Ray Harmony's Blog, page 32

Are Your Chord Progressions Actually in the Modes You Intended?

 

Alex from Montreal asked the following question in the comments of our Hack-A-Hit video on The Chainsmokers: “In your other videos you emphasized always starting your modes on their root chords, because that gives the listener a sense of where the home is. In this chord progression, the root chord (Fm) starts on the third chord, shouldn’t it be the first chord of the progression? Feeling super confused!” Thank you Alex, and please rest assured that we’ll have your confusion cleared up by the end of this video. I’ve got an example lined up for you in my DAW, but first, here’s my one-sentence answer:

When you’re in Ionian (AKA the major scale) or Aeolian (AKA the minor scale), like that Chainsmokers song, you can get away with putting the root chord anywhere because our ears are so used to hearing those modes, but when you’re in the other five “forgotten” modes, it’s vital to establish the root as it’s way harder for our ears to recognise those modes.

Let’s jump right into the example now. So here’s that chord progression in “Closer” by The Chainsmokers. First things first, we’re gonna use the white note hack to get rid of all the black notes, so it’s easy to analyze. As this chord progression is in a minor key, we select all the MIDI and move its root chord (Fm) up to A, because in A minor there are no sharps or flats. Remember, after using the white note hack, you can just select all the MIDI again and move it to whatever key you want. So, here is the chord progression in the key of A minor: Fmaj(add9) → Gmaj → Am7 → Gmaj, and the spelling of that chord progression is: ♭VI → ♭VII → I → ♭VII.

[image error]
And as Alex wisely observed, the root chord is played third in this progression (highlighted in the above MIDI screenshot). Even though they wait until the third chord before revealing the root, our ears are so familiar with Aeolian, that there is absolutely no doubt what the home (i.e the root) of this chord progression is. This is a great example of how we can get away with putting the root chord anywhere in Ionian or Aeolian chord progressions.

However, as the five other modes are so unfamiliar to our ears, when we’re trying to get our listeners to recognise those other modes and feel their emotions, it’s vital that we anchor each chord progression deeply into its root chord. You still don’t necessarily need to start on the root chord, but, whatever chord is played first in your progression has the prime spot, so playing the root chord first in a progression is certainly a very good way to establish its home.

Let’s move this chord progression into Dorian now, to test it out in one of the five other modes. So, using the white note hack, we move the root chord from A to D, as D Dorian has no black notes. Okay, so we can see there’s a black note here, B♭, so that will need to move up to a B♮. That’s the ♭6 of Aeolian moving up to the ♮6, which is the very note that makes Dorian different. Now, as the B chord in Dorian also happens to be the rather unpleasant diminished chord, we’ll just move that B chord down to an A chord. So we move the root of that chord, B, down to A, and the 5th, F, down to the 5th of A, which is E. There’s also this other F here, which we can move up to A. And then the 3rd of that B chord was D, so we move that down to the 3rd of the A chord, which is C. And lastly, if we still want to start with that add9, we can move the C down to a B over here, which also emphasizes the Dorian mode, as that B would be a B♭ if this was Aeolian.

[image error]
Okay, now that we’ve got the equivalent chord progression in D Dorian, we need to ask ourselves the most important mode question of all: Are my listeners hearing and feeling the mode that I’m wanting them to hear and feel? In this example, that question is essentially: Are my listeners hearing D as the root? If they’re not, then this chord progression is not in Dorian, and is in fact in a relative. Remember, the best hack for finding the root chord is to test which chord the song wants to end on, as that chord is what our ears are hearing as the root. In this chord progression, there’s absolutely no doubt that our ears are hearing this Am chord as the root. So, this means we’ve failed Dorian, as our listeners are not hearing D Dorian, they’re actually hearing the relative, A Aeolian. This is by far the most common problem musicians have when using the five other modes: Their music accidentally ends up sounding like the relative Ionian or Aeolian, and not the mode they intended.

