A Note About Modes

Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do

This entry was originally an email we received. The author will be cited when we get permission. :)

Modes are like a box of crayons. But what would it be like to look at a Van Gogh and catalog the names of all the colors he used from that old box of crayons? How useful would that be? Modes are a highly respected study with string musicians because they open the door. They are nothing in themselves. It's not about the color. It's about the picture and the expression. It's not about the mode. It's about the new ways you will move your hand and your mind when you study them. When you get into them, you'll realize that it's all just a major scale and you are starting on a different step. But where violin music will show this to you as a string of notes with sharps and flats, modal thinking will show you a series of half steps and whole steps that easily transpose about the neck and across the strings. That's the power of this study.

Work on this focusing on the words. Just the words like you're practicing a tongue twister.
Say it as one word. Doremifasolatido Ionian mode. Get your mouth to work the consonants easily. Dotilasofamiredo. (Forwards and backwards)

Don't worry about the pitches yet. The consonants and syllables have to be easy and well rehearsed. Latin Vowels.

(I) Ionian Mode
Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do Doremifasolatido Dotilasofamiredo Do ti la so fa mi re do

(D) Dorian mode
Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do Re Remifasolatidore Redotilasofamire Re do ti la so fa mi re

(P) Phrygian Mode
Mi Fa So La Ti Do Re Mi Mifasolatidoremi Miredotilasofami Mi re do ti la so fa mi

(Ly) Lydean Mode
Fa So La Ti Do Re Mi Fa Fasolatidoremifa Famiredotilasofa Fa mi re do ti la so fa

(M) Mixolydian Mode
So La Ti Do Re Mi Fa So Solatidoremifaso Sofamiredotilaso So fa mi re do ti la so

(A) Aeolean Mode
La Ti Do Re Mi Fa So La Latidoremifasola Lasofamiredotila La so fa mi re do ti la

(Lo) Locrean Mode
Ti Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Tidoremifasolati Tilasofamiredoti Ti la so fa mi re do ti

Rote memorization for these--- Kingdom Phylum Genus Species You know how to do it but you might not have done it recently. Don't try and think about the pitches. Just work on the words.

Once the words become easy on the tongue and through the lips, The pitches will insinuate themselves without much further thought.

You're a graphics person! You should make a poster! Communicate!

Next Work with smaller and smaller sections of the words.

{w w h w} Do Re Mi^Fa So (I) Doremifaso (Ly) Sofamiredo (I) So fa^mi re do {w h w w} (I-Ly)

{w h w w} Re Mi^Fa So La (D) Remifasola (A) Lasofamire (D) La so fa^mi re {w w h w} (D-A)

{h w w w} Mi^Fa So La Ti (P) Mifasolati (Lo) Tilasofami (P) Ti la so fa^mi {w w w h} (P-Lo)

{w w w h} Fa So La Ti^Do (M) Fasolatido (I) Dotilasofa (M) Do^ti la so fa {h w w w} (M-I)

{w w h w} So La Ti^Do Re (Ly) Solatidore (D) Redotilaso (Ly) Re do^ti la so {w h w w} (Ly-D)

{w h w w} La Ti^Do Re Mi (A) Latidoremi (P) Miredotila (A) Mi re do^ti la {w w h w} (A-P)

{h w w h} Ti^Do Re Mi^Fa (Lo) Tiredomifa (M) Famiredoti (Lo) Fa^mi re do^ti {h w w h} (Lo-M)

{I've introduced notation to indicate whole steps and half steps.} If you study this a while you will see that the whole step and half step order repeats. (I) has the same pattern as ascending (Ly) and descending (D). Ascending (D) has the same pattern as ascending (A) and descending (Ly)! It's very close to the same pattern for three different places in the scale, or for three different modes. If you hear {w w h w} your ear will not be able to tell if it's just heard an (I) or an (Ly) It needs other input to form an opinion because the same pattern can occur in two different places of any scale or mode. This can be called tonal ambiguity. With the right notes it might even be convinced that it had heard a (D)

(P) (M) and (Lo) have patterns that can only occur in one place so the ear forms a solid understanding of where it is and in what scale and key when it hears these patterns. (h w w w) (w w w h) and (h w w h) But they can still exist in two different modes! (P-Lo) (M-I) (Lo-M)

One can make similar analysis of shorter or less linear melismas (A passage of several notes sung to one syllable of text, as in Gregorian chant.).

All this forms something like the periodic table of musical line and phrase. What we experience when we listen to music at the tonal level is a set of conditioned responses based on these recognizable distinctions in musical phrases. But like math, or chemistry, these are simply tools to define and quantify and form a symbolic map. The map is something that can get you an idea of how to get from place to place. But the map is not the territory. The real territory is actually full of magic and miracles that defy and confound the cartographer.