Using Modes in Scales

Have you ever wanted to change your scales around and add some “color” and emotion? Or maybe not scales, but at least solos? One proven way to add some spice to your music is by using modes to rearrange your scales. Modes are designed for you to change scales to suit your own taste in music.

Fun fact: modes date all the way back to ancient Greece. This must mean that modes serve an important purpose in music if they have been passed down for thousands of years.

Before you even attempt to examine modes, you should have extensive knowledge of steps and scales. All of the changes that are made in the modes below are modifications to the major scale. They simply will not work if you try and transpose them using a minor scale (a few different notes will not allow it). Background information aside, here are the seven different modes in circulation today:

Ionian 1st or Root

Put simply, the Ionian mode is just a major scale. Start playing a major scale and you have already learned the first mode – Ionian.

Dorian 2nd

The Dorian mode is created by lowering the 3rd and the 7th steps.

Phrygian 3rd

Take the 2nd, 3rd, 6th and 7th steps and lower them a semitone (1/2 a step). Congrats, instant Phrygian mode.

Lydian 4th

To create the Lydian mode, all you need to do is raise the 4th step by a semitone.

Mixolydian 5th

The Mixolydian mode is the major scale with a flattened 7th step.

Aeolian 6th

The Aeolian mode lowers the 3rd, 6th and 7th steps by a semitone. Just like the Ionian mode, this mode is actually another name for a scale – we call it the minor scale. Nothing complicated on this mode.

Locrian 7th

The Locrian mode is created by lowering the 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th and 7th steps by a semitone.

Applying the Modes

Now that you know the modes, it is time to add some personality to your scales or solos. Simply take your normal, run–of–the–mill major scale, and tweak it to fit your needs. Remember, music is about individuality, so feel free to mix and match scales, notes, and chords. Music is a smorgasbord just waiting for you to dive in with your fork and spoon and mix up everything on your plate – and by now you should have a great deal on your plate! Enjoy the modes, and start practicing today.