To begin with, it’s worth understanding what a fret is? This is a system of relationships between sounds. From all 12 notes of an octave, certain sounds are selected to compose a piece of music, for example, 7 notes. They are located unevenly in the octave and, relative to each other, have unequal conditions. And in this situation, relationships arise, such as stability, gravity. We can come to the conclusion that these phenomena within a given set of sounds can be called a mode.
Seven modes of folk music
Today we will consider in detail the following modes of folk music:
- Ionian
- Dorian
- Phrygian
- Lydian
- Mixolydian
- Aeolian
- Locrian
You should immediately pay attention to the frets known throughout the world:
- Major. Also called "Ionian mode".
- Minor. It is called the “Aeolian mode”.
Surely, you were told as a child that major is a cheerful, optimistic mode, and minor is sadder, more pressing. In addition to these modes, there are 5 more, which also belong to either major or minor.
Ionian mode
As mentioned above, Ionian is a natural major mode, which is the most convenient and in demand in music. This scale can be built from any note and thereby obtain the major note of the same name. That is, if you build the Ionian scale from “C”, then you automatically get “C major”. Now let's determine the formula for constructing the Ionian mode. From any note we build the following: tone-tone-semitone-tone-tone-tone-semitone. This is a universal formula, using which from any note you will get the Ionian mode.
Aeolian mode
This is a minor scale, which also has a clear construction model. With its help, you can get a minor scale from any note. If you start building the Aeolian mode from the note "A", you will get "A minor". The formula is: tone-semitone-tone-tone-semitone-tone-tone.
Dorian mode
This fret was known in antiquity and the Middle Ages. Surely you have heard the name of the Greek tribes - Dorians. It is precisely from this name that this fret originates. It can also be classified as minor, but it will differ from the Aeolian mode. You can remember it by the raised sixth stage. That is, you build the Aeolian mode, which we went through above, and simply lower the sixth degree in it. However, the structure of the Dorian mode can be made using the following formula: tone-semitone-tone-tone-tone-semitone-tone. For example, let's try to build the Dorian mode from the note “E”. It turns out “mi-fa sharp-sol-la-si-do sharp-re-mi”.
The Dorian mode is usually called agile and dexterous. Nowadays, a mixture of Dorian mode and. There is even such a name as “Dorian-blues mode”. In it you can hear elements of the blues pentatonic scale and the already familiar Dorian minor. It is also worth noting that the Dorian mode is often used in ethnic and folk works. It sounds especially characteristic in the music of the Celtic peoples. An example of the Dorian mode can be heard in Symphony X's song The Edge Of Forever already in the first minute in the roll call of guitar and keys.
Symphony X - The Edge of Forever
Phrygian mode
Its difference from the Aeolian is the lowered second degree of the fret. Remember the formula: semitone-tone-tone-tone-semitone-tone-tone. For example, you can build a regular A minor scale and take B flat in it. It is in this version that you will get the sound of the Phrygian mode. This mode is characterized as impetuous, excited, with an abundance of leaps. You can also find such characteristics as strict, angry, encouraging to fight. Therefore, if you want to write a work in this character, then you should definitely choose the Phrygian mode. An example of this scale can be heard by Metallica in Welcome Home.
Metallica - Welcome Home
Locrian or Hypophrygian mode
This is the fourth and final minor scale. The difference between the Locrian mode and the natural minor mode is the lowering of the second and fifth degrees. It, like the previous modes, can be built from any note using the following formula: semitone-tone-tone-semitone-tone-tone-tone. This Locrian mode can be called modest or calm. Some describe him as having a flattering or chatty personality. We can hear an example of the Locrian mode in the bass line from “Army of Me” by Bjork.Bjork - Army Of Me
Lydian mode
When we have gone through all the minor modes, we can move on to the major modes. First we will study the Lydian mode. It is similar to the Ionian, but the distinguishing feature is the raised fourth degree. Construct the simplest C major, or in other words C major, but instead of the usual F, take F sharp. So you have heard the sound of the Lydian mode. And its formula is as follows: tone-tone-tone-semitone-tone-tone-semitone. The mode is very ambiguous in its shades. He can be modest, calm and in an instant become cheerful and joyful. Its sound is very light, however, it is clearly modal, since our hearing immediately reacts to the raised fourth degree. The Lydian mode is actively used by various modern ensembles. Now you can hear this harmony even in rock music.