Now, simply by starting this chord progression on the Dm chord, we already help in establishing that D as the root. So let’s cut this chord progression in half and begin on the second half instead, so we now start on D. Yep, that’s way better already, but, it’s not quite enough yet. We also need to play the specific chord that emphasizes the specific mode we’re in. For more on which chords to play in which modes, please download our Hack Music Theory for Songwriting & Producing PDF.

In Dorian you always want to play the 4th chord, as that 4th chord is usually a minor in Aeolian, but in Dorian it becomes a major chord. That deviation from the norm (i.e. Aeolian) is exactly what grabs the attention of our ears and alerts them to the fact that we’re not in Aeolian now. The 4th chord in D Dorian is Gmaj, so we need to play a Gmaj somewhere in this chord progression, and the most obvious spot for it would be in place of the Am chord. The reason for this, is because that Am chord is tricking our ear into thinking this progression is in its relative, A Aeolian, so let’s just replace that Am with a Gmaj, which consists of the notes G B D, and we’ll double the 1 and 5 in the left hand to match the other chords. As soon as you hear this B (the 6 in D Dorian), it’s obvious that you are not in Aeolian, as that note is the silver lining to our cloud, which you only get in Dorian. In other words, our ears are expecting a Bm here, because that’s what we’d get if we were in Aeolian, but instead we get a Bmaj, revealing the Dorian mode.

Finally, to make it even more obvious that D is the root, we can move the C (♭7) on top of our Dm chord up to the root, which releases that tension and makes the D sound final. Remember, 7s always create tension as they want to resolve up to the root, so don’t use them on your root chord when you’re trying to establish it as the home.

[image error]
Before we wrap up, I just want to say once again that you don’t have to start your Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian or Mixolydian chord progressions on the root chord, but it sure does help with establishing the home. Other ways you can establish a chord as the root elsewhere in the progression, is by playing it longer than the other chords, or by repeating it within the chord progression.

Last but not least, the fun part: I added some bass and drums to the chord progression, and of course a bit of synth too. Now that we’ve worked so hard to ensure the D is being heard as the root, you’re really going to be able to feel that sad but hopefully Dorian personality shining through. Let’s take a listen (it's at 10:17 and again at 11:12 in the video/podcast).

So that’s my answer! Thanks for watching, and if you’d like to learn more about writing chord progressions in the other five modes, please download our Hack Music Theory for Songwriting & Producing PDF. Do you feel a little bit smarter now than you did a few minutes ago? Then subscribe so we can do it all again next week! And if you have a question you’d like us to answer here on Q&A Tuesday, please comment below or connect with us.

Kate :)

PS. Have you downloaded our free music theory book yet?

How to Write a Dorian Chord Progression

Today on 3-Minute Theory: How to write a chord progression in the Dorian mode.

The Dorian mode is our sad but hopeful sounding mode. Using the white note hack, Dorian is what you get when you play all the white notes, starting from D. And remember, after you’ve used the white note hack to write your chord progression, you can just select all the MIDI and move it up or down to wherever you need.

We want to start by building a chord from each of the seven white notes. The way we do that is by playing a note, skipping the next note up, playing the next note note, skipping the next note up, and then playing the next note. That gives us a chord. As the first chord in a mode is built on the first note, AKA the root note, we refer to the first chord as the root chord. And that’s D F A here, which gives us a Dm. Remember, minors (m) are sad, and majors (maj) are happy. Moving on, the 2nd chord is E G B, which is Em. The 3rd chord is F A C, which is Fmaj. The 4th chord is G B D, which is Gmaj. The 5th chord is A C E, which is Am. The 6th chord is B D F, which is Bdim, that weird chord. And the 7th chord is C E G, which is Cmaj. Now, that weird 6th chord, Bdim, while that diminished chord is a favourite for horror movie soundtracks, it’s definitely not a favourite for popular music because it’s way too dissonant, so it’s not really used. Let’s just get rid of that chord for now.

