PG Music Home Forums General Discussion Songwriting In the Mood for Modes?

Since discovering "modes" and learning a bit how to compose in them (with the invaluable aid of BiaB) I've been having a musical blast. Much of my recent showcased work has been devoted to explorations in modes--either in composing whole pieces, sections of pieces, or brief forays into modal progressions within sections of pieces.

So I thought I might take up some time and space to make a pompous and presumptuous (and possibly pointless) post about what I (a not very advanced "theorist") have uncovered which may be of benefit to others like me. This is not a tutorial on modes. It's simply a testimonial on how I've used them, and how relatively easy the concepts are to grasp and utilize.

I've worked with modes on three levels.

Firstly, there is the simple act of harmonizing a modal scale. Because the scales of the "modes of major" differ from the major scales, the triads (and extensions) built off of these modal scales are different. The basic "rules" are not different from how a major scale is "harmonized". The reason that certain chords fit in certain major scales is because of the scales themselves and how triads (and extensions) are sussed out of the scales. The same is true for the modal scales and resulting chords.

In short, if you know how and why the chords of a major key/scale exist, then you can figure out the chords of any of the modes of major. Beyond that, there are many resources on the web that will give you a chart with which you can skip the "building" and go straight to the "built".

Using chords from the modes, I've been able to compose more "sophisticated" music that I can still PLAY!* They are all just triads (and extensions) that are not different from what I already know how to play and use. It's simply that the palette of colors has increased and I can "go to" them with confidence as well as by ear.

The second way I've used modes is by hammering home that character of the mode by constant (or repeated) use of the root note of the key under the chords formed by the modal scale. Whether it is with slash chords, drones, or repeated emphasis in soloing, that strong emphasis on the root will change the character of each chord and it's place in the progression in surprising (yet still musical) ways. This is a way to really ring the juice out of the modal scale.

And the third way I have used them is also designed to squeeze the juiciness out of them. It is to utilize the chords which are different (in each mode) from the chords of the basic major scale. Bu "different" I mean that in a modal scale, the root of certain chords may be (usually) flatted or sharped. What might be two half-steps in a major scale may be only one half-step in a modal scale. Not all the chords will be "different" (necessarily), but if I construct the progression heavily with those chords which are different, I can get a more distinct feel and sound from the mode.

And sometimes I use two or three of those at the same time.

Modes are not just used in "exotic" or "ethnic" music. A lot of western rock, pop, classical, jazz, and other musics use them. Many times, they don't even sound "odd" at all! Heck, I used them even before I had a clue what I was doing, and it's likely that many of the musicians who do use them don't plan it out in advance. It's simply that now, with basic knowledge, I can use them more thoughtfully, purposefully, confidently and without having to thumb through an entire chord book to find something that "says" what I want.

Did you know that Natural Minor is essentially a MODE of Major? Have you ever written a song (or section of a song) in a minor key? If you have, you can learn to use any mode.

Do you know the triads of the major scale? If you do, you can learn and/or create the chords of any mode of major--and especially if you can locate a good visual reference.

And if you know how to build further extensions (maj7, dom7, m7, 9ths, 11ths and 13ths, and their alterations) to scale, then you know more than me. That's coming, though, because it's fun. I'll just have to find a good visual reference, because I'm a lazy bugger.




* or enter into BiaB.

My go-to guys for learning this stuff:

Jake (I have his chart hanging on my wall)

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRDDHLvQb8HjE2r7_ZuNtWA

Thomasso

https://www.youtube.com/user/MusicTheoryForGuitar

There are others doing equally great work. I just really like the approach these two take.

Jake's Major Modes poster is excellent! Cost me more to have it mounted on poster board than the poster itself cost me.

^^^This!

I had been trying to figure out what key I had written a piano riff in and was having a very hard time resolving it. Ends up I wrote it in Mixolydian...

This post was from a year ago but I look at it quite a bit as a good resource:

The modes ranked by brightness

P.S. - Listened to "How To Make A Classic Rock Hit Single 35 Years Late [RIFFING WITH MODES #5 - MIXOLYDIAN]" on the Signals Music Studio YouTube page. That was soooo awesome!!! Thanks for the share!

If modes are a chord factory, Jake's chart is a product showroom.

Great video. Long at 40 minutes! Here it is: