The Many Moods of Musical Modes

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Anastasia Voitinskaia September 25, 2020

Scales are pretty incredible. A collection of notes played in ascending order has the ability to
tell a story and convey a mood. Within that linear sequence of notes, there is tension and
resolution.

Some music theory courses and curricula would have you think that major and minor scales
are the be-all and end-all of the world of scales. If you’d like your music to sound cheerful
and bright, stick to the major scale. If you’re trying to write a melancholy number, minor
scales are your best bet. Within the minor scale family, students often learn about the natural
minor, harmonic minor, and melodic minor, and the distinctive moods each evoke (refer to
Portland Piano Lab’s guide for a refresher).

But something gets left out.

Western Music Theory 101 and practical lessons often neglect to mention that there’s a whole
other collection of scales that can evoke moods and atmospheres beyond the cheerful-morose
binary.

These scales are called music modes. Their names are: Ionian, Dorian,
Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, and Locrian, named after ancient Greek
modes. They are also sometimes referred to as church modes.

While some music modes certainly sound more cheerful than others and can be divided into
“major” and “minor” modes, they each lend a feeling to the music that is more subtle –
certain music modes can sound haunting, triumphant, mysterious, or jazzy. They can recall
music indigenous to a certain part of the world. And, when used in certain ways, they can stir
up a cauldron of conflicting moods.

Sound intriguing? It should! Human emotion is complex and multifaceted, so why shouldn’t
we show that through the music we make?

In this guide to musical modes, we’ll give you a guided tour of the seven modes found in
Western music – Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, and Locrian – and
how they are connected to the major scale and natural minor scale, how to easily understand
and relate the modes to one another so there’s no confusion, and how you can incorporate
them into your improvisation, songwriting, and general understanding.

What is a Mode?
Let’s start with a bit of music theory.

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A mode is simply a scale derived from the major scale we all know and love – but we change
which notes play which roles, and which are emphasized. This is achieved by changing our
starting note. In fact, we can derive each other mode from a single major scale.

Huh? Why should that make any difference? It’s the same notes, after all!

It turns out, the order in which you play notes is just as important as which notes you play.
Bear with us – this bit of music theory will make sense in a minute!

The Major Scale

Let’s look at our beloved C major scale. Remember, C major has a very simple key signature –
no sharps or flats!

The tonic note, C, holds the key of C major together and ensures that the major
scale has a tonal center.

Look at the space between the notes of C major, and you see a string of tones and semitones,
also known as whole steps and half steps:

Every major scale retains this whole step-half step pattern, regardless of its key signature. No
matter what key a major scale is in, it will have the same intervals – and these intervals and
note relationships give the scale its sound, its “essence”.

Now, what if we played the C major scale, but started and ended on D instead of C? We’d be
using the same notes – all white keys on the piano – with only a minor adjustment.

It turns out, this “minor adjustment” totally changes the relationships the notes have to one
another, and the sound of the scale. Take a listen:

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Not quite a major scale anymore, is it? Instead of a T-T-ST-T-T-T-ST pattern, we now have a
T-ST-T-T-T-ST-T pattern. The C note is no longer the center of the scale’s tonal universe, as
it was in C major. Something’s changed. The scale degrees have been altered, as we can see if
we write out the Dorian mode in C, using the characteristic T-ST-T-T-T-ST-T pattern:

Definitely not a major scale, let alone a C major scale! The third and seventh degrees have
been lowered, creating a whole new scale with new intervals. Though Dorian in D uses all the
same notes as the C major scale, there’s a huge difference in sound.

Moving the Tonic

If you can understand the concept of getting from the major scale to the Dorian mode,
congratulations – you can now easily derive every other mode!

We can think of the C major scale as the “mother” of all modes.

If you play a scale on each of the seven white keys on a keyboard, using only white keys
ascending until you reach that same note, you derive the seven modes. Each mode – Ionian,
Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, and Locrian – has a distinctive tone-
semitone pattern that is responsible for:

The intervals in the mode, and therefore the relationships between the notes in each
mode
The unique mood and character of each mode

Each mode is derived from the major scale we know and love, and can be understood in
relation to the major scale. For an aural explanation of deriving each mode from the major
scale, tune into Music Student 101’s excellent podcast episode on the topic.