Starting your chord progression on the root chord is the easiest way to anchor it into the mode. You don’t have to start on the root chord, but it is the easiest, and you obviously do have to play it somewhere in the progression. The other chord that you do have to play in Dorian, is the 4th chord. Let me explain that to you now, so I’ll just delete all the other chords and keep the root chord, Dm, and the 4th chord, Gmaj.

Most popular music is written using the Aeolian mode (AKA the natural minor scale). In that mode/scale, the 4th chord is always minor, so we are really used to hearing the 4th chord as a minor. However, as you know, in Dorian the 4th chord is a major. So as soon as you hear that 4th chord as a major, immediately your ear is like: “Oooh hello! That’s not what I was expecting.” It sounds much more uplifting than we’re used to from a minor mode. The 4th chord in Dorian is precisely what gives the mode its hopeful sound; that 4th chord is the silver lining to our cloud. We can play the 4th chord towards the beginning of our chord progression, in the middle, or at the end. Playing it at the end is going to feel like the light at the end of our tunnel. Let’s put it there.

Now we have a gap in the middle, between our root chord Dm at the beginning of our progression and the Gmaj at the end. We have two minor chords and two major chords left (that we haven’t yet used), and you can choose them however you want. Chord progressions can have as few as two chords, but that’s boring, and they can have as many as all seven chords. We’ll go with four here, which is usually the average. Remember, tell the musical story you want to tell by what chords you choose, and by what order you put them in. I’m thinking here that I’ll go with Am (A C E) and then Em (E G B), because I really want the listeners to work through three minor chords in a row before they get the reward of that really, really uplifting major chord at the end, which is not merely a major chord, it’s that special major chord that makes Dorian sound hopeful. So in my chord progression I’ve got 75% minor, and 25% major. You can do your major to minor ratio however you want, but do think about it.

[image error]Figure 1: Chord progression in the D Dorian mode: Dm → Am → Em → Gmaj

Next time we'll talk about how to re-arrange the notes within the chords to make them all flow super smoothly into each other, so stay tuned for that. Also, if you want to go deeper into writing chord progressions using the modes, please check out my Hack Music Theory for Songwriting & Producing PDF. Until next time, happy songwriting!

Ray :)

PS. Have you downloaded our free music theory book yet?

014 | How to Write a Dorian Chord Progression

Today on 3-Minute Theory: How to write a chord progression in the Dorian mode.

The Dorian mode is our sad but hopeful sounding mode. Using the white note hack, Dorian is what you get when you play all the white notes, starting from D. And remember, after you’ve used the white note hack to write your chord progression, you can just select all the MIDI and move it up or down to wherever you need.

We want to start by building a chord from each of the seven white notes. The way we do that is by playing a note, skipping the next note up, playing the next note note, skipping the next note up, and then playing the next note. That gives us a chord. As the first chord in a mode is built on the first note, AKA the root note, we refer to the first chord as the root chord. And that’s D F A here, which gives us a Dm. Remember, minors (m) are sad, and majors (maj) are happy. Moving on, the 2nd chord is E G B, which is Em. The 3rd chord is F A C, which is Fmaj. The 4th chord is G B D, which is Gmaj. The 5th chord is A C E, which is Am. The 6th chord is B D F, which is Bdim, that weird chord. And the 7th chord is C E G, which is Cmaj. Now, that weird 6th chord, Bdim, while that diminished chord is a favourite for horror movie soundtracks, it’s definitely not a favourite for popular music because it’s way too dissonant, so it’s not really used. Let’s just get rid of that chord for now.

Starting your chord progression on the root chord is the easiest way to anchor it into the mode. You don’t have to start on the root chord, but it is the easiest, and you obviously do have to play it somewhere in the progression. The other chord that you do have to play in Dorian, is the 4th chord. Let me explain that to you now, so I’ll just delete all the other chords and keep the root chord, Dm, and the 4th chord, Gmaj.