It is very convenient to use this particular mode in improvisation. One might even look at George Russell's work, The Lydian Chromatic Conception. Here the author describes all sorts of ways to improvise using the Lydian mode. It is also often used in composition when you need to create a series (episodes that are repeated several times from different sounds). The most famous melody in the Lydian mode is the theme song for the cartoon “The Simpsons”. Steve Vai - The Riddle is also a prime example of the Lydian mode.
Steve Vai - The Riddle
Mixolydian mode
To get the Mixolydian mode, we build the Ionian mode and lower the seventh degree in it. If we play C major, then instead of “B”, we should play “B-flat”. Its structure can also be remembered: tone-tone-semitone-tone-tone-semitone-tone. The character of this mode is compared to the character of a young man. He is considered chatty due to his quick turns. But at the same time its sound is very pleasant and joyful. The mode is found in the songs Tomorrow Never Knows and Norwegian Wood by The Beatles.
(first stage), dominant (fifth stage) and subdominant (fourth stage). To describe modes in music of non-European traditions, it is common to use the term "modus" or "modal modes" (as opposed to "tonal modes").
Modal modes precede tonal modes in the history of the formation of musical languages of different peoples (many non-European musical languages still lack tonal modes). According to the concept of V. B. Brainin, the main difference between modal and tonal modes is that in modal modes, the organizing pitch principle is both the scale and the individual tones “initius” and “finalis”, which begin and complete musical constructions, while while the organizing structural principle is the well-known melodic cells.
Modal scales tend to govern improvisation rather than composition. Because of this, “initius” and “finalis” are often displaced within a stable scale. In tonal modes, the organizing principle is harmonic functions, the “initiate” does not have an organizing role, and the “finalis” is represented by the “tonic”, implying a major or minor triad, including in the case of a monophonic presentation. A change of tonic (modulation) (as opposed to modal “mutation”) occurs less frequently during a piece and also entails a change of scale.
Transitional from modal modes to tonal modes, one can imagine the modes of strict counterpoint, in which completed works were composed, crystallization of harmonic functions took place, the organizing structural principle was no longer melodic cells, but imitation and the idea of consonance-dissonance of harmonic intervals and their interaction, but at the same time At that time, the organizing sound-pitch principle remained the scale.
Frets in antiquity
The mode system of Ancient Greece included six main modes (Ionian, Aeolian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian and Mixolydian) and six “hypolades” (Hypoionian, Hypoaeolian, Hypodorian, Hypophrygian, Hypolydian and Mixolydian), of which not all were practically used. All these modes were extracted from a single scale, differing in the main “stable” steps. Hypolades differed from the main modes in that the second most important stable degree in them was the 4th (if counted from below), whereas in the main modes the second most important stable degree was the 5th. Due to the fact that in Ancient Greece the idea of the scale differed from the one that appeared in the Middle Ages (the Greeks counted the steps from above, not from below), the designations of modes adopted in the Middle Ages did not correspond to the Greek modes, although they adopted their names.
Modes in medieval European music
There are seven main so-called “church” or “Greek” modes considered in music theory, according to the number of non-repeating degrees of the scale.
- Ionian mode- externally corresponds to natural major. Can be built on the white piano keys from the note "C".
- Aeolian mode- externally corresponds to natural minor. It is built on white keys from the note “A”.
- Dorian mode- externally minor with a raised sixth degree. It is built on white keys from the note “D”.