There is another way of deriving each mode from the major scale by lowering certain scale
degrees, as the Treble & Bass Project explains. However, for the purposes of this article, we
will be going by the major scale-derived all-white-key approach for maximum clarity and
understanding.

Let’s dive right in, moving the tonic one white key up each time, and examining how this shift
in tonic affects the sound of each new scale we discover.

The Seven Modes of the Major Scale

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Time to take a closer look at all seven members of this lovely family, and how to derive them
from our C major scale. Starting with a familiar member…

The Ionian Mode

Otherwise known as the major scale.

You read that right! The major scale itself is a mode, and it’s alternately called the Ionian
mode. Like all other modes, the major scale or Ionian mode has a distinctive tone-semitone
pattern, as discussed above, and this pattern gives the mode its characteristic sound. The C
major can also be called the C Ionian scale – the two names are interchangeable.

As goes almost without saying, the Ionian mode sounds bright and happy. Listen to Bach’s
“Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring”:

No doubt you’ve heard the piece before, but take a listen to the full composition anyway –
both because Bach deserves it, and because with a thorough listen, several things become
evident.

There is little tension and no moodiness present in the piece – just like there is
little tension in the major scale! Each phrase resolves nicely to the tonic of G –
and sure enough, the piece is therefore written in G Ionian mode (a.k.a. G

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major). The piece sounds pleasant, predictable enough, and quite “airy”. Fittingly enough,
“Happy Birthday” is also in Ionian mode.

The Dorian Mode

Start on the note D instead of C, play your way up the piano using only white keys (these are
still technically the same notes as the C major scale or C Ionian uses!), return to D, and
you’ve got yourself a Dorian mode. The D Dorian scale uses all the same notes as the C major
(or C Ionian), but sounds quite different from a major scale. What do you hear?

Audio Player
D Dorian mode

Gone is the happy-go-lucky tone of the C Ionian mode – it has shifted to something a little
more serious. The Dorian mode is considered a minor mode, owing to the minor third
interval between the first and third scale degree (C Ionian has a major third between the first
and third scale degree).

Remember how we praised the modes for their ability to communicate nuanced emotion?
The Dorian mode is a fantastic example of this – it’s not all doom-and-gloom simply because
it’s minor. The major sixth interval lends this mode a “brightness” that separates
it from sounding the same as a natural minor scale – in fact, if we compare D Dorian
to a D natural minor scale, we’ll see that the only difference is that raised sixth scale degree in
the Dorian mode:

Audio Player
D natural minor scale

Audio Player
D Dorian mode

Only one of the intervals is different when comparing the two scales. Just one of many
incredible examples in which a single note changes the whole mood of a sequence!

The Dorian mode is often described as melancholy yet optimistic, and is therefore well-suited
for its natural habitats: jazz, blues, and this classic Chris Isaak tune about bittersweet,
unrequited love. Pay attention to how that raised sixth scale degree “bright spot” gives a
hopeful feeling to an otherwise sad song:

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The Phrygian Mode

The next mode we’ll look at is the Phrygian.

Let’s take the notes of C Ionian as our starting point again. This time, start on E, the third
scale degree of the C Ionian, and play all the way up the piano’s white keys until you hit E
again.

Your whole step-half step pattern has shifted again from the C major or C Ionian pattern of
T-T-ST-T-T-T-ST, to become ST-T-T-T-ST-T-T.

Audio Player
E Phrygian mode

This is another minor mode, with the only difference between the Phrygian mode
and the natural minor scale being the presence of a minor second interval in the
Phrygian mode:

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Use Up/Down Arrow keys to increase or decrease volume.
E Phrygian mode

Audio Player
E natural minor

You might listen to it and be reminded of Flamenco – and rightly so! The Phrygian mode
belongs right at home in that southern Spanish art form.

However, being a minor mode with a minor third interval – and being quite a close cousin of
the natural minor scale – the Phrygian mode has a dark side, too. Notice the minor second
interval – this starts the scale off on a darker note than, say, Dorian, and makes this mode
perfect for conveying tension, foreboding, and doom with heavy metal guitar solos:

Phrygian is a great mode to reach for when the natural minor scale doesn’t quite have the
“doom” factor you’re looking for.

The Lydian Mode

You know the drill by now: start on the F note, the fourth scale degree of the C Ionian, play
up the white keys, and finish on F, for a pattern of T-T-T-ST-T-T-ST. There’s your Lydian.