Most popular music is written using the Aeolian mode (AKA the natural minor scale). In that mode/scale, the 4th chord is always minor, so we are really used to hearing the 4th chord as a minor. However, as you know, in Dorian the 4th chord is a major. So as soon as you hear that 4th chord as a major, immediately your ear is like: “Oooh hello! That’s not what I was expecting.” It sounds much more uplifting than we’re used to from a minor mode. The 4th chord in Dorian is precisely what gives the mode its hopeful sound; that 4th chord is the silver lining to our cloud. We can play the 4th chord towards the beginning of our chord progression, in the middle, or at the end. Playing it at the end is going to feel like the light at the end of our tunnel. Let’s put it there.

Now we have a gap in the middle, between our root chord Dm at the beginning of our progression and the Gmaj at the end. We have two minor chords and two major chords left (that we haven’t yet used), and you can choose them however you want. Chord progressions can have as few as two chords, but that’s boring, and they can have as many as all seven chords. We’ll go with four here, which is usually the average. Remember, tell the musical story you want to tell by what chords you choose, and by what order you put them in. I’m thinking here that I’ll go with Am (A C E) and then Em (E G B), because I really want the listeners to work through three minor chords in a row before they get the reward of that really, really uplifting major chord at the end, which is not merely a major chord, it’s that special major chord that makes Dorian sound hopeful. So in my chord progression I’ve got 75% minor, and 25% major. You can do your major to minor ratio however you want, but do think about it.

[image error]Figure 1: Chord progression in the D Dorian mode: Dm → Am → Em → Gmaj

Next time we'll talk about how to re-arrange the notes within the chords to make them all flow super smoothly into each other, so stay tuned for that. Also, if you want to go deeper into writing chord progressions using the modes, please check out my Hack Music Theory for Songwriting & Producing PDF. Until next time, happy songwriting!

Ray :)

PS. Have you downloaded our free music theory book yet?

How to Write a Chord Progression for a Blues Scale Bass Line

Jared from the States emailed us with this question: “I used the blues scale to make a bass synth line. I really love it, but I can’t seem to add chords to it. I’m getting REALLY frustrated!!!! Can you please show me how I can add a chord progression? I’m using the A blues scale.” Thank you, Jared. I’m so sorry you’re feeling frustrated, that really sux! If it’s any consolation though, this is a very common problem with a very simple solution. And on that note, here’s my one-sentence answer:

As you mentioned a synth, I’ll presume you’re working in an electronic genre and not the blues genre (as blues has its own rules), so, you simply use the natural minor scale from the same root to create a chord progression to your blues scale melody.

Let’s work through an example. You said your synth bass line is in the A blues scale, so that’s A C D E♭ E♮ G. Remember, the ♭5 (E♭) is merely a spicy decoration, so we don’t treat that as part of the harmony. And yes, that ♭5 (E♭) will clash with all the chords that contain the 5 (E), like the root triad (Am), but that dissonance is a big part of the blues scale’s charm.

Now, here’s the hack for writing a chord progression to a blues scale melody. Because we can ignore that decorative ♭5 (E♭), we’re left with the pentatonic minor scale, which is the natural minor scale (A B C D E F G) without its 2 (B) and ♭6 (F), so that’s: 1 ♭3 4 5 ♭7 (A C D E G). As all five notes of the blues scale, excluding that decorative ♭5, are in the natural minor scale, you can use the A natural minor scale to write a chord progression to your A blues scale melody. So in other words, your chord options for the A blues scale and the A natural minor scale are exactly the same. The chords are: Am, Bdim, Cmaj, Dm, Em, Fmaj, Gmaj.

For example, if you have a short synth riff that loops, it could be fun to play through one different chord under each loop of the riff. So, if your riff is: A → G → E → D → E → C → E♭, then we could play one chord for each loop.

