Going around the circle of 5ths from any Lydian mode will net the entire 7 modes in order of brightest to darkest. For example Lydian is the brightest mode so on the white keys; F Lydian, C Ionian, G Mixolydian, D Dorian, A Aeolian, E Phrygian, B Locrian (the darkest mode).
Never made the connection between the modes and the circle of fifths, though I suppose it makes sense, since in each step you flatten one more note on the original scale. Thank you.
You could just learn to play one scale (the diatonic scale) and how to emphasise each of the seven arpeggios/chords within it. This will not only give you the ability to outline the chords in a song, but also you will learn all seven modes as a byproduct. As this is essentially what playing in a mode is. Then just sharping the 5th of the diatonic (Major) scale and you have the Harmonic minor scale and all it’s modes, do it with another note and now you have the melodic minor modes. It’s just that simple! Everyone makes modes WAY more complicated than it really is.
@@jazznotes3802 That's good but I'm pointing out the modes in order of bright to dark. Simply playing through the modes and the arpeggios in a scale will not teach you that. You must learn the quality of each mode to become a master improvisor and be able to transmit feelings of happiness, sadness, mystery, and fantasy. You cannot learn that by mindlessly running through scales.
@@tropicvibe But you can learn that by seeing them (and playing them) the way I just mentioned. Playing a one octave scale (three notes per string) and then moving down to the next string in the 3NPS scale pattern and repeating process gives you the order of brightness and the physical/visual differences from one mode to the next. Your also simply moving down to the next lowest string (then playing one octave) from the order of bright to dark. This is because moving down in 5ths (or up in 4ths) circles through the order of brightness (sharps and flats.)
I am not a piano player, but I clicked on your video because I wanted to learn more about modes. It worked for me and I enjoyed it. Your dictation and demonstrations were excellent. Nice guy too...not boring and dry.
This is a very good explanation of the modes. I think the traditional way of explaining them (play the root note scale x notes up from the root) has always been very confusing and hard to remember. I can remember thinking, they're all the same notes of the C scale, what's the big deal? But this explanation helps me to understand what they are and how to apply them.
Thank you so much. This was absolutely genius. I've seen so many videos about modes and none of them made much sense. Everyone else have shown modes in one major scale only, usually C major. So it was basically: start from C to get Ionian, start from D to get Dorian and so on... and that there are some number of sharps or flats while they still play those same seven white keys over and over! But now it's so clear how they are built and why. Especially that verification made it all so obvious that video wasn't even halfway through when I went to find those upcoming modes from my keyboards. And I got them all correctly with the first try !
THANK YOU JONNY! I've been trying to better understand the modes and I LOVE your simplification of it. It's so much easier to understand now!!!! My favorite explanation so far!!!!
Thanks Jonny. Explaining all modes in C is (uncommonly!) clear. Your videos are always clear and full of joy. Much appreciated. P.S. The shortest but most memorable 3 word answer to 'what are modes?' was 'Modes are Moods', explained to me by my father-in-law who taught music to young children.
Yes indeed. In fact "mood" used to be pronounced "mode" until there was a big change in the way "oo" was pronounced in English. A legacy of that pronunciation is in the names Moog "mogue" and Boos "bose".
Modes can become an unclear web very fast. Thank you for making them clear. Also, I love how you used the natural scale to verify; for example, by using the rules of the Locrian mode to turn B major natural. 1st time seeing that !
It takes a long time to really grasp modes. Many different ways to think and apply modes. Learn songs that are composed modally. ei "So What" in D dorian.. Try playing it in D aoleon and see what's different about it. Then try songs like that change modes like Cantaloupe Island, but try changing the modes. Instead of an F-7, play AbMaj7, Change Db7 with Bb-7 just to see how it sounds. The more you experiment, the more you'll understand the true characteristic of each mode. Norwegian Wood is a great example of Mixolydian, but see what happens if it was in D Ionian..??
Crazy useful, thanks!!! So many "teaching" videos just throw the theory with no example or explanation and say "you can do this it's obvious figure it out "
Succinct and clean instructions. More than anything I appreciate the chord progressions. That's the thing that I was missing for me to get the modes to "click". Thank you.
When I was in college taking up my Degree in Music, I studied this for more than 2 months. Upon watching this, it can be learned in 20mins. 😅🎼🎶 This is indeed helpful for beginners!
