In the previous chapter, we learned about the new musical possibilities that are opened through the use of the minor scale. We also learned that while the minor scale can be thought of as a separate entity in its own right, it is also useful to understand it as a shifted version of the major scale that begins on scale degree 6.
Of the seven notes in the scale, so far we’ve studied two of the notes as possible home bases. However, there are five other notes, and any of these notes can be used as the tonal center of a song. There are thus a total of seven possible home bases, and these lead to seven of what are known as “modes”: The dorian mode (home base on the 2nd degree of the major scale), phrygian mode (3rd degree), lydian mode (4th), mixolydian mode (5th), minor mode (6th), locrian mode (7th), and the major mode itself (1st).
† In this chapter we’ll explore some of the common modes used in popular music. We’ll look at some examples so you can hear the different feel that modes give a song, and we’ll see some of the ways that songs in these modes use chords differently. Lastly, we’ll explore the concept of modal mixture, in which a song is not purely and unambiguously in one mode or another. We’ll discuss how this is done and listen to examples from real songs. † In this book, we use the less formal terms “major mode” and “minor mode” to describe the modes built from the 1st and 6th scale degrees of the major scale. These modes are also known as the ionian and aeolian modes, respectively. We also use the following terms more or less interchangeably (though there are some meaningful differences outside the scope of this book): “being in a minor key,” “being in the aeolian mode,” “being in the minor mode,” and “using the minor scale”. Lastly, the term “mode” as it applies to music can have different meanings depending on the context and type of music being discussed, which can cause confusion if you’re not aware of the alternate usages. To learn how modes are treated in jazz, refer to Appendix C: Modes and Jazz for a more in-depth discussion.
The first mode we will discuss is the dorian mode (home base on the 2nd degree of the major scale). Let’s listen to “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” in the dorian mode to see how it sounds.
“Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” in the dorian mode
Many people describe the dorian mode as having a minor feel to it but with a brighter sound. For comparison, here is “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” in the minor mode.
“Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” in the minor mode
Let’s compare the C dorian scale to the C minor scale to see where they differ.
C dorian scale
C minor scale
The dorian and minor scales differ only by a single note (scale degree 6), so it’s not surprising that they sound similar. When two scales start on the same note, it’s easy to see the differences. These scales are called parallel scales; C minor is the bparallel minor of C dorian.
The concept of parallel scales is in contrast to the idea of the relative scale that we learned about in the previous chapter. Since all the modes are shifted versions of each other, they all have a relative counterpart with a different starting point that otherwise shares the same notes. The dorian scale happens to start on the second note of the major scale, for example. This means that the D dorian scale contains the same notes as the C major scale because D is scale degree 2 of the C major scale. D dorian is the relative dorian of C major.
D dorian scale
Compare that to the C major scale:
C major scale
Like C major, D dorian uses the white keys of the piano. Just as we did with the minor scale, we color the scale degrees of the dorian mode to make the mode’s relative relationships with each other clear. The dorian scale thus starts on the orange scale degree. Listen to the D dorian scale on the Hooktheory staff:
D dorian scale
Because dorian is so similar to minor, four of the basic chords that are built from the scale end up being the same as the chords built from the minor scale. Below are the basic chords in the minor and dorian modes. The chords that are the same in each mode are de-emphasized.\n\nh4Chords in C minor (top) vs. C dorian (bottom)
One consequence of these similarities is that it’s easy to write a song in which the mode is ambiguous. Here is a simple progression and melody in the “dorian” mode:
i → v → III → VII in “dorian”
However, if you wrote this song in the minor mode, it would sound exactly the same.
i → v → III → VII in “minor”
This means that if you want to write a song with a dorian feel (and that is truly in the dorian mode), you should use chords and notes in your melody that highlight the differences with the minor mode. The most common way to do this is with the “four” chord. “Four” chords are some of the most important and frequently used chords in general, and the “four” chord in the dorian mode is a major chord (IV). This contrasts with the “four” chord in the minor mode, which is a minor chord (iv).
Songs in the dorian mode tend to emphasize this chord. In fact, the most common way to cadence in the dorian mode is through this IV chord. You can see this “dorian cadence” in many songs. One famous example is “Scarborough Fair,” a British folk song known to the popular music world through the famous Simon and Garfunkel cover:
“Scarborough Fair” by Simon and Garfunkel
“I See You,” the theme from the motion picture Avatar, is another example of a dorian cadence.
“I See You” by Leona Lewis from the motion picture Avatar
The dorian mode is sometimes described as having a brighter sound than pure minor songs partly as a result of this major IV chord. If “I See You” had been composed in the minor mode, it would have used a iv chord. Below is the same progression in the minor mode where the IV becomes iv. You can use this example to compare how this chord changes the feel.
“I See You” by Leona Lewis in minor
Aside from IV, the other chord that gives a distinctive dorian feel when coupled with a minor home base chord is the ii chord, which has a minor quality. In the minor mode, the “two” chord has a diminished quality. The verse from “Moondance” by Van Morrison is an example of a song with dorian elements that uses this chord:
“Moondance” by Van Morrison
The simple repeating i → ii → i → ii pattern is unmistakably dorian because it is the only mode with a minor chord adjacent to a minor home base.
We’ll continue our discussion of the chords in the dorian mode when we introduce modal mixture. As we’ve seen, the dorian mode has a minor chord as a home base. In the next section we will discuss another popular mode that uses a major chord as the tonal center.
Check for Understanding
Consider the verse from “Mad World” by Tears for Fears (famously covered by Gary Jules), written in the dorian mode.
“Mad World” by Tears For Fears
What clues are there in this section that tell us this song is written in the dorian mode, instead of the minor mode? Are these clues in the melody, the chord progression, or both?
Check for Understanding
C major and D dorian are relative modes, whereas C major and C dorian are parallel modes. Explain the difference between relative and parallel modes.
Check for Understanding
Recall from the last chapter that C major and A minor are relative modes. What is the relative dorian of A minor?
Check for Understanding
In Hookpad, the “relative” nature of modes is shown visually in the colors of chords and scale degrees. For example, take a look at the colorings of the relative modes C major, A minor, and D dorian below.
C major
A minor
D dorian
As we saw in the last chapter, vi in the major mode corresponds to i in the minor mode; both are A minor chords and are colored purple. Extending this to the dorian mode, we see that these two chords also correspond to the v chord in the dorian mode. Use these graphics to answer the following questions:
What chords in the minor and dorian modes correspond to the IV chord in the major mode?
What chords in the minor and dorian modes correspond to the V chord in the major mode?
What is the quality of IV⁷ in the dorian mode? Hint: Think about the quality of the corresponding chord in the major mode.
What is the quality of III⁷ in the dorian mode? Hint: Think about the quality of the corresponding chord in the major mode.