[image error]Figure 1: Bass line in the A Blues scale

Something like this: Am → Cmaj/G → Gmaj → Dm/F → Fmaj → Fmaj/A, which brings us back around to our root chord (Am). Now let’s put that riff in the bass and play this chord progression over it. By the way, the notes in these chords have been re-arranged to flow smoothly into each other. For more on that technique, please watch our Chords (song 1) video.

[image error]Figure 2: Chord progression in A natural minor, which works over the bass line in A Blues scale

So that’s my answer! Thanks for watching. If you’d like to learn more about writing chord progressions in a natural minor scale, please read chapter 12 in our free book: 12 Music Theory Hacks to Learn Scales & Chords. Do you feel a little bit smarter now than you did a few minutes ago? Then subscribe so we can do it all again next week! And if you have a question you’d like us to answer here on Q&A Tuesday, please comment below or connect with us.

Kate :)

PS. Have you downloaded our free music theory book yet?

013 | How to Write a Chord Progression for a Blues Scale Bass Line

Jared from the States emailed us with this question: “I used the blues scale to make a bass synth line. I really love it, but I can’t seem to add chords to it. I’m getting REALLY frustrated!!!! Can you please show me how I can add a chord progression? I’m using the A blues scale.” Thank you, Jared. I’m so sorry you’re feeling frustrated, that really sux! If it’s any consolation though, this is a very common problem with a very simple solution. And on that note, here’s my one-sentence answer:

As you mentioned a synth, I’ll presume you’re working in an electronic genre and not the blues genre (as blues has its own rules), so, you simply use the natural minor scale from the same root to create a chord progression to your blues scale melody.

Let’s work through an example. You said your synth bass line is in the A blues scale, so that’s A C D E♭ E♮ G. Remember, the ♭5 (E♭) is merely a spicy decoration, so we don’t treat that as part of the harmony. And yes, that ♭5 (E♭) will clash with all the chords that contain the 5 (E), like the root triad (Am), but that dissonance is a big part of the blues scale’s charm.

Now, here’s the hack for writing a chord progression to a blues scale melody. Because we can ignore that decorative ♭5 (E♭), we’re left with the pentatonic minor scale, which is the natural minor scale (A B C D E F G) without its 2 (B) and ♭6 (F), so that’s: 1 ♭3 4 5 ♭7 (A C D E G). As all five notes of the blues scale, excluding that decorative ♭5, are in the natural minor scale, you can use the A natural minor scale to write a chord progression to your A blues scale melody. So in other words, your chord options for the A blues scale and the A natural minor scale are exactly the same. The chords are: Am, Bdim, Cmaj, Dm, Em, Fmaj, Gmaj.

For example, if you have a short synth riff that loops, it could be fun to play through one different chord under each loop of the riff. So, if your riff is: A → G → E → D → E → C → E♭, then we could play one chord for each loop.

[image error]Figure 1: Bass line in the A Blues scale

Something like this: Am → Cmaj/G → Gmaj → Dm/F → Fmaj → Fmaj/A, which brings us back around to our root chord (Am). Now let’s put that riff in the bass and play this chord progression over it. By the way, the notes in these chords have been re-arranged to flow smoothly into each other. For more on that technique, please watch our Chords (song 1) video.

[image error]Figure 2: Chord progression in A natural minor, which works over the bass line in A Blues scale

So that’s my answer! Thanks for watching. If you’d like to learn more about writing chord progressions in a natural minor scale, please read chapter 12 in our free book: 12 Music Theory Hacks to Learn Scales & Chords. Do you feel a little bit smarter now than you did a few minutes ago? Then subscribe so we can do it all again next week! And if you have a question you’d like us to answer here on Q&A Tuesday, please comment below or connect with us.

Kate :)

PS. Have you downloaded our free music theory book yet?

How to Start a Chord Progression

Today on 3-Minute Theory: How to start writing a chord progression.