Great video 👍 4:44 I think it's an impediment to understanding rather than a crutch because it's more of a trivia knowledge question than anything that actually helps beginners _hear_ what's going on. If they can't hear it, they can only understand it intellectually, not musically.
Merci. I'm too much of a Nooby to appreciate your runs on improvisations, but I'll definitely come back to this video as soon as I've got more chops. I found it easier to think of modes as just that they are all part of a scale that lands on the note in question. The Locrian is just the next note from C, a Db and if you play the Db scale but start on C, it's easier for me to remember since I know my major scales.
After five decades of working out chords to pop songs, I finally changed the way I think of minor key songs. Consider A minor. It's traditional to label the A minor chord as "i.", the D minor as "iv" etc. Instead, I consider the song as being in C major so the A m becomes vi, the D minor as ii. I call the E major a V of vi. In other words, I don't think of the natural minor at all -- everything is major. Some songs just emphasize the vi and sound sad accordingly.
Pay attention! At 17'30" there is a mistake: it's not "locrian", but still "phrygian". Anyway, very easy and clear... But I didn't understand: which is the trick? That is, how can I remember all the names associated with the scales? Thanks and congratulations!
hi, such a lovely video. would you please tell me how you make the video with the upper keyboard and with the green on the keys that are being played. thank you so much
Modes are ridiculously named, and it seems designed to make it hard/confusing. Here's the easiest way to refer to modes. Just use a letter/number combo. For example, instead of "D Dorian", "C2". Instead of "C Mixolydian", "F5". Easy. The way it's done now is so unnecessarily complicated. First, you must learn the dumb names for the scale degree (Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, etc). Then, to play "D Dorian", you must know that Dorian is the second degree and then ask what major scale's 2nd degree is "D". It's C maj, of course. Then you play a C scale starting on D. Why not just use "C2" meaning, "Play a C major scale starting on D". You're welcome.
Great point! And it's not like you need to know the fancy name to make use of modes. I had it backwards: I was trying to memorise the names first, but I'm going to forget about that and learn how to use them first. Which will give me better context for remembering the names anyway.
Totally agree, I blanked out learning them years ago because I didn't understand. Was raging at the screen for the unnecessary need o effectively re-name a C major chord. Had to explain why to my non musical English major wife. She tells me it's because Plato, a Greek, believed music was life and tried to express the reasons using these names. Look up Plato for more. I knew the names were Greek but not why and feel much better about them now. Hope this helps you feel better too! 👍
I think the method in this video is the best way. Thinking of modes as shifts of the major scale is fine as an intellectual exercise but doesn't train the _ear_ to hear those scales properly due to the presence of the ghost of the relative major's tonic.
Okay, let me see if I finally understand modes. A mode is a scale that is used in a chord that it applies to. By that, I mean the scale changes constantly, obviously if it doesn't applies to the chord. Somone correct me if I'm wrong.
Modes themselves are easy, what no one explains is how to connect modes to keys. No one cares if a mode is good for a bunch of variations of C major chords. Because in the key of C, only one of the chords used is a C major. So what do you do when you change to the next chord in a progression? Different modes have a different feel, which is why they're used. So let's just say you want a Lydian feel to a score. If your main progression is let's just say F minor, what mode do you use for the melody? Is it F minor Lydian because that's the Lydian mode of they key that you're in? Or do you use the Lydian scale that has the same notes that are in F minor? That's honestly what 99.999% of people who want to learn about modes what to know. We can all adjust the intervals just fine. That part of it isn't even worth discussing.
Locrian with b4 is Super Locrian (some call it the Altered scale) which is 7th mode of Melodic Minor. Lydian already has #4 and natural 7. Raising the 7 gives you the root which you already have. If you flat the 7, you get the Lydian Dominant scale, which is the 4th mode of Melodic Minor.
Ben I think you may have it the wrong way round. Think of mixolydian as a scale (a chain of intervals) in its own right. C mixolydian is that chain of intervals starting on C. In the same way that A natural minor is the natural minor scale starting on A, it's not C minor even though it is A-A in the C major scale.
Johny I am still using your platform and I love it. But when I bought my plan it was a life long plan. After two years on the platform suddenly I was disconnected and you offered me annual or monthly plans to stay. I sent you an e-mail to ask for answers and never got any answer back. I am still a customer and I still see value. I see that you added a lot of content lately. This could be a justification. But no answer. This is not cool.
