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→Why/When to Use Modes?
== Why/When to Use Modes? ==
Ionian and Aeolian are the major and minor scales, respectively. We should be quite familiar with their sound and impact on us musically by now. 4 of the other 5 modes differ from either Ionian or Aeolian by only one note and can be considered ''synthetic scales'' that retain most of the core impact of those scales but provide a slightly different color. They are often termed as "moody". These can easily substitute for the major or minor scale for the given key, provided that the current harmony does not cause their use to become too dissonant. The other mode, Locrian, shares most notes with the minor scale. It additionally has a m2 like Phrygian, but the biggest difference from all the other modes is that it has a diminished 5th. This can give it a very unsettling feel and can be substituted for minor when a
{|class="wikitable"
! Mode !! Comparison
|-
| Ionian || Major Scale
|-
| Dorian || Minor Scale w/ {{s}}6th
|-
| Phrygian || Minor Scale w/ {{f}}2nd
|-
| Lydian || Major Scale w/ {{s}}4th
|-
| Mixolydian || Major Scale w/ {{f}}7th
|-
| Aeolian || Minor Scale
|-
| Locrian || Diminished 5th
|}
So let's look at some example progressions:
C F G C
Ionian Mixolydian Lydian Ionian
Here we have a standard I - IV - V - I progression in C Major. The C major scale = C Ionian. This has the B - C leading tone, as well as the P5 G, solidly establishing the tonality of C. We start on C Ionian over the C major chord to root the piece in C Major. When the F major chord occurs, we switch to C Mixolydian. F consists of the P4, M6, and M2 notes from C Major. Mixolydian shares all the notes of C Major with the exception of the M7. C Mixolydian has a {{f}}7. While this doesn't create any severe dissonance with the chord, it certainly shakes up the tonality a little bit. Similarly, over G Major we use C Lydian, which shares all the same notes as C Major except it has an A4 instead of P5. C Lydian is actually equivalent to G Major. It feels like a modulation to G, but then when we return to the C Major chord in the harmony, we revert back to C Ionian.
== Pitch Axis Theory ==