Talking to my music teacher about modes. The pentatonic scale is also a mode. What’s nice about pentatonic is that you can play just about any note and it sounds good.
Individual pitches in a scale are called scale degrees. For example, the 4th scale degree of the Cmaj scale is F. To get other modes, we play the intervals of the Cmaj scale with a different root note.
| Scale Degree | Root Note | Mode | Triad | Altered notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | C | Ionian | major | - |
| 2 | D | Dorian | minor | raised 6th |
| 3 | E | Phrygian | minor | flat 2nd |
| 4 | F | Lydian | major | raised 4th |
| 5 | G | Mixolydian | major | flat 7th |
| 6 | A | Aeolian | minor | - |
| 7 | B | Locrian | diminished | flat 2nd and flat 5th |
Phrygian is often used for “exotic” or “world” music. Lydian is often used for mystery/enchanted. It can have an ambiguous tone. Mixolydian is also called the dominant scale. Dominant chords based in mixolydian are often used for funk and blues music. Aeolian is the natural minor scale, because it doesn’t need any altered notes.
The modes don’t have to be in C; If we play any major or minor scale and apply the corresponding altered notes for a mode, we will end up playing a mode.