Ancient Modes

Now we come to modes. Remember that were used over a thousand years ago! They were not very popular during the last 200 years, but they made a comeback recently.

Modes came to us from Greece. They made their way to Rome, where the Catholic Church picked them up. The Church kept their old Greek names. They are Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, Locrian, and Ionian modes.

These modes are still used today. Don't get the idea that modes are just for old music. The Beatles used the Dorian mode in one of their most famous songs, Eleanor Rigby.

Let's look at the rest of these strange and wonderful modes.

Dorian Mode This is the most widely used mode. You can play it by starting on D (the white key between the two black keys) and play just the white keys to the next D. This mode is easy to remember: Dorian begins with D and the scale starts on D. You'll never forget this mode.

Phrygian Mode

This mode begins on E. Play all the white key up to the next E. It has a very sad sound and is heard in lots of Spanish, Hebrew, and Gypsy music. It is the only mode that begins with a half-step. Composers use this mode when they want their music to sound Oriental.

Lydian Mode

This mode sounds almost the same as the major scale. It has an odd-sounding 4th note. Start on F and play all the white keys up to the next F.

Mixolydian Mode

This has a long name, but is simple to play. Start on G and play all the white keys up to the next G. This also sounds like the major scale, but it has a strange-sounding 7th tone. It's used a lot in rock and roll and jazz music.

Aeolian Mode

Just like its name, this mode begins on A. Start on A and play all the white keys up to the next A. This is also called the natural minor scale.

Locrian Mode

This mode sounds so strange it is almost never used. It begins and ends on B. You can forget this one.

Modes have not been used a lot in the last 200 years. That changed during the Impressionistic period when composers like Claude Debussy started using modes in their music. He liked them and knew the public would enjoy these "new" sounds.

Impressionism was an important musical style that emerged during the early 20th century. The whole idea started with French painters. Their paintings were blurry and fuzzy. There are no clean, hard outlines or edges or shapes. The same is true with music of this period. The sounds were "painted" using richly colored harmonies.

Fetes is the name of a piece Debussy wrote. It means Festival. He used lots of different modes in this piece to give it an exciting, fresh sound. We open with a driving rhythm played five notes apart. You can't tell if it's major or minor. Underneath this rhythm appears a swirling dance tune, played in the Dorian mode. Next you'll hear the piece switch the Lydian mode. A few seconds later you'll hear the jazzy Mixolydian mode. Wow! In the first 30 seconds, Debussy has already used three modes! In the middle section Debussy returns to the Dorian mode, then switches to the Mixolydian mode. Can you name the modes that have been used so far? If you guessed Dorian, Lydian,. and Mixolydian, you'd be right! And so it goes, one mode after another.