"Modes Explained!"
Some people cringe just hearing the word "mode". They are complex musical theories to learn and many people do not even try to use them or to learn them because of this. I am going to break them down and make them usable to anyone who practices them!
Modes are used for creating atmospheres and moods in music. There are seven modes, and they each have a different feel to them entirely. By not using modal theory, you are limiting yourself and if you do use them, they are powerful tools that can really bring your pieces to life moreso than always using major and minor sounds all the time.
This brings us to major and minor sounds, did you know those are modes too? Now suddenly maybe the idea of modes does not seem so terrible and overwhelming! Everyone knows that anything major sounds bright and happy, while everything minor sounds dark and sad! Those are the first two modes I am going to list actually, which are Ionian (Major) and Aeolian (Minor). See, you know more about modes than you think if you know those! But by learning the other 6 modes, you have MUCH more available to you!
For instance, Lydian mode has a dreamy feel to it. Mixolydian has that mexican feel to it, hence why I think "MEX"olydian to remember that! And Locrian mode has the darkest, tensest feel to it, so to remember that I think "Lycan..Locrian", because Lycans are dark creatures. Phrygian mode has that exotic, almost Egyptian or Middle Eastern feel to it, so I think "PHaroah...PHrygian" to remember that.
Now heres what I should charge you all a lot of money for; I am going to write the interval patterns for ALL of the modes! You start at any root note you want and follow these interval patterns and that's the mode! When you know them, practice hard!
IONIAN (major)= root, whole, whole, half, whole, whole, whole, half
AEOLIAN (minor)= root, whole, half, whole, whole, half, whole, whole
DORIAN= root, whole, half, whole, whole, whole, half, whole
PHRYGIAN= root, half, whole, whole, whole, half, whole, whole
LYDIAN= root, whole, whole, whole, half, whole, whole, half
MIXOLYDIAN= root, whole, whole, half, whole, whole, half, whole
LOCRIAN= root, half, whole, whole, half, whole, whole, whole
Hope you enjoy this! When I first unlocked the secret of the interval patterns, it really felt like the holy grail of music! Use these to practice them hard and learn them musically, then it will be fun learning modes instead of painful and discouraging!
Keep playing!,
Mark McAnaney, Solo Bassist
Some people cringe just hearing the word "mode". They are complex musical theories to learn and many people do not even try to use them or to learn them because of this. I am going to break them down and make them usable to anyone who practices them!
Modes are used for creating atmospheres and moods in music. There are seven modes, and they each have a different feel to them entirely. By not using modal theory, you are limiting yourself and if you do use them, they are powerful tools that can really bring your pieces to life moreso than always using major and minor sounds all the time.
This brings us to major and minor sounds, did you know those are modes too? Now suddenly maybe the idea of modes does not seem so terrible and overwhelming! Everyone knows that anything major sounds bright and happy, while everything minor sounds dark and sad! Those are the first two modes I am going to list actually, which are Ionian (Major) and Aeolian (Minor). See, you know more about modes than you think if you know those! But by learning the other 6 modes, you have MUCH more available to you!
For instance, Lydian mode has a dreamy feel to it. Mixolydian has that mexican feel to it, hence why I think "MEX"olydian to remember that! And Locrian mode has the darkest, tensest feel to it, so to remember that I think "Lycan..Locrian", because Lycans are dark creatures. Phrygian mode has that exotic, almost Egyptian or Middle Eastern feel to it, so I think "PHaroah...PHrygian" to remember that.
Now heres what I should charge you all a lot of money for; I am going to write the interval patterns for ALL of the modes! You start at any root note you want and follow these interval patterns and that's the mode! When you know them, practice hard!
IONIAN (major)= root, whole, whole, half, whole, whole, whole, half
AEOLIAN (minor)= root, whole, half, whole, whole, half, whole, whole
DORIAN= root, whole, half, whole, whole, whole, half, whole
PHRYGIAN= root, half, whole, whole, whole, half, whole, whole
LYDIAN= root, whole, whole, whole, half, whole, whole, half
MIXOLYDIAN= root, whole, whole, half, whole, whole, half, whole
LOCRIAN= root, half, whole, whole, half, whole, whole, whole
Hope you enjoy this! When I first unlocked the secret of the interval patterns, it really felt like the holy grail of music! Use these to practice them hard and learn them musically, then it will be fun learning modes instead of painful and discouraging!
Keep playing!,
Mark McAnaney, Solo Bassist
No comments:
Post a Comment