How to Play a Mode So You Sound Like You're in a Mode

In this summary I've compiled all the ingredients that you need to know and that tell you exactly how to invoke the modal sound of any mode of any scale. This is not another "C is Ionian", "D is Dorian" type of stuff. In fact, I've never even mentioned it in this reference. I know how confusing it can be and how much time I personally spent until it finally clicked me. You don't have to go through all of this like I did. If you follow this guide you will sound modal, and it will save you months of trial and error!

When you use only Major or Minor scales you are limiting your creative potential. Modes make you go out of your comfort zone of these tonalities and explore new interesting soundscapes and territories. And not just modes of the Major scale. This information applies to all scales out there, and modes of those different scales, like Harmonic Minor, Melodic Minor, Hungarian Major and many others. Remember that Major and Minor scales are very special ones. They are the reason Tonal Harmony exists in the first place. Without them, we would have been in the modal camp since the beginning of time.

I'm covering modes and Modal Harmony a lot because they make you a better musician, provided that you want to be a better musician :) And since I consider this topic to be very important I want to help you by explaining it the way I would have liked others to explain it to me back in the days. This summary is the result of my take on this "confusing" topic, and hopefully I've managed to fill in the gaps in understanding modes in case you had them.

Features

I've made this guide in two versions: one that is as brief as possible without sacrificing the key concept ideas, and the other has identical concepts but with more details and examples. So you can first read the more elaborate version to get a better understanding and then refer to the shorter version to stay on track whenever you feel you need a reminder.

How to sound modal: the complete guide

Put extra focus on the One chord.

Modes only work in the context of the root chord. It's the most important chord for any mode of any scale. What matters here is the intervals (distance measured in half steps) which are formed from the root to each of its scale degrees (root to 2nd, root to 3rd, etc.). This set of intervals (called pitch-class sets) is different for every mode and this is what ultimately defines the sound of the mode. Put simply, if you play the notes of a particular mode but without the root tone, you will not get the sound of the mode. Since using regular cadences such as Perfect V-I or Plagal IV-I to return to the Tonic will weaken the sense of Modal Harmony (and increase the feel of Tonal Harmony), you need to use other methods of establishing the Modal Center:

• Repetition: return often to the 1st chord (or root tone only) of the mode to convince your ears that you’re playing in a mode. If there's just one thing that you need to take away from this summary, it's this point alone. It's even helpful to think of the whole Modal Harmony concept as the act of constant convincing of your ears that you're in a mode. By contrast, in tonal music you don't need to "convince" your ears as hard, you just "say" it once or twice, and they believe it, but in modal music, you need to remind them of that persistently.
• Sustained bass: A more aggressive way to enforce the perception of the mode is to continuously play its root note in the lower octaves (bass) throughout and underneath the melody line and/or chord changes. You can either sustain the root note or return to it after every other note. This concept is commonly referred to as Pedal Point, Pedal Tone or a Drone. Also, this is the most effective technique when you want to hear the sound/color of the mode fast and effortlessly.

Emphasize characteristic tones.

Color tones are what makes one mode sound different from the others. Accentuate them in your melodic lines, e.g. by landing on them more often or let them ring longer than the rest notes of the melody you play to make them stand out. For harmony, select chords that contain these color tones.

How do you find them in a mode? Modes where the 1st chord is major are compared to the Major scale and modes where 1st chord is minor (or diminished) are compared to the Minor scale and the resulting difference is your color note(s). Thus, Dorian's characteristic tone is the natural 6th, but Major scale, Lydian and Mixolydian modes also have this tone in them, but it's not characteristic for those modes.

Keep in mind that they only reveal their unique sound through the context in which these notes appear, i.e. the relationship (intervals) that they have with other notes of the scale. E.g., Lydian's characteristic tone is #4, but it only expresses itself when used in context of the root of the scale.

Generally speaking, context is not static but rather dynamic—when you switch underlying chords but sustain one note throughout, the relationship changes along to whatever chord is current at that time.