- Phrygian mode- externally corresponds to a natural minor with a lowered second degree. On white keys - from the note “E”.
- Lydian mode- externally corresponds to a natural major with a raised fourth degree. On white keys it is built from the note “F”.
- Mixolydian- externally corresponds to natural major with a lowered seventh degree. On white keys - from the note “salt”.
- Locrian- a special (conditional) mode that does not have a specific mode inclination. It is based on a diminished triad. On white keys - from the note “B”. Genetically related to the so-called hypophrygian mode with a stable 4th degree (instead of the 5th).
| Lad | Mood | Peculiarities | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ionian | Major | Natural | Listen |
| Lydian | Major | IV↗ stage increases | Listen |
| Mixolydian | Major | VII↘ step goes down | Listen |
| Aeolian | Minor | Natural | Listen |
| Phrygian | Minor | II↘ stage decreases | Listen |
| Dorian | Minor | VI↗ step increases | Listen |
| Locrian | Halftone + Twotones + Halftone + Threetones | Listen |
Intervals in modes of medieval European music
| Lad | Intervals in modes | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prima | Second | Third | Quart | Quint | Sixth | Seventh | |
| Lydian | Clean | Big | Big | Enlarged | Clean | Big | Big |
| Ionian | Clean | Big | Big | Clean | Clean | Big | Big |
| Mixolydian | Clean | Big | Big | Clean | Clean | Big | Small |
| Dorian | Clean | Big | Small | Clean | Clean | Big | Small |
| Aeolian | Clean | Big | Small | Clean | Clean | Small | Small |
| Phrygian | Clean | Small | Small | Clean | Clean | Small | Small |
| Locrian | Clean | Small | Small | Clean | Reduced | Small | Small |
Non-European fret systems
India uses a modal system with 7 fundamental tones and 15 additional tones (shruti) (total 22 shruti tones per octave).
Fret systems of the New Age
Of the modern, frequently used frets, two that were introduced into use at the beginning of the 20th century are of great importance. These are the so-called increased and decreased frets. In the enlarged mode there are 6 sounds arranged sequentially in tones, the 7th sound is a repetition of the tonic. Writing an enlarged scale, or whole-tone scale, is free - any sound can be replaced enharmonically without changing the rules of writing. The diminished mode is built by alternating tones and semitones: for example, C - D - E-flat - F - F-sharp, etc. The mode has several names: diminished mode, Rimsky-Korsakov scale (first used by N. A. Rimsky -Korsakov in one of his operas on a fairy tale plot), the scale is “tone-semitone”, or “semitone-tone”, depending on the order of alternation of tones and semitones in the scale.
There are many modes in music. Because of their diversity, the music is varied and expressive. In addition to the well-known major and minor with their varieties, there are so-called folk frets. They are called differently: church modes, ancient modes, folk music modes. They were studied back in the Middle Ages.
The names of these modes are taken from the theory of the ancient Greeks. These modes are united by the alternation of major and minor seconds. In all modes discussed below, there are five major seconds and two minor seconds. If you play scales from each degree of C major (on the piano these will be all white keys), you will get a complete “set” of folk music scales.
The modes of folk music can be divided into two large groups according to their mode inclination.
First group: modes of major inclination, having a high III degree. These include:
- Ionian (from “C” - coincides with natural major);
- Lydian (from “F” - in contrast to natural F major, high IV degree);
- Mixolydian (from “G” - in contrast to G major, low VII degree).
Second group:
modes of minor inclination, having the third low degree. These include:
- Aeolian (from “A” - coincides with the natural minor);
- Dorian (from “D” - in contrast to D minor, high level VI);
- Phrygian (from “E” - in contrast to E minor, low II degree);
- Locrian (from “B” - in contrast to B minor, low degrees II and V).
