My Dirty Little Secret About Modes

Hey gang!

How about we make sense of modes once and for all?

They’re just scales, people!

So why are they so confusing?

I certainly used to be baffled by them.

Not anymore. And I’m here to bring you up to speed as well.

Ready?

Okay – play a C major scale, aka the Ionian mode.

C D E F G A B

Now, take that same set of notes and bump the C to the end of the line, which makes D the new first note:

D E F G A B C

That’s the D Dorian mode.

Rinse and repeat: D goes to the end of the line, and E becomes the first note:

E F G A B C D

That’s E Phrygian.

Yes, the names of these modes are scary and sound like spells from Harry Potter, but remember – they’re just scales!

But here’s the most important question to answer:

If each of these scales (modes) uses the same seven notes, then what makes them distinct from one another?

Glad you asked.

You see, the order of the notes affects the harmony each mode implies.

So, when you play the C Ionian mode, C D E F G A B, the downbeats align with C, E, G, and B, implying a CMaj7 chord.

D Dorian, D E F G A B C, implies Dm13.

How about F Lydian (F G A B C D E)? What chord is implied there?

FMaj7#11

My point is that a modal approach to improvisation does not mean playing random notes within a mode. You still have to consider the harmony at hand.

Take the first eight bars of Miles Davis’s solo on “So What” for example:

Yes, he’s playing D Dorian, but the tonal center could not be more clear...

In the excerpt above there are a total of 30 notes, more than half of which are roots and fifths. See the note frequency chart below:

Davis also arpeggiates a D Minor triad twice in just eight bars, so there’s no question that the scale is in fact a vehicle for conveying harmony.

This is why I’m such a proponent of mastering chord tones before worrying about scales/modes. It’s why I created Chord Tone Magic – an entire etude book of chord tone solos over popular chord progressions like “There Will Never Be Another You” and “Fly Me to the Moon.”

You can learn more about Chord Tone Magic here.

But before we go, there is another extremely cool and little-known way to apply modes to a scale you might not expect.

Believe it or not, you can apply modes to the blues scale! And by doing so, you open up a world of possibilities for turning the blues scale on its head, making it sound incredibly fresh and modern.

Here are the modes of the Bb blues scale:

Bb Db Eb E F Ab
Db Eb E F Ab Bb
Eb E F Ab Bb Db
E F Ab Bb Db Eb
F Ab Bb Db Eb E
Ab Bb Db Eb E F

Remember, in order to get the sound of each mode, you need to imply some harmony, so try the Miles Davis trick and emphasize the 1 and 5.

For example, for the fourth mode: E F Ab Bb Db Eb, try emphasizing E and Bb (Bb is the closest thing to a fifth away from E).

It might sound a little wacky at first, but if you take some time to experiment and familiarize yourself with the sound, you’ll have unlocked a much more modern take on the blues scale, which can add some serious depth to your solos.

I know it’s a bit abstract to read about all this in an email, so if you really want to dig into exploring the blues scale in both a classic and modern context, be sure to check out my course, Improvising with the Blues Scale (without sounding like an amateur), which is currently closed for enrollment but should open back up in a couple of months.

In the meantime you can wet your blues whistle with the Sick Licks blues editions and Tastiest Blues Licks You’ve Ever Heard.

Happy Shedding,

Jeff