Quick Trick to Remembering Mode Structures

Here's a trick so that you'll never forget the interval formula for building any of the seven standard major modes.

It does require that you know two things:

- The order of the modes
- The interval formula for the major scale (which is the same as the Ionian mode). You can think of this as the "starting formula".

It's really simple, I find it hard to believe that every book on the topic doesn't lay it out this way. I haven't read every book, but the ones I've got, don't.

Anyway, here it is:

The order of modes:

Ionian
Dorian
Phrygian
Lydian
Mixolydian
Aeolian
Locrian

I used to remember this by saying, "I don't play lame music any longer". The first letter of each word is the first letter of each mode.

Nowadays I just have the order memorized without any gimmicks, mostly because I practice my mode fingerings as a warmup every day, and as I move through the different modes up and down the neck (all seven modes connect to each other in this order, so if you know the fingerings well, creating runs in any key up and down the neck is easy), I actually say the mode out loud to reinforce it.

Next, you know the formula for the major (Ionian) scale:

W W H W W W H

If you don't know what that's about, I suggest you go back to the basics of the major scale and don't worry about modes until you really understand how the major scale is built, but in a nutshell, "W" is a whole step interval, or two frets, "H" is a half step interval, or one fret. So, if you were to play C major (C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C) all the way up the A string, starting at the third fret (which is a C), you would find, if you followed the WWHWWWH formula, that you would end on the next C, one octave up (15th fret). The distance from C to D is "W", D to E "W", E to F "H", F to G "W", G to A "W", A to B "W", and B to C "H"). This works for any scale; start at the root, follow the formula, you'll end at the root again.

So, what's the trick? As you move along the order of modes, Just revolve the intervals by taking the first one off and putting it at the end.

Written out:

Ionian - W W H W W W H
Dorian - W H W W W H W
Phrygian - H W W W H W W
Lydian - W W W H W W H
Mixolydian - W W H W W H W
Aeolian - W H W W H W W
Locrian - H W W H W W W
Back to Ionian - W W H W W W H

It's handy to know for a number or reasons, not just passing a theory test; for instance, you know that the final interval before the root, if you are playing a major lead, is a half step (scales start and end on the root). So, anywhere you can find that root note on the neck, you know that you can play the fret immediately below it and be in key; sliding up from that fret to the root gives a real nice major resolving sound (in theory speak, you are resolving a major 7th to the root). In minor terms, you probably mostly play the Aeolian mode (which is the same as the natural minor scale). Same logic; you know that the note immediately before the root is a whole step, so anywhere you can find that root note on the fretboard, you know that you can play the note two frets below it; this is a great opportunity to bend that note up a whole step, resolving the bend at the root.

The more you know these structures, the easier it is to move around the fretboard at will, but, at least for now, this is an easy way to memorize those structures.

As always, thanks for visiting.