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.