The modes of folk music are diatonic (natural) modes. Their steps are natural, not chromatic (modified). Therefore, it is customary to say, for example, IV high level, not advanced. To understand these modes, we compare them with the well-known ones - natural major and natural minor, but these are not derivative modes, but independent ones.
To understand these modes we will make several constructions:
Lydian mode: Dorian mode:
from “Salt” - sol la si do# re mi fa# sol from “Mi” - mi fa# sol la si do# re mi
from “F” - fa sol la si to re mi fa from “Re” - re mi fa sol la si to re
Mixolydian mode: Phrygian mode:
from “Sol” - sol la si do # re mi fa sol from “Mi” - mi fa sol la si do re mi
from “Fa” - fa sol la sib to re mib fa from “Re” - re mib fa sol a sib to re
To remember these modes, use these tips:
In the modes of folk music, unstable steps change - II IV VI VII.
In major modes, degrees IV and VII change. These are the sounds that make a tritone.
In minor modes, degrees II and VI change. These are the sounds that make a tritone.
Another hint:
Fill in two parallel keys without F# - G major and E minor. This pair is the Mixolydian and Phrygian modes.
Remember two parallel keys without B - F major and D minor. This pair is the Lydian and Dorian modes.
In this lesson, you'll learn what frets are, what they look like on a guitar, and how you can use them in your solos and improvisations. We will talk about the most popular frets, known as natural.
Modes can be derived from the major scale.
Frets are nothing new. Frets as we use them today date back to 1675.
You've probably played scales before, perhaps without realizing that that's what you were playing. Can you play a major scale? If yes, then you already know the first fret (out of 7), which is known as Ionian.
How do frets work?
Ionian mode in key C (aka C major scale) is the first natural scale and does not contain any alteration marks (sharps and flats). The numbers from 1 to 7 make up the fret formula - this is a theoretical way of designating it:
C Ionian mode (= C major scale)
C D E F G A B
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Play C major scale from the second degree (notes). You got the second mode - Dorian. Degrees 3 and 7 of this mode are lowered by a semitone relative to the degrees of the Ionian mode.
D Dorian mode
D E F G A B C
1 2 b 3 4 5 6 b 7
Now play C major scale from the third degree, and you will get the third mode - Phrygian. Degrees 2, 3, 6 and 7 of this mode are lowered by a semitone relative to the degrees of the Ionian mode.
E Phrygian mode
E F G A B C D
1 b 2 b 3 4 5 b 6 b 7
We can continue this for each degree of the major scale, but I think you already understand the principle. Below you will find a list with all the natural modes.
Each fret has its own unique sound. The sound depends on how the intervals are placed throughout the fret. Even though the notes of the frets are exactly the same, they sound completely different because the tonal center has shifted. IN C In the Ionian mode, the key is the note C , and, for example, in D Dorian the key is already the note D.
Each mode has a related chord. We can find this chord based on the four scale degrees 1, 3, 5 and 7. Let's do this with the C Ionian mode. Its degrees are C E G B. The result is a Cmaj7 chord.
C E G B
1 3 5 7
If we build a chord for the D Dorian mode, we get the chord Dmin7.
D F A C
1 b 3 5 b 7
I Ionian 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 C D E F G A B Cmaj7
II Dorian 1 2 b3 4 5 6 b7 D E F G A B C Dm7
III Phrygian 1 b2 b3 4 5 b6 b7 E F G A B C D Em7
IV Lydian 1 2 3 #4 5 6 7 F G A B C D E Fmaj7
V Mixolydian 1 2 3 4 5 6 b7 G A B C D E F G7
VI Aeolian 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7 A B C D E F G Am7
VII Locrian 1 b2 b3 4 b5 b6 b7 B C D E F G A Bm7b5
You should remember the names and formulas of these modes. Here's a mnemonic trick to help you remember names faster:
I Don't Play Like My Aunt Lucy ( I don't play like my Aunt Lucy).