Wait, hold on… what is that floaty, mystical sound?

The Lydian mode is the strange, ethereal sibling of the mode family. You’re listening to
something that sounds like the major scale, until that fourth note hits, and suddenly, you’re
left floating in space:

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Audio Player
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F Lydian mode

There is little tension or direction in the Lydian mode, lending it a sense of perpetual rest and
resolve – a welcome respite from the darker, more heavy Dorian and Phrygian modes.

Listen to Elliott Smith’s floaty, relaxed “Waltz #1”, which nicely makes use of the Lydian
mode:

The Lydian mode is well-suited for adding an air of mystery, calm, and floatiness to your
music, but can also convey a sense of wonder and grandiosity – so much that the scores of
many cult classics like E.T., Jurassic Park, and Back to the Future use the Lydian mode.

The Mixolydian Mode

Start on the fifth scale degree of the C Ionian. G to G on the white keys of the piano yields the
Mixolydian mode, another close relative of the major scale – with the one difference being a
flattened seventh scale degree (the G major scale would have that sharpened F):

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Audio Player
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G Mixolydian mode

This flattened seventh scale degree is what gives the Mixolydian mode both its distinctive
sound and its variety of uses in music. Most notably, because the flattened seventh scale
degree exists in 7th, 9th, 11th, and 13th chords, the Mixolydian mode is beautifully suited to
solo over many chord progressions that use these kinds of chords – think jazz, funk, and
blues.

To hear the Mixolydian mode in action, we need look no further than the homogenous yet
undeniably powerful and anthemic music of AC/DC, a band that takes the Blues and rips it
wide open:

Though undeniably a major mode, the Mixolydian has an edge to it – making it

something resembling the major scale’s bratty younger brother with a rebellious streak.

The Aeolian Mode

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Prepare for a small serving of deja vu.

Start on A, the sixth scale degree of the C Ionian, play your way up as always, and end on A.
What do you hear?

Audio Player
A Aeolian mode

That’s right – we’ve arrived at the natural minor scale. Sort of like rediscovering a long-lost
friend, no? Just as the Ionian mode is another name for our classic major scale, the Aeolian
mode is the modal name given to the natural minor scale.

If you want pure, undiluted sadness, you’ll want the Aeolian mode or natural minor. You’ll
hear it in the mournful “Losing My Religion”:

This Aeolian mode wistfulness is a great fit for blues, jazz, and downtempo ballads in the
genres of rock, folk, country, and pop. The notes of the natural minor are just perfect for
conveying pure sadness.

The Locrian Mode

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Time to look at our final mode.

The Locrian mode is the bogeyman of the musical modes – unsettling, odd, and by far the
least-used of the seven. People generally don’t know what to make of it, and we’re about to
hear why.

Start on B, the seventh scale degree of the C Ionian, and play your way through to the B above
it on white keys. You know you’ve done it right if you feel a sense of what-on-earth-did-I-
just-play:

Quite a far cry from the natural minor, no?

We’ve talked about intervals, and how they contribute to the sound of a mode. Let’s take a
closer look at how the intervals of the Locrian mode contribute to its spook factor.

The presence of a tritone and a lack of perfect fifth make this sequence of notes
incredibly dissonant and resistant to resolution. The Locrian mode is technically a
minor scale, but sounds so odd that it may deserve a category of its own!

It’s so unstable that our ear has difficulty hearing it as Locrian mode in a musical context –
instead, it is often instead perceived as a major, minor, or Mixolydian scale, depending on
phrasing and notes used!

There’s a reason for this: in the modes we discussed above, the tonic typically gives the scale
a place to “rest”, or feel natural. In the above example, however, you’ll notice that your ear
puts up a great fight against hearing “B” as the tonic note.

This happens because of a lack of a perfect fifth – the fifth scale degree is flattened.
This creates a root chord of B, D, and F – a diminished triad where the third and fifth are
flattened, compared to a major triad. This diminished triad is inherently unstable.
Additionally, the flattened fifth creates the interval B-F – this is the tritone, the scariest of
all intervals. Just try playing it on your instrument.

So where do we find this chilling, unsettling minor scale?

Its creepy quality has occasionally been exploited by heavy metal guitarists, who will build
progressions based on the Locrian scale and its intervals (albeit usually with a perfect fifth
above the root, which takes away some of the spook factor).