00:00 - Intro
00:39 - 7 Modes
00:55 - 1. Ionian Mode
01:26 - Chords/Progressions
02:19 - Progressions
03:27 - 2. Lydian Mode
05:11 - Chords/Progressions
06:52 - 3. Mixolydian Mode
08:06 - Chords/Progressions
10:02 - 4. Dorian Mode
11:42 - Chords/Progressions
12:27 - 5. Aeolian Mode
14:11 - Chords/Progressions
15:06 - 6. Phrygian Mode
16:32 - Chords/Progressions
17:54 - 7. Locrian Mode
19:21 - Chords/Progressions
20:24 - Conclusion
Can you please keep making videos about modes. Most people on RUclips teach you about modes, but not how to use them. Its quite frustrating 😅
Going around the circle of 5ths from any Lydian mode will net the entire 7 modes in order of brightest to darkest. For example Lydian is the brightest mode so on the white keys; F Lydian, C Ionian, G Mixolydian, D Dorian, A Aeolian, E Phrygian, B Locrian (the darkest mode).
Never made the connection between the modes and the circle of fifths, though I suppose it makes sense, since in each step you flatten one more note on the original scale. Thank you.
You could just learn to play one scale (the diatonic scale) and how to emphasise each of the seven arpeggios/chords within it.
This will not only give you the ability to outline the chords in a song, but also you will learn all seven modes as a byproduct. As this is essentially what playing in a mode is.
Then just sharping the 5th of the diatonic (Major) scale and you have the Harmonic minor scale and all it’s modes, do it with another note and now you have the melodic minor modes. It’s just that simple!
Everyone makes modes WAY more complicated than it really is.
@@jazznotes3802
That's good but I'm pointing out the modes in order of bright to dark. Simply playing through the modes and the arpeggios in a scale will not teach you that. You must learn the quality of each mode to become a master improvisor and be able to transmit feelings of happiness, sadness, mystery, and fantasy. You cannot learn that by mindlessly running through scales.
@@tropicvibe But you can learn that by seeing them (and playing them) the way I just mentioned.
Playing a one octave scale (three notes per string) and then moving down to the next string in the 3NPS scale pattern and repeating process gives you the order of brightness and the physical/visual differences from one mode to the next. Your also simply moving down to the next lowest string (then playing one octave) from the order of bright to dark.
This is because moving down in 5ths (or up in 4ths) circles through the order of brightness (sharps and flats.)
I am not a piano player, but I clicked on your video because I wanted to learn more about modes. It worked for me and I enjoyed it. Your dictation and demonstrations were excellent. Nice guy too...not boring and dry.
FINALLY!!! Someone was able to break down the modes into a way we can understand. Thank you Jonny!
This is a very good explanation of the modes. I think the traditional way of explaining them (play the root note scale x notes up from the root) has always been very confusing and hard to remember. I can remember thinking, they're all the same notes of the C scale, what's the big deal? But this explanation helps me to understand what they are and how to apply them.
True playing C Ionian then D Dorian then E Locrian F Lydian....will not help you with ear training
Thank you so much. This was absolutely genius. I've seen so many videos about modes and none of them made much sense. Everyone else have shown modes in one major scale only, usually C major. So it was basically: start from C to get Ionian, start from D to get Dorian and so on... and that there are some number of sharps or flats while they still play those same seven white keys over and over!
But now it's so clear how they are built and why. Especially that verification made it all so obvious that video wasn't even halfway through when I went to find those upcoming modes from my keyboards. And I got them all correctly with the first try !
THANK YOU JONNY! I've been trying to better understand the modes and I LOVE your simplification of it. It's so much easier to understand now!!!! My favorite explanation so far!!!!
Thank you!
I'm a guitar player and I found this to be very useful. Your presentation was clear and precise. Thanks!
Yep....piano scales can be played over chords...can't do that on a guitar
Your videos are great. You are so good at taking complicated concepts and making them seem so easy
I really appreciate the chord progressions to go with each scale. Such a great primer. Will probably repeat watch.
Really great tutorial
Thanks Jonny. Explaining all modes in C is (uncommonly!) clear. Your videos are always clear and full of joy. Much appreciated.
P.S. The shortest but most memorable 3 word answer to 'what are modes?' was 'Modes are Moods', explained to me by my father-in-law who taught music to young children.
Yes indeed. In fact "mood" used to be pronounced "mode" until there was a big change in the way "oo" was pronounced in English. A legacy of that pronunciation is in the names Moog "mogue" and Boos "bose".
Modes can become an unclear web very fast.