Fret diagrams
Now let's see how the frets are played on the guitar. Use all your senses to learn modes: hearing (most important), sight (to recognize fret fingerings), mind (to remember mode formulas), and the feel of your fingers.
Legend:
The red circle indicates the tonic, which is also the first degree of the mode. The letter inside the circle represents the name of the note.
The black circle indicates the other notes of the scale.
There are also examples of musical phrases that will allow you to hear how the frets are used on a guitar.
1. C Ionian mode
Formula: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Related chord: Cmaj7
Listen and play:
In this musical phrase, you can use arpeggios of the chords Fmaj7 and Cmaj7, starting with the seventh degree and moving further through degrees 1, 3 and 5, as in the first measure. This common arpeggio technique applies to the jazz scales you'll learn later.
Listen and play:
2. D Dorian mode
Formula: 1 2 b3 4 5 6 b7
Related chord: Dm7
Listen and play:
You can recognize the influence of Miles Davis and his solo from the song "So What" in this passage. Large interval jumps characterize this piece of music and are a great way to add variety to your playing.
Listen and play:
3. E Phrygian mode
Formula: 1 b2 b3 4 5 b6 b7
Related chord: Em7
Used over minor chords (has a Spanish character and is often used in flamenco playing)
Listen and play:
Here is the fingering of a musical phrase, which is based on a descending movement along the Phrygian mode. Moving along the scale can be a great way to create a musical atmosphere, but it's important not to overdo it.
Listen and play:
4. F Lydian mode
Formula: 1 2 3 #4 5 6 7
Related chord: Fmaj7
Used over major chords
Listen and play:
Here you can see rising phrases of three notes each, which are used to build a long piece of music. Sometimes this simple way of building a melody, applied in the right place, can be a great option for a solo.
Listen and play:
5. G Mixolydian mode
Formula: 1 2 3 4 5 6 b7
Related chord: G7
Used over dominant chords
The Mixolydian mode is often used in jazz and blues.
Listen and play:
This phrase contains common chromatic notes characteristic of the Bebop style. They connect the notes of the scale and add variety to a simple musical idea.
Listen and play:
6. A Aeolian mode
Formula: 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7
Related chord: Am7
Used over minor chords
Listen and play:
This fragment focuses on a specific note of the Aeolian mode: b6. By staying on this note, you will emphasize the sound of the mode in your part, which will be noticeably different from parts played by other minor modes.
Listen and play:
7. B Locrian mode
Formula: 1 b2 b3 4 b5 b6 b7
Related chord: Bm7b5
Used over half-diminished chords
Listen and play:
The last phrase of this lesson starts with an arpeggio of the Bm7b5 chord and uses some chromatic notes to add variety to the scale sound.
Listen and play:
(first stage), dominant (fifth stage) and subdominant (fourth stage). To describe modes in music of non-European traditions, it is common to use the term "modus" or "modal modes" (as opposed to "tonal modes").
Modal modes precede tonal modes in the history of the formation of musical languages of different peoples (many non-European musical languages still lack tonal modes). According to the concept of V. B. Brainin, the main difference between modal and tonal modes is that in modal modes, the organizing pitch principle is both the scale and the individual tones “initius” and “finalis”, which begin and complete musical constructions, while while the organizing structural principle is the well-known melodic cells.
Modal scales tend to govern improvisation rather than composition. Because of this, “initius” and “finalis” are often displaced within a stable scale. In tonal modes, the organizing principle is harmonic functions, the “initiate” does not have an organizing role, and the “finalis” is represented by the “tonic”, implying a major or minor triad, including in the case of a monophonic presentation. A change of tonic (modulation) (as opposed to modal “mutation”) occurs less frequently during a piece and also entails a change of scale.
Transitional from modal modes to tonal modes, one can imagine the modes of strict counterpoint, in which completed works were composed, crystallization of harmonic functions took place, the organizing structural principle was no longer melodic cells, but imitation and the idea of consonance-dissonance of harmonic intervals and their interaction, but at the same time At that time, the organizing sound-pitch principle remained the scale.
