The modes

Play only the white keys but start and end on D instead of C, and treat D as home. The notes are identical to C major; the sound is not. That is D Dorian, and it is a mode.

There are seven, one for each starting note of the major scale.

The useful way to think about them

Learning modes as "white keys from a different starting note" gets you the notes and misses the point, because it makes every mode sound like C major.

The better framing: compare each mode to the major or minor scale on the same root. Then each one is a single alteration or two, and the alteration is what you can actually hear.

• Lydian = major with a ♯4. C Lydian is C D E F♯ G A B.
• Mixolydian = major with a ♭7. C Mixolydian is C D E F G A B♭.
• Dorian = natural minor with a ♮6. C Dorian is C D E♭ F G A B♭.
• Phrygian = natural minor with a ♭2. C Phrygian is C D♭ E♭ F G A♭ B♭.
• Locrian = natural minor with a ♭2 and ♭5. Rarely used as a key centre.

1. C1
   tone
2. D2
   tone
3. E3
   tone
4. F♯4
   semi
5. G5
   tone
6. A6
   tone
7. B7
   semi
8. C8

1. C1
   tone
2. D2
   semi
3. E♭3
   tone
4. F4
   tone
5. G5
   tone
6. A6
   semi
7. B♭7
   tone
8. C8

What makes a mode sound like itself

The characteristic note — the one that differs from the parallel major or minor:

• Lydian: the ♯4 gives it a floating, unresolved brightness.
• Mixolydian: the ♭7 removes the leading tone, so it sounds major but relaxed.
• Dorian: the ♮6 makes minor sound less mournful than natural minor.
• Phrygian: the ♭2 creates a semitone right above the tonic.

To hear a mode you have to keep returning to its tonic. Play D Dorian over a droning D and it is unmistakably Dorian. Play the same notes over a C bass and it is C major again.

Where they turn up

Dorian and Mixolydian are everywhere in folk, rock and blues-derived music. Lydian appears in film scores. Phrygian is a staple of flamenco and metal. Locrian is mostly a theoretical curiosity — its tonic triad is diminished, so it struggles to establish a home.

The same explorer, on a page of its own, is the mode explorer.

Looking one up

Each mode is tabulated on all twelve roots, with the major scale it shares its notes with, in the mode reference — start with Dorian, Lydian or Mixolydian, which are the three you are most likely to meet in practice.