Thank you for making them clear.
Also, I love how you used the natural scale to verify; for example, by using the rules of the Locrian mode to turn B major natural.
1st time seeing that !
It takes a long time to really grasp modes. Many different ways to think and apply modes. Learn songs that are composed modally. ei "So What" in D dorian.. Try playing it in D aoleon and see what's different about it. Then try songs like that change modes like Cantaloupe Island, but try changing the modes. Instead of an F-7, play AbMaj7, Change Db7 with Bb-7 just to see how it sounds. The more you experiment, the more you'll understand the true characteristic of each mode. Norwegian Wood is a great example of Mixolydian, but see what happens if it was in D Ionian..??
Omg after all,the jazz books I’ve tried to make sense of..this was the best lightbulb moment! 💡💡💡brilliant as always 🙏🙏
This is a fantastic guide for learning and reference, thanks! I'm saving this to come back to.
Excellent break down to understand how to think and use modes. I was using a guitar to go through the modes. Thank you and very nice video Jonny!
Crazy useful, thanks!!! So many "teaching" videos just throw the theory with no example or explanation and say "you can do this it's obvious figure it out "
Succinct and clean instructions. More than anything I appreciate the chord progressions. That's the thing that I was missing for me to get the modes to "click". Thank you.
Excellent! Cleared SO many things up for me concerning modes. Thanks!
Thank you very much Jonny
This is VERY HELPFUL, Thanks, Jonny!
Jonny , very good explained, thanks😀
This is the best tutorial i've seen about major scale modes !
Thank you kindly.
Thank you.
Thanx Jonny....from cape town south africa
Thank you so much for this!!!!Loved it
When I was in college taking up my Degree in Music, I studied this for more than 2 months. Upon watching this, it can be learned in 20mins. 😅🎼🎶
This is indeed helpful for beginners!
Thank you for demystifying the modes. Great examples.
You have magic fingers Mr. Johnny. Thank you.
Merci beaucoup Jonny ! You're the best teacher !
U are te best teacher Jonny!
Great video 👍
4:44 I think it's an impediment to understanding rather than a crutch because it's more of a trivia knowledge question than anything that actually helps beginners _hear_ what's going on. If they can't hear it, they can only understand it intellectually, not musically.
Merci. I'm too much of a Nooby to appreciate your runs on improvisations, but I'll definitely come back to this video as soon as I've got more chops.
I found it easier to think of modes as just that they are all part of a scale that lands on the note in question.
The Locrian is just the next note from C, a Db and if you play the Db scale but start on C, it's easier for me to remember since I know my major scales.
let s go johnny tnx for all the lessons i have just started playing and your helping me a lot qiuckly i found out i love blues :) tnx for all again :)
Really great explanation. Well done!
Finally someone makes it simple!!!
Great!
I have a music degree but I'm starting over with this stuff. Thanks so much
Awesome. Thank you, Jonny.
I always like watching your videos, this one is really great, thank you
Great lesson can you do a lesson on explaining the difference between jazz blues and cocktail music to me they sound the same
Very helpful content
After five decades of working out chords to pop songs, I finally changed the way I think of minor key songs. Consider A minor. It's traditional to label the A minor chord as "i.", the D minor as "iv" etc. Instead, I consider the song as being in C major so the A m becomes vi, the D minor as ii. I call the E major a V of vi. In other words, I don't think of the natural minor at all -- everything is major. Some songs just emphasize the vi and sound sad accordingly.
Surprisingly thats what i do, im too lazy to think about all the minors, they can just be called major
LO CAMBIA TODO!
Do you guys by chance have a course?
We have lots of courses! pianowithjonny.com/membership/
Pay attention! At 17'30" there is a mistake: it's not "locrian", but still "phrygian". Anyway, very easy and clear... But I didn't understand: which is the trick? That is, how can I remember all the names associated with the scales? Thanks and congratulations!
hi, such a lovely video. would you please tell me how you make the video with the upper keyboard and with the green on the keys that are being played. thank you so much
I like it. Useful video
Modes are ridiculously named, and it seems designed to make it hard/confusing. Here's the easiest way to refer to modes. Just use a letter/number combo. For example, instead of "D Dorian", "C2". Instead of "C Mixolydian", "F5". Easy. The way it's done now is so unnecessarily complicated. First, you must learn the dumb names for the scale degree (Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, etc). Then, to play "D Dorian", you must know that Dorian is the second degree and then ask what major scale's 2nd degree is "D". It's C maj, of course. Then you play a C scale starting on D. Why not just use "C2" meaning, "Play a C major scale starting on D". You're welcome.
