What Are Modes?

All right, those circled notes on slide one of the major scale are the A major scale, right? Yep. Why? Because the one is A, right, and the formula, one two three four five six seven one, applies to that, right? So because A is one and the rest of the notes fall in that note function formula, that's what makes that what it is. All right, what if I look at the same sheet you're looking at and I call B one instead of A? If you call B one, then it becomes a B major scale. No, this is, see, this is where the other scales come from, this is where modes come from, this is actually what modes are. Oh, okay, so you're talking about a Dorian. Well, yeah, yeah, but forget about Dorian for just a second, okay, let's pretend we don't know any of that yet. So we're looking at these circled notes and we said, okay, we get why, if we call A one, we get all that. All right, so what happens if we call B one? Well, we've got to look at it. All right, well, if we look on the A string, the A string only. Okay, so if I say B is one and I go up a whole step, I land on C sharp, right, so I can call that two, because we know from our major scale that two has to be a whole step up from one, right. So with that information it could be a B major scale, we don't have enough information to say what it is yet. So if we go to the next note, then we say, okay, well, no, can't be a major scale, because that third note would have to be a whole step up from that two, what is now two. It'd have to be the E flat note, not the D. So because that note is down a half step from its major scale position, we can't call that three anymore, so now we call it flat three. Oh, okay, all right, so the third degree of a scale is what determines whether that scale is major or minor. If that third degree is two whole steps up from one, earning its number three, it's going to be major. If it's a whole step plus a half step, like it is now, looking at B being one, then it's going to be some kind of minor scale. So with just those three notes we know we've got some kind of minor, we don't know what yet, but some kind of minor scale. If we look at the fourth note, with B being one, is that four? Well, we have to kind of compare it to what we know with the major scale. So let's go back to A being one for a second and count up half steps to the D, which is four, if A is one. So B flat is one half step, B is two, C is three, C sharp is four, D is five. So for four to be four, it has to be five half steps above one. Okay, so now let's go back to calling B one, and let's go up five half steps and see what happens. One, C, two, C sharp, three, D, four, E flat, five, E. So E can be four, you see how that works? All right, so for the same reason, F can be five if B is one, and G sharp can be six, because it figures into that math. But however, if we look at that A, that can't be seven. Why? Well, we know between six and seven is always a whole step, or between seven and one is always a half step, so it doesn't fit that, it's down a half step from where it needs to be, so we call that flat seven. So by calling B one, we've created a new scale and new chord out of the same exact set of notes. And we've created a scale with a note function formula of one two flat three four five six flat seven one, and this is how we get the modes, is that we call each degree of the major scale one, thereby forcing a new note function formula. So what would you call that scale? B Dorian minor. Oh, okay, right, modal name is B Dorian. Oh, because when I said that before, you said, well, let's not talk about that. Well, I wanted to go through the process of why it's Dorian. Okay, and where the modes come from, the modes come from simply by calling each degree of a parent scale one, in this case the major scale being the parent scale. So if we called three one in a major scale, like C sharp, then we'd force a note function formula of one flat two flat three four five flat six flat seven one, which would be the C Phrygian, the third mode of the major scale. Same thing with D, if we call D one, we'd get the Lydian, and the major scale's modal name is Ionian. Yeah, I know that. Okay, all right, any questions on that? I get that pretty good. All right, okay, now go to your A Dorian minor. Okay, all right, now what I've done with these scales is I've kept everything with A being as A being one, because I want you to see how these boxes and the key centers move on the neck. So if A is one, so as you see, all the notes have gone down a whole step from where they were. So what note would I have to call one here for it to be a major scale? For it to be a major scale you would have to call G one. Correct. Yeah, but since I'm calling A one, it's A Dorian minor. So essentially all the boxes have gone down a whole step, they're the same exact boxes in the exact same order, but they've gone down a whole step and their note function is different, but the shapes are exactly the same. So you already know this one. Yeah, this is crazy, I'm actually seeing it now, it's like actually making sense to me, man. All right, but when you study these, though, you want to pretend like they're their own, they are the only scale in the world. In other words, it's good to understand the relationship, okay, I see where this comes from, but then leave that alone, go ahead and shut the door, because this is its own individual personality, it's like a different person, it's related to that other guy, but it's a completely different individual. So treat it, you know, treat it like one, don't pretend like you're playing the G major scale, because that's, you wouldn't be giving credit to who this person really is. Because A is one, C is flat three, D is four, I mean, you've got to be there with it. All right, now with that being said, basically you just study this the same exact way as you did the major scale. So the first thing I would like you to do with this Dorian is get to know the note function formula of the scale on slide one, which would be one two flat three four five six flat seven one, which means between one and two is a whole step, between two and flat three is a half step, between flat three and four is a whole step, between four and five is a whole step. Now, remember when you asked me about the scale on the fingerboard harmony stuff, this is what those numbers on that sheet were, the Dorian note function. Yeah, but that's in the key of B flat, this is in the key of G. So I should know, like, the major is a whole step whole step half step whole step whole step. Well, yeah, but don't think of it that way, think of it, the major is one two three four five six seven one, which means between one and two is a whole step, between two and three is a whole step. Think of the numbers, think of it in terms of the numbers and then what those numbers mean, as opposed to, instead of coming in the back door on it, you see what I mean? Yeah, because when you manipulate these things, you're going to be doing it from the numbers. That's a real important part of this process, is do it from the numbers and then what the numbers mean, because Dorian's always going to be one two flat three four five six flat seven one, always. Now...