Every Mode Has A Different Set Of Chords Than It’s Parallel Major Or Minor Scale Does

What a lot of people do when teaching modes is talk about how, for instance, E dorian is just a minor scale with a minor 2nd (!). 

Basically, they tell you that these modes are just major or minor scales in disguise. We already talked about this earlier….

Now that helps you better remember modes later when you’re arguing on the internet….

But it doesn’t really help you make music….if you don’t know jack shit about chords and harmony. 

So here’s the deal about harmony and putting chords, and I’ll stop teasing you about it now.

Every scale has a formula of whole steps and half steps. That’s how we come up with the major and minor scales. 

But take that E Dorian and E minor scale we just talked about: 

E Phrygian = E – F – G – A – B – C – D

E Minor = E – F# – G – A – B – C – D

They differ by one note! Maybe you already knew that or saw it earlier? 

Does that make you a musical genius? Not yet….

Here is where I’ll start to show you the other side of music that you’ve been ignoring.

In order to better navigate the fretboard, and modes, you need to start becoming aware of all the chords available from the notes available in a modal scale or major or whatever. 

Using E minor, here’s the chords we get from the notes E – F# – G – A – B – C – D 

Em (i) = E – G – B (stacking thirds, or skipping one note in the sequence before adding another)

F#dim (iidim) = F# – A – C 

G (III) = G – B – D 

Am (iv) = A – C – E 

Bm (v) = B – D – F# 

C (VI) = C – E – G 

D (VII) = D – F# – A 

There are many more chords you can make from this set of notes, but these are the basic ones. 

Now, take a look at the chords available from the E phrygian mode: E – F – G – A – B – C – D 

Em (i) = E – G – B (okay, still the same, so what) 

F (II) = F – A – C (?) 

G (III) = G – B – D 

Am (iv) = A – C – E 

Bdim (vdim) = B – D – F (!) 

C (VI) = C – E – G 

D (vii) = D – F – A (!) 

Compare the vii, V, and ii chords of each harmonic system. They’re different! 

Having an F natural instead of an F# completely changes the harmonic choices available, and this is part of why no one uses modes right…

It’s not just playing a scale. In fact, for a long time, I couldn’t make head or tail of modes because I simply changed the F# to F and couldn’t tell the difference between the scales, when played together. 

Hopefully this isn’t all a bunch of nonsense to you. 

You may not know these roman numerals I’m throwing at you, and the chords I outlined above may just be nothing but a smorgasbord of letters and symbols. 

All I’m trying to say is this….

You can’t use a mode unless you use the unique chords available to it. 

You can’t use a mode, or any scale, if you don’t have knowledge of the chords and the chord tones you’re playing over. 

This is why so many of you have struggled to use a lydian or a locrian or a dorian mode. 

So before we move on to actual song examples, I need to make one last point….

You need to have some foundational knowledge of music theory to properly use the chords inside these modes. 

At its heart, there’s nothing to putting a few chords together. That’s often the easiest part. 

What’s harder is to achieve a certain sound in your head and recognize it as a mode. 

It’s harder to make a melody that feels natural and singable to you and your listener. 

And it’s much much harder to create an entire arrangement that balances all of these factors. 

So at this point, you can say “Screw it! I don’t need this theory nonsense!” 

But you do need it. 

The problem with teaching the modes is a fundamental musical problem many guitarists like you have and will still have if you skip this step…..

You are not going to be creative as you’ll be trapped by your lack of knowledge of chord theory. 

Not chord shapes. Chord theory. 

I know this is a lot of info so far….

But the first part of learning is to understand what you don’t know and what you need to know. 

I believe we’ve done that, and we’re now ready to move on…