Frets in antiquity
The mode system of Ancient Greece included six main modes (Ionian, Aeolian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian and Mixolydian) and six “hypolades” (Hypoionian, Hypoaeolian, Hypodorian, Hypophrygian, Hypolydian and Mixolydian), of which not all were practically used. All these modes were extracted from a single scale, differing in the main “stable” steps. Hypolades differed from the main modes in that the second most important stable degree in them was the 4th (if counted from below), whereas in the main modes the second most important stable degree was the 5th. Due to the fact that in Ancient Greece the idea of the scale differed from the one that appeared in the Middle Ages (the Greeks counted the steps from above, not from below), the designations of modes adopted in the Middle Ages did not correspond to the Greek modes, although they adopted their names.
Modes in medieval European music
There are seven main so-called “church” or “Greek” modes considered in music theory, according to the number of non-repeating degrees of the scale.
- Ionian mode- externally corresponds to natural major. Can be built on the white piano keys from the note "C".
- Aeolian mode- externally corresponds to natural minor. It is built on white keys from the note “A”.
- Dorian mode- externally minor with a raised sixth degree. It is built on white keys from the note “D”.
- Phrygian mode- externally corresponds to a natural minor with a lowered second degree. On white keys - from the note “E”.
- Lydian mode- externally corresponds to a natural major with a raised fourth degree. On white keys it is built from the note “F”.
- Mixolydian- externally corresponds to natural major with a lowered seventh degree. On white keys - from the note “salt”.
- Locrian- a special (conditional) mode that does not have a specific mode inclination. It is based on a diminished triad. On white keys - from the note “B”. Genetically related to the so-called hypophrygian mode with a stable 4th degree (instead of the 5th).
| Lad | Mood | Peculiarities | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ionian | Major | Natural | Listen |
| Lydian | Major | IV↗ stage increases | Listen |
| Mixolydian | Major | VII↘ step goes down | Listen |
| Aeolian | Minor | Natural | Listen |
| Phrygian | Minor | II↘ stage decreases | Listen |
| Dorian | Minor | VI↗ step increases | Listen |
| Locrian | Halftone + Twotones + Halftone + Threetones | Listen |
Intervals in modes of medieval European music
| Lad | Intervals in modes | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prima | Second | Third | Quart | Quint | Sixth | Seventh | |
| Lydian | Clean | Big | Big | Enlarged | Clean | Big | Big |
| Ionian | Clean | Big | Big | Clean | Clean | Big | Big |
| Mixolydian | Clean | Big | Big | Clean | Clean | Big | Small |
| Dorian | Clean | Big | Small | Clean | Clean | Big | Small |
| Aeolian | Clean | Big | Small | Clean | Clean | Small | Small |
| Phrygian | Clean | Small | Small | Clean | Clean | Small | Small |
| Locrian | Clean | Small | Small | Clean | Reduced | Small | Small |
Non-European fret systems
India uses a modal system with 7 fundamental tones and 15 additional tones (shruti) (total 22 shruti tones per octave).
Fret systems of the New Age
Of the modern, frequently used frets, two that were introduced into use at the beginning of the 20th century are of great importance. These are the so-called increased and decreased frets. In the enlarged mode there are 6 sounds arranged sequentially in tones, the 7th sound is a repetition of the tonic. Writing an enlarged scale, or whole-tone scale, is free - any sound can be replaced enharmonically without changing the rules of writing. The diminished mode is built by alternating tones and semitones: for example, C - D - E-flat - F - F-sharp, etc. The mode has several names: diminished mode, Rimsky-Korsakov scale (first used by N. A. Rimsky -Korsakov in one of his operas on a fairy tale plot), the scale is “tone-semitone”, or “semitone-tone”, depending on the order of alternation of tones and semitones in the scale.