Music Theory - Modes in 18 Minutes

hello everybody today I'm going to be explaining a fairly straightforward piece of musical theory as quickly as simply as possible that is what modes are and how they work and then we're going to be diving in and trying to use them writing a little simple piece of music okay sound fun right let's get cracking now let's back up a little bit to start with hello keyboard auto guy okay middle C okay the distance between middle C and the next nearest note is a half step and it can be a black note like that or white

note those are both half steps in the UK that's known as a semitone so from there to there is a semitone there to there is a semitone from there to there because it's two half steps it's called a whole step and from there to there is a whole step of seats two half steps add up to a whole step okay now you may remember when I explained this before a scale is simply a pattern of intervals so if you were to play the intervals whole whole half whole whole whole half you'd get a major scale

look start on C go up a whole step now the whole step then a half step whole whole whole half what kind of miracles we just played a major scale okay so let's do it in English I mean in that sounds pattern I'm sorry I mean in UK terminology so we're gonna go tone-tone then the next of the semitone tone tone tone semitone if you start anywhere on the keyboard and play that pattern of intervals you always get a major scale that's what major scale is okay here is here's a revolutionary idea what happens if

you play the same white notes but you don't start on middle C what will happen okay starting on D [Music] ah we have a different scale what we get is actually a mode that's all a mode is a mode is simply starting on a different note of of the scale so if mode are types of scales they're patterns of intervals just like a major scale is but if you start on the D you get one called Dorian and it's got this very distinctive sound to it but look the pattern of intervals it goes whole half

whole whole whole half whole so it's a different pattern of intervals and that one's called D Dorian because it starts on the D so if you were to play the same pattern of intervals whole half whole whole whole half whole that's sorry it's a lot of holds and a half side over there that okay starting somewhere else might be flat for example so if we go whole half whole whole whole half oh that is B flat Dorian okay B flat tells you where you start and Dorian tells you the pattern of intervals that's all there

is to it so once you know the pattern of intervals that make up a major scale you know all the so called church modes they've all got poncey Greek names but so this one actually the major scale is also a mode called Ionian D is Dorian E is Phrygian f is Lydian [Music] G is mixolydian a is Aeolian and B is la Creon and they all have a different feel now that's all the modes are so in other words if you can work out if you can remember tone tone semitone tone tone tone semitone or

whole whole half whole whole whole half that is the pattern of intervals for the major scale you now know the pattern of intervals for every one of the seven modes because you just offset it so you start on D you got Dorian you just work out what those intervals are you start on E you've got Phrygian so it's half whole whole whole half oh oh that's it what's all the fuss about so y-you may well ask me when I get back into focus do you think that these modes are so exciting so important but it's

what I've just given you and I'll show you in a moment it's like if you're a chef and somebody suddenly invented a brand new you know ingredient for you um have you money have you tried pommel floaties what no I know you put your policy in with a pasta it just tastes like a new dish well okay or you I would say you're artists and somebodies what color do you think that would look I think a little bit of deep cringe would look lovely great what's cringe it's a new color that is what modes are

now there are one or two things you will notice when we start writing basic music with modes okay so here we go that's called whoa whoa Oh cause it's mouths and cords what's going on well if you think ways we're using all the white notes for the modes we're using the same white notes to make the chords so it's the same chords there just reorganized sort of okay so most what's called functional harmony relies very heavily on this that's called one but it's the Triad based on C chord five which is to try it based

on G because it's a fifth minute of the C major scale called one at that is the thing that establishes the key I say don't mess with me there's no doubt I etcetera now if we do that a mode that's called one of them of D D Dorian [Music] allegedly doesn't give you the sixth sense that I have to go back to the home note and in modes that home note is called the final okay there's so much so much terminology that is almost designed to get in the way it's like somebody's there's chucking chairs

any way to stop your understanding some of this stuff okay but it doesn't have to be that way now but the consequence of this is because we're using the same triads we just started with finishing on a different note and we don't have that big we need to find other ways to reinforce what key were in what mode were in and so you tend to use other things shall we turn a bit of click on [Music] did you notice how that was perfectly nice but spectacularly out of tie and we wasn't even close was it

I mean what was I thinking doing because because I need to slow this down because I had a piece of a sort of little vibe going in my head [Music] okay it's funny what comes out first thing in the morning somebody was saying the other day he always gives his team he never drinks it morning it's getting a little bit lukewarm I better get on with the writing if you're interested in learning more about music theory here's an idea learn music theory it's fun practical and packed with clear explanations a video course that will show

you how music really works pitch keys and scales chord progressions and written notation all explained in a clear easy to understand way learn music theory quick practical and fun the way music theory should be so we got something going here and is it going to work Benna austere houses suspiro [Music] yeah it's gonna work is there room for a little [Music] I really like that little cross-rhythm so what we got going on in the piano is triplets and in the Celtic harp is ordinary quavers which is pretty cool how it works you can see it

on the page look there each there's a beat one two three so BOM pom pom pom pom pom and look and here's the heart we doing don't don't don't don't don't we like that that's cool now what about a little Chi and am I gonna try and cut and paste this it mean might do oh no no I don't save my work save my work same work okay just gonna do a little bit of housecleaning before we do anything else I don't want to quantize it cuz I quite like it the way it is but

if I'm gonna cut and paste it I do need to contacts so they start bang on so otherwise they won't cut and I'll cut them they will fall off I'm gonna go disappear right okay that worked now we're gonna chop the end off as well and then we're gonna loop it because quite like that and then I can add some extra bits in another thing okay most people do that and there's nothing wrong with that what I've done is I've introduced all three ideas at the same time you don't need to do that and the

wonder why pieces don't last long enough [Music] see [Music] there's a sense of growth about it now which wasn't there before [Music] if we're going to be really predictable we then introduce something else immediately after that this is the very very lovely shakka from jade ethnic orchestra [Music] [Music] okay this sounds like a menu for a game keep it going the combination the sound palates everything isn't it in a way oh it's not everything but you see what I mean about the fact that we is this moment yes it is modal it is Mon I

mean but a lot of the time when you're writing particularly in film attention it you sort of drift in and out of various modes and it is modal and it's it's just using three chords and it's definitely got a pedal II thing going on because that that D is repeating all the time so let's see if we can't add some the only other thing I'm going to do to this before I had to just call it done because it's sunny all right [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] I was going to introduce that rather more subtly

than that so I never do it again really softly [Music] [Applause] [Music] I don't need that I don't need I don't need as much of that [Music] [Music] before today [Music] that way it's alright I stopped all actually this is okay save your work so V works everywhere so that the thingy I mean if you're sitting there and you're having an inspiration you know cardiac arrest and you need the paddles you need this Sun this is a really horrible analogy no no no no put that out okay um what are there nother analogy okay you're

feeling very much like a deflated inflatables there Brad yes that's the one and you need to be blown up again give motor shop now D Dorian is I mean is a very very common one but there are no loads of others and hit any scale has modes you can do this with any scale doesn't have to leave a major one yeah really honestly it's quite cool it's me okay look thank you very much a deeply company I hope you enjoyed that and if you did and you haven't subscribed to the channel yet really honestly come

on push the button do the Bell all that and I'll see you again very soon