The first thing you need to decide is whether you want a happy vibe (AKA major), or a sad vibe (AKA minor). You’ve got three options on both sides, and these options are called the modes. There is an extra seventh mode, but it’s very dissonant and is not really used in popular music that much, so we’re gonna forget about it for now.

Next up, the “white note hack”. Use only the white notes to make your chord progressions, because it’s super simple, and if you do need to move your chord progressions up or down into a different key later, you can just grab all the MIDI and move it. Easy!

MAJOR (happy) modes:
Now, if you want happy vibes, draw the chord C E G into the piano roll of your DAW. This is our happy (major) chord. The way we build chords is by playing a note, skipping the next note up, then playing the next note, and so on. Start your chord progression on C, if you want a straight-up happy sound. This is the Ionian mode (AKA the major scale). Now, grab that MIDI chord and move it to F. If you want a happy but quirky sound to your chord progression, start on F. This is the Lydian mode. Grab that MIDI chord again and move it to G. If you want a happy but serious sound to your chord progression, start on G. This is the Mixolydian mode. Those are your three major options.

MINOR (sad) modes:
Now, if you want sad vibes, draw the chord A C E into your piano roll. This is our sad (minor) chord. Start on A if you want a straight-up sad or serious sound to your chord progression. This is the Aeolian mode (AKA the natural minor scale). Grab that MIDI chord and move it to D. If you want a sad but hopeful sound to your chord progression, start on D. This is the Dorian mode. Grab that MIDI chord again and move it to E. If you want a dark sound to your chord progression, start on E. This is the Phrygian mode. Those are your three minor options.

For an example, let’s just start on D, for the sad but hopeful Dorian mode. We’ve only got the first chord in the mode now, so we still need to get the other six chords. To do this, we just start on each of the white notes and follow that play/skip/play/skip/play formula to build all the chords in that mode. Here are the chords in D Dorian: D F A / E G B / F A C / G B D / A C E / B D F / C E G.

Now, no matter what mode you’re using in this white note hack, I want you to find the B D F chord and delete it, because it’s really dissonant. It’s a diminished triad, and is not used in popular music that much, so for now we’re just gonna get rid of it. Okay, so these are the six chords that you can use to make your chord progression. You can use as many or as few as you want. Be sure to start on that first chord (for now) so it really anchors your chord progression to its mode.

If you want to go deeper into writing the modes and writing chord progressions using them, please check out my Hack Music Theory for Songwriting & Producing PDF. Thanks for reading, and happy songwriting!

Ray :)

PS. Have you downloaded my free music theory book yet?

012 | How to Start a Chord Progression

Today on 3-Minute Theory: How to start writing a chord progression.

The first thing you need to decide is whether you want a happy vibe (AKA major), or a sad vibe (AKA minor). You’ve got three options on both sides, and these options are called the modes. There is an extra seventh mode, but it’s very dissonant and is not really used in popular music that much, so we’re gonna forget about it for now.

Next up, the “white note hack”. Use only the white notes to make your chord progressions, because it’s super simple, and if you do need to move your chord progressions up or down into a different key later, you can just grab all the MIDI and move it. Easy!

MAJOR (happy) modes:
Now, if you want happy vibes, draw the chord C E G into the piano roll of your DAW. This is our happy (major) chord. The way we build chords is by playing a note, skipping the next note up, then playing the next note, and so on. Start your chord progression on C, if you want a straight-up happy sound. This is the Ionian mode (AKA the major scale). Now, grab that MIDI chord and move it to F. If you want a happy but quirky sound to your chord progression, start on F. This is the Lydian mode. Grab that MIDI chord again and move it to G. If you want a happy but serious sound to your chord progression, start on G. This is the Mixolydian mode. Those are your three major options.

