Hi!
Today, I'm gonna start a new topic...
Modes!
In order to get a feeling for what they are, where they come from... Wikipedia is a good start: Modes
I will dedicate time for each mode of the Major scale (they are many modes...):
Ionian
Dorian
Phrygian
Lydian
Mixolydian
Aeolian
Locrian
A way to understand Modes, is to see them as different scales. A scale is the organisation of the notes with known intervals. For example the Major scale which is also the first mode "Ionian" has: 1,1,1/2,1,1,1,1/2 where 1 is a whole step and 1/2 is a half step. Because of this organisation, the major scale sounds the way it does... Play in C, it's all the white keys of a piano. C,D,E,F,G,A,B. There, you may notice that there is a black key between each white notes except between E,F and B,C(octave). These are your half steps.
In order to grasp the modes, it is useful to seperate them from their parent scale... A good way to HEAR the modes is to start with the same Tonic.
What is a parent scale, you may ask? well, Modes are constructed from a root scale. The modes indicated above are derived from the Major scale. Modes can be derived from a minor scale (which itself is the Aeolian mode of a major scale), harmonic minor scale or melodic minor scale...
more to follow...