← All lessonsModule 5 · Melody
Modes for Songwriters
Same seven notes. Move home, and the whole colour changes. These are the modes.
In this lesson you'll
- Hear the modes as colours.
- Use Dorian, Mixolydian and Lydian.
- Rewrite a loop in each.
Music in this lesson
- Scarborough FairTraditional
- Oye Como VaTito Puente · 1962 · A Dorian
- Get LuckyDaft Punk · 2013
- Sweet Child O' MineGuns N' Roses · 1987
- Hey Jude (coda)The Beatles · 1968
- The Simpsons ThemeDanny Elfman · 1989 · the Lydian sound
Remember
The modes share the same notes. Only home moves, and the colour changes.
Compare with major or minor. Dorian raises the sixth, Mixolydian lowers the seventh, Lydian raises the fourth.
One chord gives each mode away. A major four, a flat seven, a major two.