Also, it may not necessarily be a single note that is characteristic, but an intervallic pattern. E.g., what makes the Harmonic Minor scale unique is the following 3 patterns of half-steps (h) and Whole-and-half-steps (Wh): 1) h‑Wh; 2) Wh‑h 3) h‑Wh‑h. None of these combinations are found in any mode of the Major scale. So, to bring the color of the scale you would play them in succession, ascending or descending. And playing just one note of them and not the others would simply not reveal its character. All of this is in addition to the surrounding context.

Exploring modes other than those of the Major scale requires extra effort to outline their characteristic notes. E.g., 2nd mode of Melodic Minor is called "Dorian b2". Its b2 is its characteristic note, but if you don't include a natural 6th (which is the color tone of regular Dorian) then it will not be clear whether you are in "Dorian b2" or in regular Phrygian because both modes have a b2 in them. So to be truly in "Dorian b2" you need to also include a natural 6th somewhere.

Don't seek functions.

Tonal music is based on Functional Harmony which means that every chord has a role— one of Tonic, Subdominant or Dominant. E.g., is this chord moving us away from the tonic or back to it? Does it provide tension or a point of rest? But in Modal Harmony none of these functions exist. Trying to add functions/cadences to Modal Harmony defeats the purpose of sounding modal. To play modally, means to not play tonally.

We use the term Chord Progressions quite a lot. And even though it's a minor thing to focus on, it contributes to unlocking the concept behind playing modal as well. The word "progression" implies that the chords are moving in an organized and/or planned manner. But in Modal Harmony each chord seems to float by itself without the obligation to go anywhere specifically. Instead, we are creating a soundscape around the Modal Center, which is exactly why we use stepwise cadences outlined in this summary. We can then substitute the term Chord Progressions with Modal Chord Sequences. It's for the same reason we say Modal Center instead of Tonic to avoid association with Tonal music. Also, the less different diatonic chords you use in a sequence the better it is in terms of modal sound.

Use lateral cadences.

Shift your mindset from circular chord resolution (e.g. 2→5→1, or ii→V→I) to lateral (next to the root chord on both sides: 7⇆1⇆2, a.k.a. stepwise).

Tonal music is based on "circular" movements of chords which means going in 5ths as in the case of ii→V→I (e.g., Dm is a 5th above G, and G is a 5th above C, so we descend in 5ths), which is one of the reasons why Circle Of Fifths is so popular and useful. However, you want to avoid such movements when you're playing modally to decrease this tonal effect. Instead, choose chords that are close to the 1st root chord. A good rule of the thumb is to use the chords built on the 2nd and/or 7th scale degrees. Note: these 2 triad chords together with the 1st chord cover all 7 tones of the scale.

Avoid chords with a tritone.

Chords like Diminished or Dominant 7th bear a tritone interval which wants to resolve to the Major's scale Tonic which will make it feel as if we're back to Tonal Harmony. E.g. G7 in D-Dorian will resolve to C, instead of D.

Use modes momentarily.

Some modes are hard to make music with, like in the case of Locrian which has an unstable Modal Center. But even when it's not the case you still don't have to write the whole piece of music in a single mode. Oftentimes modes are used momentarily to play over one particular chord to evoke a different emotion or create a specific vibe. Non-musicians will not know what you did but their ears will register the change and draw their attention.

Use ambiguous chords.

Modal Harmony can go to its extremes to avoid any association with Tonal Harmony. I.e. it aims to be ambiguous and vague. One way it is achieved is by using sus chords, add9 chords and even quartal chords (built of 4ths) to avoid the connection that tertian chords (built of 3rds) have with Tonal Harmony.

Mix techniques.

You don't have to apply every technique listed here to sound modal. You can mix tonal and modal principles and still sound modal. It's just that the more modal techniques you employ the greater the effect you'll get. However, one rule that is imperative is emphasizing the One chord, thereby creating context for other tones of the mode.