MINOR (sad) modes:
Now, if you want sad vibes, draw the chord A C E into your piano roll. This is our sad (minor) chord. Start on A if you want a straight-up sad or serious sound to your chord progression. This is the Aeolian mode (AKA the natural minor scale). Grab that MIDI chord and move it to D. If you want a sad but hopeful sound to your chord progression, start on D. This is the Dorian mode. Grab that MIDI chord again and move it to E. If you want a dark sound to your chord progression, start on E. This is the Phrygian mode. Those are your three minor options.

For an example, let’s just start on D, for the sad but hopeful Dorian mode. We’ve only got the first chord in the mode now, so we still need to get the other six chords. To do this, we just start on each of the white notes and follow that play/skip/play/skip/play formula to build all the chords in that mode. Here are the chords in D Dorian: D F A / E G B / F A C / G B D / A C E / B D F / C E G.

Now, no matter what mode you’re using in this white note hack, I want you to find the B D F chord and delete it, because it’s really dissonant. It’s a diminished triad, and is not used in popular music that much, so for now we’re just gonna get rid of it. Okay, so these are the six chords that you can use to make your chord progression. You can use as many or as few as you want. Be sure to start on that first chord (for now) so it really anchors your chord progression to its mode.

If you want to go deeper into writing the modes and writing chord progressions using them, please check out my Hack Music Theory for Songwriting & Producing PDF. Thanks for reading, and happy songwriting!

Ray :)

PS. Have you downloaded my free music theory book yet?

3-Minute Theory: Hacks for Busy People

Do you get frustrated while making music? Do you battle to finish songs you start? Do they all sound the same, anyway? Do your chord progressions and melodies never turn out as good as you’d hoped? Do you listen to other people’s music and wish it was your own? Do you get confused about what theory is relevant for today’s music?

If you answered, “Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, and yes”, then you’re not alone, as most musicians in the popular music world have these exact same struggles.

This is because popular music theory education is an unregulated mess, with everyone and their cat sharing incorrect information on the internet. So, as an award-winning college lecturer, author and journalist, specialising in music theory and composition, I’ve made it my life’s mission to create a trusted, simple and fun online source for popular music theory.

I know, I know, I hear ya! “That’s all fine and dandy and everything, Ray, but I’m busy all day every day, so when the hell am I supposed to find the time to learn music theory?” Well, if you’re kind enough to give me three minutes of your time, I’ll give you three decades of my music theory knowledge. Does that sound like a good deal?

Yep, in a mere three minutes per video, I’ll guide you step-by-step through the music theory hacks behind my top-secret songwriting methods, putting an end to your frustration, writer’s block and insecurities once and for all. Right about now, I’d usually be saying put the kettle on, make a cup of tea and settle in, but we’ll be done before the water’s even boiled. Welcome to our new series, 3-Minute Theory.

Ray :)

PS. Have you downloaded our free music theory book yet?

011 | 3-Minute Theory: Hacks for Busy People

Do you get frustrated while making music? Do you battle to finish songs you start? Do they all sound the same, anyway? Do your chord progressions and melodies never turn out as good as you’d hoped? Do you listen to other people’s music and wish it was your own? Do you get confused about what theory is relevant for today’s music?

If you answered, “Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, and yes”, then you’re not alone, as most musicians in the popular music world have these exact same struggles.

This is because popular music theory education is an unregulated mess, with everyone and their cat sharing incorrect information on the internet. So, as an award-winning college lecturer, author and journalist, specialising in music theory and composition, I’ve made it my life’s mission to create a trusted, simple and fun online source for popular music theory.

I know, I know, I hear ya! “That’s all fine and dandy and everything, Ray, but I’m busy all day every day, so when the hell am I supposed to find the time to learn music theory?” Well, if you’re kind enough to give me three minutes of your time, I’ll give you three decades of my music theory knowledge. Does that sound like a good deal?

