Hey guys, I did a write up on using modes in modern/electronic music, I hope its insightful and helps you get creative with songwriting! If I messed up anything on terminology, let me know :p
Orenda’s quick write up on modes in Electronic Music :)
A Mode is essentially a music theory term for picking a set of 7 notes that form a major scale, and setting a different root while keeping the notes. You may have heard of the concept of “Relative Minors”- For example the C Major Scale and the A Minor Scale share the same notes. Modes explore the 5 other scales that use the same notes with different roots. This guide will give a brief overview of each mode, along with its “feel,” an example song in that mode, and my opinions on how and when to use the mode.
I wanted to add this note because it can get confusing. A “modal” key switch is keeping the notes and switching the root, like going from C major to A minor. A modal mix is keeping the root and switching the notes, like going from C minor to C major. I’ll also rely some on some basic theory like sharps/flats, and interval notation. You’ve been warned.
Modes are divided by their tonalities: Major, Minor, and Diminished. The only diminished mode is Locrian, and if you’ve never heard a diminished triad, it isn’t pretty in most contexts (If anyone’s written a song in locrian, pm me I’d love to hear it :) ). Think of major vs minor modes as happy vs. sad. Happy Birthday is a song in major, Sound of Silence, is in minor, basic stuff. However, using modes, we actually wind up with 3 major and 3 minor scales to play with. For the purposes of explanation, we’ll look at each mode using only the white keys of a piano.
So why is this worth learning? A few reasons: Writing in modes gives you new options to write a melody in one mode and chords in a different mode. This can allow you to explore new ways of thinking about melody writing. For instance, a traditional VI VII I minor progression can be expounded upon by writing a melody that centers around a note other than the minor I. Additionally, modal mixing is a concept that is starting to be explored in electronic music. Some Chords by Deadmau5 and Spectrum by Zedd are good examples. These can really add some unexpected flair and polish to your songwriting. I’ll talk about some of my favorite modal mixes in a bit, check out Pyramind on Youtube for better explanation than I can give. Major Modes Ionian Song example: Happy Birthday, My Immortal - Evanescence (Melody) Closer - Chainsmokers (Melody) Root note: C Characteristics: Normal major scale Ionian mode, or the major scale, is the traditional happy mode. However, I find that some songs use Ionian-centric melodies over minor chords to great effect. I included the cheesy Evanescence song because it is the first song I remember hearing that employs this technique. By using a major melody over a minor chord structure, a sense of nostalgia is generated that brings out the power and emotion of the song. Closer by Chainsmokers also uses this effect: the primary progression is minor (Aeolian), while the melody centers around the root note of the relative major (Ionian) As Matt from Pyramind said, writing melodies in major has a tendency to work. Now we’ll move to some other options that you can use to layer chords under your melodies, or even more creative.
B. Mixolydian Song example: Peanut Butter Jelly by Galantis Root note: G Characteristics: Flat 7 I personally love this mode- It’s to me major with sass. It can be used in a few ways: firstly, Mixolydian is the corresponding mode of the dominant 7 chord, so any progression that employs the tension of a dom7 can use a Mixolydian scale. The key to this mode is breaking the major “happiness” with the flat 7 that defines this mode. As a blues guitarist, I love this mode because it mixes very well with the pentatonic blues scale, so much so that I borrow freely from both scales when soloing in jazz or blues. Nirvana used this mixing technique all the time - In Bloom’s chorus moves from Mixolydian in the first half to a blues/minor scale in the second. In summary this mode is great for jazz-influenced electronic, “sassy” major, or if you want to switch from major to minor tonality within a song.
C. Lydian Song example: Lost Woods Theme from Zelda Root Note: F Characteristics: Sharp 4 For me, Lydian is a tricky mode, as it always feels as though it resolves to a straight major or minor rather than the Lydian root. The Lost Woods theme really does make good use of this though: The B in the F lydian scale stands out and grabs your attention, though the progression quickly resolves to C major. Note that emphasizing the F lydian scale lends an ethereal quality to the melody, as the doo-da-DEE (the DEE being the lydian #4) is unexpected. To be honest, though, I have trouble using this mode, as I feel a strong tendency to resolve to either a major or minor chord.
