Church Modes
Church modes or modes have a very long history. Modes made up the melodies of Western music from around 800 to 1500. Modes often resemble the major or minor scales because of the arrangement of half and whole steps and the octave range, but because they were such a big part of music in the 1st and second centuries, they play a bigger role in music. However, modes were not limited to these early years but can be found in compositions in the following centuries and are still used by composers today.
Since modes came before the major and minor scales that we know today, there is different terminology that you need to know. I have listed the terms below but because they might seem confusing and complex, I will continue to elaborate and point them out in examples
Final- The final is essentially the tonic of the mode. A final is sometimes the first not and the bottom of the range (the range is seen in the music) is part of an authentic mode. A final that is near the middle of the range is a part of a plagal mode.
Tenor- The tenor is essentially the dominant. It goes by many names, including dominant and cofinal, but to limit confusion I will only be referring to it as the tenor.
Authentic- The authentic modes are modes I, III, V, VII. One of the most important thing to remember about authentic modes is that the numbers they correspond to are odd. These modes have a final that is at the bottom of the range.
Plagal- The plagal modes are modes II, IV, VI, and VIII. As you might have noticed, the numbers that correspond with the plagal modes are even. In plagal modes, the final is near the middle of the range.
Hypo- The prefix hypo- is associated with plagal modes. Whenever hypo is placed in front of a mode name it means that the range, not the final, starts an interval of a fourth below the authentic mode (the sections on intervals is here). For example, if an authentic mode starts on D, the hypo- plagal version will start on A.
Now, there are two ways that I have been taught to learn the modes. It's easy to combine these two methods together but I would suggest you pick one and stick to it while you are first learning. Modes can start on any pitch just like the other scales and the arrangement of half and whole steps is fixed for the different types. The four most common authentic modes are Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, and Mixolydian. I will discuss the other modes later. The two ways to understand modes are discussed separately below.
Method 1. The first way is just to memorize how the half and whole steps are arranged. This also means you can memorize what tonal scale (major or minor) is like but with altered scale degrees. This means that the mode shares most of the half and whole steps witha tonal scale besides a lowered or raised degree. Below, the modes are listed with their corresponding number, half steps, and the tonal scale they are like.
Authentic Mode Name Number Half Step placement Tonal Scale Comparison
Dorian I 2-3, 6-7 Natural minor scale with raised sixth degree
Phrygian II 1-2, 5-6 Natural minor scale with lowered second degree
Lydian III 4-5, 7-8 Major scale with raised fourth degree
Mixolydian IV 3-4, 6-7 Major scale with lowered seventh degree
By remembering this information, you can easily identify a mode.
Method 2. This way can seem more complicated but it is my preferred method. For this you have to think about the key signature for C major, which means no sharps or flats. Then you build modes off of the C major scale degrees. By building modes off of the C major scale you get the correct half and whole step arrangements. Since this most likely sounds way too difficult to even bother with, please look below to better understand this method.
The first mode is Dorian. It's possible that you might have heard someone say D Dorian before. If you have, that person was possibly using this method to memorize the modes. To get a Dorian scale in C major, you start it on the second scale degree which is D.
Since modes came before the major and minor scales that we know today, there is different terminology that you need to know. I have listed the terms below but because they might seem confusing and complex, I will continue to elaborate and point them out in examples
Final- The final is essentially the tonic of the mode. A final is sometimes the first not and the bottom of the range (the range is seen in the music) is part of an authentic mode. A final that is near the middle of the range is a part of a plagal mode.
Tenor- The tenor is essentially the dominant. It goes by many names, including dominant and cofinal, but to limit confusion I will only be referring to it as the tenor.
Authentic- The authentic modes are modes I, III, V, VII. One of the most important thing to remember about authentic modes is that the numbers they correspond to are odd. These modes have a final that is at the bottom of the range.
Plagal- The plagal modes are modes II, IV, VI, and VIII. As you might have noticed, the numbers that correspond with the plagal modes are even. In plagal modes, the final is near the middle of the range.
Hypo- The prefix hypo- is associated with plagal modes. Whenever hypo is placed in front of a mode name it means that the range, not the final, starts an interval of a fourth below the authentic mode (the sections on intervals is here). For example, if an authentic mode starts on D, the hypo- plagal version will start on A.
Now, there are two ways that I have been taught to learn the modes. It's easy to combine these two methods together but I would suggest you pick one and stick to it while you are first learning. Modes can start on any pitch just like the other scales and the arrangement of half and whole steps is fixed for the different types. The four most common authentic modes are Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, and Mixolydian. I will discuss the other modes later. The two ways to understand modes are discussed separately below.
Method 1. The first way is just to memorize how the half and whole steps are arranged. This also means you can memorize what tonal scale (major or minor) is like but with altered scale degrees. This means that the mode shares most of the half and whole steps witha tonal scale besides a lowered or raised degree. Below, the modes are listed with their corresponding number, half steps, and the tonal scale they are like.
Authentic Mode Name Number Half Step placement Tonal Scale Comparison
Dorian I 2-3, 6-7 Natural minor scale with raised sixth degree
Phrygian II 1-2, 5-6 Natural minor scale with lowered second degree
Lydian III 4-5, 7-8 Major scale with raised fourth degree
Mixolydian IV 3-4, 6-7 Major scale with lowered seventh degree
By remembering this information, you can easily identify a mode.
Method 2. This way can seem more complicated but it is my preferred method. For this you have to think about the key signature for C major, which means no sharps or flats. Then you build modes off of the C major scale degrees. By building modes off of the C major scale you get the correct half and whole step arrangements. Since this most likely sounds way too difficult to even bother with, please look below to better understand this method.
The first mode is Dorian. It's possible that you might have heard someone say D Dorian before. If you have, that person was possibly using this method to memorize the modes. To get a Dorian scale in C major, you start it on the second scale degree which is D.
D E F G A B C D
1whole 2 half 3 whole 4 whole 5 whole 6 half 7 whole 8
This works with the three other modes. Phrygian starts on E which is the third scale degree of C major, Lydian starts on F which is the fourth scale degree of C major, and Mixolydian starts on G which is the fifth scale degree of C major.
1whole 2 half 3 whole 4 whole 5 whole 6 half 7 whole 8
This works with the three other modes. Phrygian starts on E which is the third scale degree of C major, Lydian starts on F which is the fourth scale degree of C major, and Mixolydian starts on G which is the fifth scale degree of C major.