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Björk, our favourite Queen of Avant-Garde, managed to use this strange, inaccessible minor
scale to write a pop hit:

This is written in C Locrian mode. And it does resolve to C, as much as it can – though it does
bend your ear into all sorts of shapes in the process!

The Locrian is by no means a common scale in popular music – it is by far the least-used
mode, and even “Army of Me” isn’t 100% in Locrian, as its chorus has perfect fifths!

Internalizing the Modes

So there you have it, the seven modes: Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian,
Aeolian, and Locrian!

It’s a great idea to memorize or at least become familiar with that order of modes – it’ll be
easier to know which note of the C major scale to start on to derive each mode – start Dorian
on D and play white keys ascending until you’ve played an octave, start Phrygian on E and
play white keys ascending until you’ve played an octave, Lydian on F and play white keys
ascending until you’ve played an octave, and so on. So take a moment and say to yourself:
“Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, Locrian.”

Now that you have a rough idea of what each mode sounds like, it’s time to test it out for
yourself.

Grab an instrument, preferably a polyphonic one. Piano works perfectly, guitar works well,
and here’s a virtual piano you can play with your computer keyboard that is perfect if you
don’t have an instrument well-suited for this exercise.

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Spend more time on the modes that aren’t the Ionian (major scale) or Aeolian (natural minor
scale) – those two scales are already at least somewhat familiar to you, and it’s a great idea to
spend some time exploring those new modes!

Step 1: Create Your Drone

With your left hand, hold down one non-sharpened, non-flattened note (a white key
on the piano) so that it is a sustained, consistent sound – use the middle pedal on your
piano, if you have one.

The note “D” is a great place to start!

Step 2: Improvise Overtop

With your right hand, improvise overtop of the drone with only the white keys, playing a
simple melody. Congratulations – you have achieved modal improv!

How, you may ask?

Your left hand has established the tonic, and the sustained note serves as a consistent
reminder of just where the gravity of your little improvisation lies. The notes you play with
your right hand are understood by your brain in relation to the drone.

Step 3: Play Around With Drones

When you were improvising over your “D” note, you were actually improvising in Dorian! See
how easy that was? Simply by sticking to the white keys and establishing a tonal center with
your left-hand drone, you’ve created some song-worthy melodies.

Now, shift your drone to a different note, rinse, and repeat. This is an exercise that will keep
you entertained and learning for hours, as you take note of the unique feel that each different
tonal center lends to your composition. Have fun!

Diving Deeper into Modes

Now that you have a basic understanding of what each mode sounds like and you’ve gotten
the chance to play around with them, you have the option of furthering your understanding
by exploring more of the music theory behind modes, and by applying various learning tools
you already know. Here are some ideas:

Use the solfège system to internalize each mode. Choral Director magazine
conveniently lists the solfège syllables you’ll need to sing and understand each mode.
What are the “special notes” in each mode, the ones that really give the scale their feel?
In many cases, there’s more than one! Michael Pitluk explores this topic in his zippy,
engaging video tutorial.

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 Go beyond simply playing the modes “up-and-down”, and focus on practicing them in a
way that really brings out the characteristic sound of each one, as Jeff Schneider
explains.
Learn the chords that go well with each mode – this will add a fantastic new dimension
to your composition and songwriting. Anne Crosby Gaudet has created the perfect
tutorial to get you started.

Modes and their Flavours

You’ll have noticed that each mode can be described as major or minor, depending on the
presence of a major third or a minor third interval. The Ionian, Lydian, and Mixolydian are
the major modes, while the Dorian, Phrygian, Aeolian, and Locrian modes are minor.

However, modes are more accurately described as flavours of major and minor – compare
the floaty, calm feeling of the Lydian to the driven, positive character of the Mixolydian, or
the Locrian’s chilling minor to the natural minor or Aeolian melancholia. Simply calling them
major scales or minor scales doesn’t do them justice!

Modes therefore function to add a very human dimension to the music you insert them into;
working beyond happy and sad, and exploring some deeper, nuanced emotions. Which one
best suits your mood?

As you begin to explore modes, use the modal improv trick to experiment with each one and
get a sense of its sound. This will help you internalize it, recognize it in music, and eventually,
put it to use in your own compositions!

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