Yep, in a mere three minutes per video, I’ll guide you step-by-step through the music theory hacks behind my top-secret songwriting methods, putting an end to your frustration, writer’s block and insecurities once and for all. Right about now, I’d usually be saying put the kettle on, make a cup of tea and settle in, but we’ll be done before the water’s even boiled. Welcome to our new series, 3-Minute Theory.

Ray :)

PS. Have you downloaded our free music theory book yet?

Introduction to Modes and How to Use Them

Alan from Portland, Oregon emailed us and asked: “I understand the major and minor scales, and I use them in my tracks all the time, but I don’t understand the modes. I know they’re like scales, but I don’t get what the difference is, and I don’t really get why they’re useful either. Sorry that’s more than one question, but I hope you can still help me.” Thank you, Alan. Yes of course we can and will help you, that’s what we’re here for! There’s actually two great questions here, but I’m still gonna give you a one-sentence answer, so here it is:

While modes and scales have slightly different histories, the terms are practically interchangeable in popular music today, besides, the modes are merely scales that convey different emotions by starting on different degrees of the major scale formula.

Now, let’s talk and play through the modes and their emotions. When you play all the white notes from C to C (i.e. C D E F G A B C), you get the major scale, which sounds happy. And, when you play all the white notes from A to A (i.e. A B C D E F G A), you get the natural minor scale, which sounds sad. These are relative scales, as they share the exact same notes, but start in different places and create different emotions. This is one of the greatest magic tricks in music theory, and an awesome songwriting hack, as it allows you to tap into totally different emotions without changing any notes. For more on relatives, please read chapter five of our free book: 12 Music Theory Hacks to Learn Scales & Chords.

You probably noticed that there are five other notes in the major scale that we could also start on (i.e. the 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7), which would create five other scales with five other emotions. These five other scales are known as the modes. And this is where the confusion between scales and modes comes from, because the two scales we use all the time in popular music, the major and natural minor scales, are also modes. They are merely two modes in a family of seven. So, in order to truly express ourselves as songwriters, we need to treat all the modes as equal relatives.

The two modes that we refer to as the major and natural minor scales are the most normal sounding of the seven modes, so predictably they became the most popular, which resulted in the other five modes being pretty much forgotten in popular music. But, because the other five modes are almost never used in songs these days, if you want your music to instantly stand out from everyone else’s, just use these “forgotten” modes.

Please note that you must always secure the five forgotten modes to their respective root notes, in order to create their unique emotions. Otherwise, your listeners may perceive your mode as the relative major or relative natural minor scale, because we’re all so used to hearing those two modes. The best way to secure a mode to its root note is to emphasize it in some way, like starting your chord progression on the root triad. In the following examples, I’ll secure each mode to its root note by playing the root in my left hand. So, here are all seven modes, their names, and their unique emotions:

The white notes from C to C create the Ionian mode (AKA the major scale), which sounds happy
The white notes from D to D create the Dorian mode, which sounds sad but hopeful
The white notes from E to E create the Phrygian mode, which sounds dark
The white notes from F to F create the Lydian mode, which sounds uplifting but quirky
The white notes from G to G create the Mixolydian mode, which sounds happy but serious
The white notes from A to A create the Aeolian mode (AKA the natural minor scale), which sounds sad
The white notes from B to B create the Locrian mode, which sounds evil (and is a favourite of metal bands)

So that’s my answer! Thanks for reading. Now, here’s an exercise for you: Choose one of the five “forgotten” modes. Write a melody or chord progression that expresses a more complex core emotion than just happy or sad. Then, play it to a friend and ask them how it makes them feel. Did you tap into a more complex emotion? Please let us know how it goes in the comments below, and if you’d like to learn more about modes and how to use them, check out our Hack Music Theory for Songwriting & Producing PDF.

Do you feel a little bit smarter now than you did a few minutes ago? Then please subscribe so we can do it all again next week! And if you have a question you’d like us to answer here on Q&A Tuesday, please comment below or connect with us.

Kate :)

PS. Have you downloaded our free music theory book yet?