From the course: Music Theory for Songwriters: Harmony

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What are modes?

What are modes?

From the course: Music Theory for Songwriters: Harmony

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What are modes?

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- The diatonic scale is represented by all the white keys of the piano. If we play all the white keys starting with C, we hear the C major scale. I showed you earlier if we play all the white keys starting on A, we hear the A natural minor scale. Both follow the diatonic formula of whole steps and half steps. But the difference between the major and natural minor scale is the position of a tonic in that formula. Since the first degree of each scale appears on a different note in a diatonic scale, the resulting interval pattern is different. What if we would apply this method of shifting the position of the tonic to other points along the diatonic scale? The resulting change in interval relationships yields different interval patterns with their own characteristic sound. To illustrate this concept clearly, we use C major as our reference. We know that the tonic of the C major scale is its first degree, C. So what happens when we treat the other scale degrees as the starting point or…

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