II. Minor Modes
Aeolian Song Example: Scary Monsters & Nice Sprites - Skrillex, Crave You - Adventure Club, The Hills - The Weeknd, the majority of electronic music Root note: A Characteristcs: flat 3, flat 6, flat 7 The minor mode is what you probably already write your songs in. I don’t want to spend too much time covering this, except to say it is probably the best mode for writing chord progressions in Electronic music. I would recommend trying to layer different modal structures over minor chords, though. Write a melody in F lydian, and layer it over some A Aeolian chords- this is a quick way to achieve interesting results that sound different from hammering away at the root note of each chord you play.
B. Dorian Song Example: Shipping Up to Boston - Dropkick Murphys (bridge section), I Write Sins Not Tragedies - Panic! At The Disco (verse; modal mix) Characteristics: flat 3, flat 7 Root note: D This is another of my favorite modes - Its the mode for Celtic music! Any of those jigs are likely to have a Dorian structure. Shipping Up to Boston by Dropkick Murphys (you’ve heard it, google it if you don’t know it), plays the intro to the song in E Minor, then key changes to E Minor’s relative Dorian, which has a root note of A. Using all the same notes, they play the main theme in the new key with one twist - the normal flat 6 of Aeolian Minor is changed to a natural 6, which sounds very tense and celtic. This brings me to my favorite way to use Dorian - to mix it in with Aeolian to build tension. In Aeolian, the IV chord is minor (a song in A minor should have a D minor chord). However, I think this often falls flat in terms of creating tension and buildup within a progression. That’s where Dorian comes in- First, use the Dorian natural 6, then drop it down to the Aeolian flat 6. For instance, in a progression with root note A, use a D major chord (which has F#, the natural 6 of an A scale), followed by an F major chord. The change from the F# to the F in this example progression is really tense and juicy - In fact, Amin>Dmaj>Fmaj is the main idea of the verse in I Write Sins Not Tragedies. Try it out, you’ll see what I mean. Dorian is great to use as a modal mix because it shares 7 of 8 notes with a natural minor (Aeolian) scale, so you can drop in and out of using it at will.
Phew, almost there.
C. Phrygian Mode Root note: E Example Songs: Burn Out - NGHTMRE (1st Drop), B2U - Boombox Cartel (Drop), Turn Down For What - DJ Snake (2nd drop), Mercy - Kanye, Other assorted trap drops Characteristics: Phlat 2, Phlat 3, Phlat 6, Phlat 7 Phrygian is, for me, the trap drop mode. It’s a minor mode that shares all but one note with Aeolian, but is even MORE minor than standard minor. It can sound freaky, even arabian/otherwise exotic when applied in a drop. If you are so inclined to write trap, you may have already done this, and not known what to call it. However, be careful with this mode. It sound strange and grating, so if you have a verse/bridge/chorus section, I’d choose a different mode for the melody.
To the point on trap drops - There is a whole Phrygian scale, not just the root note and the flat 2. By understanding that Phrygian still comprises of 7 notes, you can use all of them while maintaining the same tonality as just bouncing your lazers between the root and the flat 2. This gives you room to experiment and write more creative melodies.
Diminished tonality: Locrian mode Well you actually read through to here. Locrian mode is a dark place. Maybe we shouldn’t go there.
Anyway, thanks for reading, and I hope this helps inspire you to get creative with songwriting! If you liked this, there are some other cool scales out there: Melodic and Harmonic Minor, the Blues Scale, the Pentatonic scales, and the Arabian scale are some of my favorites. Look them up if you’re interested!
Submitted November 20, 2016 at 09:52PM by Orendamusic https://www.reddit.com/r/edmproduction/comments/5e18rt/a_quick_writeup_on_modes_in_modern_music_and_edm/?utm_source=ifttt