The Mystery out of the modes.

https://soundcloud.com/cameron-weckerley/watermelonman

The classical music concept of the church modes if often opaque and confusing even to those "in the know." so to speak.

Because a few of the Church Modes or just modes are extremely important in jazz theory we should have a good working understanding of at least the ones we need.

The first, and the second, good news is that you probably already have a lot of the modal stuff down you just don't remember

The C Major and A minor scales
also, known, as the Ionian and Aeolion modes.

The C Major scale and the natural minor scale are all we really need to know to wrap our heads around the other two really important modes.   The Mixolydian and the Dorian ...

Before we go any farther though it is important to understand that we will be parsing everything through the lens of intervallic relationships.  I really can not stress enough how important it is to think in terms of relationships  when moving through the mixo and dorian modes in several different keys, which is a common element of improvisational pedagogy, it is common for the classically trained pianist in particular to use rote memorization.

In the context of learning specific pieces for performance that makes sense since your goal is accurate muscle memory towards the same goal., in this case   the same set of notes each time.  As opposed to playing jazz or a more sophisticated pop tune where the underlying harmony is changing regularly. So that means the more agile you are in moving through these scales transposed.   That is what it is imperative to have the intervallic structure of  The Major Scale (Ionian Mode)  and Natural Minor Scale Aeolion mode.

So let's just take the time to review some basics really quick so that everybody is on the same page.

Key  W=Whole Step
          H=Half Step

The formula for the Maj. Scale is:

w w h w w w w h

Most teaching method books touch on this formula when the idea of scales is first introduced early on in the teaching process of most instruments including the  piano.   It is a powerful description of a profound relationship.

(If you need a quick reminder about half and whole steps here is a quick reminder

https://youtu.be/0xwM-c9zDl0  )

Knowing the formulaic approach gives the student an extremely powerful tool.   Many times now I have shown that formula to a relative beginner and in 5 minutes they can plunk out the notes of the major scale (Ionian Mode) on any key.           

The formula method makes it much easier to use the modes as  chord scales without a lot of rote memorizaton.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

On to Mixolydian

.

w w h w w h w w

The mighty mixolydian is simply a major scale with a lowered 7th degree.

If you do not easily have all the major scales under your fingers the formula is....

w w h w w h w w


With our newfound knowledge of Mixolydian it is time to a practical application.

Watermelon Man by Herbie Hancock is basically a blue with an extra 4 measures added in the B Section.

https://soundcloud.com/cameron-weckerley/watermelonman

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The formula for the natural minor 

w h w w w h w w 

Right here is where I think I can simplify things a  bit. 

So after all this buildup, you don't really need to know anything about mixo except that is is a Major scale with a flattened 7th degree and is the most common "chord-scale" to use over a dominant or any functional V7 chord in a pop or jazz setting.

Major Scale on the left, Mixolydian mode on the right.

For this particular student anyway, that was a huge conceptual breakthrough, he didn't have to learn all the mixolydian modes....HE ALREADY KNEW THEM.  If you can play a major scale you can play mixo...EASY..

<iframe width="100%" height="300" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/328947555&amp;color=%23ff5500&amp;auto_play=false&amp;hide_related=false&amp;show_comments=true&amp;show_user=true&amp;show_reposts=false&amp;show_teaser=true&amp;visual=true"></iframe>