Great point! And it's not like you need to know the fancy name to make use of modes. I had it backwards: I was trying to memorise the names first, but I'm going to forget about that and learn how to use them first. Which will give me better context for remembering the names anyway.
Nice
Totally agree, I blanked out learning them years ago because I didn't understand. Was raging at the screen for the unnecessary need o effectively re-name a C major chord. Had to explain why to my non musical English major wife. She tells me it's because Plato, a Greek, believed music was life and tried to express the reasons using these names. Look up Plato for more. I knew the names were Greek but not why and feel much better about them now. Hope this helps you feel better too! 👍
Technically, the second "scale degree" is the supertonic, but yeah. I don't know where the nomenclature comes from.
I think the method in this video is the best way. Thinking of modes as shifts of the major scale is fine as an intellectual exercise but doesn't train the _ear_ to hear those scales properly due to the presence of the ghost of the relative major's tonic.
I have only one problem:
harmonic Major functional harmony :)
ionian b6
I. Ionian
Don't Dorian
Play. Phrygian
Like. Lydian
Monk. Mixolydian
And. Aeolian
Lennie. Locrian
Okay, let me see if I finally understand modes. A mode is a scale that is used in a chord that it applies to. By that, I mean the scale changes constantly, obviously if it doesn't applies to the chord. Somone correct me if I'm wrong.
good one
I finally get it.
Modes themselves are easy, what no one explains is how to connect modes to keys. No one cares if a mode is good for a bunch of variations of C major chords. Because in the key of C, only one of the chords used is a C major. So what do you do when you change to the next chord in a progression? Different modes have a different feel, which is why they're used. So let's just say you want a Lydian feel to a score. If your main progression is let's just say F minor, what mode do you use for the melody? Is it F minor Lydian because that's the Lydian mode of they key that you're in? Or do you use the Lydian scale that has the same notes that are in F minor? That's honestly what 99.999% of people who want to learn about modes what to know. We can all adjust the intervals just fine. That part of it isn't even worth discussing.
Yes, do you change the root or the scale, that is the great question.
Over the Phrygian mode the first chord that comes to my mind is a sus b9.
Could we make a darker mode below Locrian, where we also flatten the 4th? 😎 Or, a Super Lydian where we have the #4th as well as #7th?
Locrian with b4 is Super Locrian (some call it the Altered scale) which is 7th mode of Melodic Minor.
Lydian already has #4 and natural 7. Raising the 7 gives you the root which you already have. If you flat the 7, you get the Lydian Dominant scale, which is the 4th mode of Melodic Minor.
I know, and can play, every mode in every scale, NOW WHAT?
You may enjoy our 1 Year Practice Plan! pianowithjonny.com/piano-lessons/jazz-piano-1-year-practice-plan/
"ACCADEMIA"!! 👍👍👍
It's interesting he plays only 7 white keys when he demonstrates each mode on white keys, except the top tonic key. Would there be any reason?
❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥
My favorite mode is SICKO
Why do your major scale sound so jazzy?
I don't understand when I would use these modes. I have played hundreds (maybe thousands) of songs improvising using sheet music.
You are probably playing them instinctively.
Why does C mixolydian have a Bb? Isn't it just G to G but diatonic to C major, so no Bb?
C Mixolydian = key of F major; and G Mixolydian = key of C major
C mixolydian is the fifth mode of F major, which is not the key of C.
Ben I think you may have it the wrong way round. Think of mixolydian as a scale (a chain of intervals) in its own right. C mixolydian is that chain of intervals starting on C. In the same way that A natural minor is the natural minor scale starting on A, it's not C minor even though it is A-A in the C major scale.
👍🏻
How come C6 isn’t A-7
Johny I am still using your platform and I love it. But when I bought my plan it was a life long plan. After two years on the platform suddenly I was disconnected and you offered me annual or monthly plans to stay. I sent you an e-mail to ask for answers and never got any answer back. I am still a customer and I still see value. I see that you added a lot of content lately. This could be a justification. But no answer. This is not cool.
Hey Frederico, you can email support@pianowithjonny.com and our support team will help you!
Swesome
Inverted scale of major but still major scale ...modes are useless
Why does everyone, mess this up so bad ?
Anagram Do Me
Didn't watch the video, the title says it all. Waste of human space right there.