worst constructively critical rather than contradictory for it’s own sake. While the fine print may be incorrect the idea of using the Lydian mode in this way works fine and the experiment should be encouraged. Despite the fact that perhaps he had a momentary chord spelling brain fart this is no place for a bashing.
May 29th, 2007 at 12:05 am
Caleb,
I’m sorry to say I’m still disappointed.
Again, the following statements of yours do not make any sense:
“I’ll clarify, “major mode” refers to any mode derived from the major scale”
“So the major modes are derived from the related major scale”
We all know about the modes derived from the major scale, but contrary to what you said they are not ALL major modes and you cannot call them so simply because they are related to the major scale. Your explanation implies that the DORIAN mode is a major mode when in fact it isn’t. It also implies A MINOR “Aeolian”, like you call it, is also a major mode when it is effectively a MINOR mode.
I don’t think that by correcting somebody else’s mistake one is being, like you say “contradictory for it’s own sake”.
May 29th, 2007 at 12:17 am
Who would have thought music theory could have been such a touchy spot
As far as your comment on the “major modes” Mike, I think that this classification works, and I often find myself using this term to explain this concept to my own students.
I think the idea Caleb was trying to convey here was the relationship to the major scale, although you are right in saying that they all could be Dorian or Phrygian modes as well, but that’s just the nature of the beast.
I am just happy that there has been such lively discussion about these ideas. Let’s just remember that we’re all on the same team here, and our goal is to further musical knowledge, so please fight nice!
May 30th, 2007 at 2:06 am
Tyler,
Let me point out that the following is your statement, not mine at all:
“although you are right in saying that they all could be Dorian or Phrygian modes as well, but that’s just the nature of the beast”
Nobody is fighting here. All I’m doing is letting someone know about his/her incoherent way of explaining or “De-Mystifying” the modes.
I’m sorry to hear Tyler, that you use the same method as Caleb to teach your students. I’m shocked to learn that you both consider Aeolian, Dorian, Phrygian and Locrian modes to be all MAJOR just because they are derived from the major scale. Very contradictory. I’m sorry for your students.
Peace
May 30th, 2007 at 10:24 am
Again, I think you may have misunderstood. Aeolian, Dorian, and Phrygian are all minor modes, you are correct. However, I think all that Caleb was saying is that they are all derived from the major scale.
May 30th, 2007 at 6:26 pm
This is in fact the whole reason for the article. One has to understand that while the Ionian, Phrygian, Dorain, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, and Locrian modes are derived from the major scale and are therefore “major modes” this doesn’t give us any idea of how they function. However, the modes are derived from the major scale and how the modes came into being in medieval church music, before the concept of major-minor tonality became common in the mid-fifteenth century. The consequence here is that this historical understanding of modes is important to the classical musician or musicologist, but not to a person who wants to have the modes in their jazz playing toolbox. Therefore my article focuses on why modern jazz musicians use modes and their function. Hence my assertion that a Dorian mode works well over a Minor 7th chord, in that it contains both a minor third and seventh. So we could address the major modes as a set, or each having a functional harmony of its own. This being Ionian major, Phyrgian minor, Dorian minor, Lydian major, Mixolydian major, Aeolian minor, and Locrian diminished. The problem is that often players don’t have both sides of the understanding, and more often than not I find players understanding the way modes are constructed and not having an understanding of the harmonic function of the individual modes that can allow them to put that knowledge to work in their playing.
May 31st, 2007 at 12:57 am
Tyler,
Yes, Caleb does say those modes are derived from the major scale, but he makes the big mistake of calling them ALL major modes, when if fact they are NOT. Some are major and some are minor. I did not misunderstand. I happened to be browsing through this site and as I read his shallow and contradictory explanation on modes I felt the urge to let him know. Luckily I’m not here to learn about modes…
Caleb,
It does not matter who your lesson is addressed to, be it classical musician, historian or jazz musician, you need to analyze your teaching method.
If you ARE addressing your lesson to a jazz/improviser musician it is even MORE important that you don’t create such contradictions, as when we are improvising we have a fraction of a second to decide where our fingers are moving. Categorizing Dorian, Phrygian, Aeolian or Locrian modes as “Major Modes” does NOT help the thinking process of an improviser. It is CONTRADICTORY.
Like the logo says “INTELLECTUAL MUSICIAN, WHERE MUSICIANS COME TO THINK”
SO LET’S THINK GUYS!!!
September 7th, 2007 at 4:26 pm
Caleb,
I can’t believe that these guys don’t get the concept of deriving the modes from a major scale. Let me attempt to explain.
1. Take a major scale (C major). Play C to C. Pattern is TTSTTTS
(T = Tone (2 frets apart), S = Semitone (1 fret apart)).
This is the Ionian mode.
2. Take the same C Major scale and play D to D. Pattern is TSTTTST
Use this pattern to play C to C. It is the same as playing a C major scale
with a b3 and a b7. The b3 makes it a minor scale.
This is called the Dorian mode.
3. Take the same C Major scale and play E to E. Pattern is STTTSTT
Use this pattern to play C to C. It is the same as playing a C major scale
with a b2, b3, b6, b7. The b3 makes it a minor scale.
This is called the Phrygian mode.
4. See if you can derive the rest. (F to F, G to G, A to A, B to B)
Get the pattern. Play C to C.
5. Conclusion - The modes are derived from the major scale. The scales you
derive are of three types. Major (Ionian, Lydian), minor (Dorian, Phrygian,
Aeolian, Locrian) and Dom7 (Mixolydian).
This is the results you should get:
Ionian (no sharps or flats)
Dorian (b3, b7)
Phrygian (b2, b3, b6, b7)
Lydian (#4)
Mixolydian (b7)
Aeolian (b3, b6, b7)
Locrian (b2 b3 b5 b6 b7)
Hope this drives the point home.
September 7th, 2007 at 5:01 pm
That’s a very well thought out comment Ken. Greatly appreciated!