Have you ever struggled with modes, never really been able to get a hang of the theory, I know I damn well
did, I tried to learn the patterns and notes and fingerings but could never get my head around it. Untill one
day I was like shit, thats kinda simple, using the modal formulas! The modes in order are, Ionian, Dorian,
Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian and Locrian. I will explain the differences in sound and use in another
post, but... hopefully I can help some of you who struggle with the basic concept of modes. Soooooo.....
C Ionian is just a fancy name for the C major scale, consisting of C D E F G A B and then finally C, there
are no sharps or flats. The formula looks like so,
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
C Ionian - C D E F G A B
The numbers represent the notes and the order in which they proceed, so 6 would the be A, and so forth.
1 2 b3 4 5 6 b7
D Dorian - C D Eb F G A Bb
So you see, to be able to play Dorian, which is the first minor mode, all you do is flatten the 3rd note and
the seventh note of the C major scale, the same principle applies to all the other modes aswell, so lets look
at the other formulas.
E Phrygian - 1 b2 b3 4 5 b6 b7
C Db Eb F G Ab Bb
Again all I did was look at the formula and change the notes accordingly to yield Phrygian, the 3rd mode.
F Lydian - 1 2 3 4# 5 6 7
C D E F# G A B
So with Lydian, the 4th mode, all you do is raise, or augment the 4th note being F, to F#.
G Mixolydian - 1 2 3 4 5 6 b7
C D E F G A Bb
Another easy one, Mixolydian, the 5th mode, you need only flatten the 7th.
A Aeolian - 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7
C D Eb F G Ab Gb
If you noticed, see how similar all these scales really are, changing only 1 note of the major scale gives
you 2 completely new scales, Mixolydian and Lydian, now with Aeolian, the natural minor, we changed the 3rd,
the 6th and the 7th note respectively.
B Locrian - 1 b2 b3 4 b5 b6 b7
C Db Eb F Gb Ab Bb
Locrian is the final mode of the major scale and is classified as a Half-Diminished scale, we flattened the
2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th, and then finally the 7th, and thats all the formulas.
Now that we know how to build amode, lets try some examples.
F# major, it looks like so, F# G# A# B C# D# E#(F)
Now which mode to choose? Lets try an easy one, mixolydian...
What notes would I change to play an F# mixolydian scale?
Thats right, F# G# A# B C# D# E, we flattened the E#(f) note to give us the E for F# Mixolydian.
What about that Locrian Bastard, whats the formula? 1 b2 b3 4 b5 b6 b7 sooooo.....
Well... F# G A B C D E, thats it, thats all there is to it, try it for yourself with every key, and have fun.
did, I tried to learn the patterns and notes and fingerings but could never get my head around it. Untill one
day I was like shit, thats kinda simple, using the modal formulas! The modes in order are, Ionian, Dorian,
Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian and Locrian. I will explain the differences in sound and use in another
post, but... hopefully I can help some of you who struggle with the basic concept of modes. Soooooo.....
C Ionian is just a fancy name for the C major scale, consisting of C D E F G A B and then finally C, there
are no sharps or flats. The formula looks like so,
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
C Ionian - C D E F G A B
The numbers represent the notes and the order in which they proceed, so 6 would the be A, and so forth.
1 2 b3 4 5 6 b7
D Dorian - C D Eb F G A Bb
So you see, to be able to play Dorian, which is the first minor mode, all you do is flatten the 3rd note and
the seventh note of the C major scale, the same principle applies to all the other modes aswell, so lets look
at the other formulas.
E Phrygian - 1 b2 b3 4 5 b6 b7
C Db Eb F G Ab Bb
Again all I did was look at the formula and change the notes accordingly to yield Phrygian, the 3rd mode.
F Lydian - 1 2 3 4# 5 6 7
C D E F# G A B
So with Lydian, the 4th mode, all you do is raise, or augment the 4th note being F, to F#.
G Mixolydian - 1 2 3 4 5 6 b7
C D E F G A Bb
Another easy one, Mixolydian, the 5th mode, you need only flatten the 7th.
A Aeolian - 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7
C D Eb F G Ab Gb
If you noticed, see how similar all these scales really are, changing only 1 note of the major scale gives
you 2 completely new scales, Mixolydian and Lydian, now with Aeolian, the natural minor, we changed the 3rd,
the 6th and the 7th note respectively.
B Locrian - 1 b2 b3 4 b5 b6 b7
C Db Eb F Gb Ab Bb
Locrian is the final mode of the major scale and is classified as a Half-Diminished scale, we flattened the
2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th, and then finally the 7th, and thats all the formulas.
Now that we know how to build amode, lets try some examples.
F# major, it looks like so, F# G# A# B C# D# E#(F)
Now which mode to choose? Lets try an easy one, mixolydian...
What notes would I change to play an F# mixolydian scale?
Thats right, F# G# A# B C# D# E, we flattened the E#(f) note to give us the E for F# Mixolydian.
What about that Locrian Bastard, whats the formula? 1 b2 b3 4 b5 b6 b7 sooooo.....
Well... F# G A B C D E, thats it, thats all there is to it, try it for yourself with every key, and have fun.