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Now that we have looked at how the Diatonic Scales work, I want to summarize what we went over and wrap it up before I give you some tools to make using the modes easier.

A scale is made up of 7 notes that selects from the chromatic scale (meaning all notes available) in a pattern. From these 7 notes, you can change which one is used as the main note to change modes. All the notes stay the same, but the mode changes the personality of the scale to get a different ‘mood’.

Here is a quick summary reference for the modes:
I. Ionian has a happy, bright, Major and normal sound used in pop
ii. Dorian has a minor sound with a touch soul or maybe sadness
iii. Phrygian has a dark minor sound great for rock and metal
IV. Lydian has a Major sound by not the happy bright like Ionian
V. MixoLydian is Major sounding with a strong blusey flavor
vi. Aeolian is the natural minor and it sound like the Ionian as a minor
vii. Locrian is a little awkward sounding and goes well with jazz or any music that is a little on the edge.

Just to illustrate this clearly, let’s use the key of C:
C d e F G a b

Now, the key of C just happens to be the Ionian mode. Tada, you got that one down.

Now, the Dorian mode with these same notes is called D Dorian:
d e F G a b C

Also, the Phrygian mode with these notes is E Phyrgian:
e F G a b C d

As you may have noticed, I have specific letters capitalized and lower case. This is because of the kind of chord that note forms in this particular scale/mode. We will talk more about that later. For now, just notice it.

You can guess F Lydian, right?
F G a b C d e

Let’s continue with G Mixo:
G a b C d e f

Now, notice how close A Aeolian is to the C Ionian:
a b C d e F G

I will talk more about that one when we are talking about chords.

B Locrian:
b C d e F G a b

Scale:
Locian Mode

Sound:
The Locrian Mode has a very unique sound. It is mainly used in jazz because of the diminished chord. Though, please to do not think that this is the only mode that jazz uses. They are just the main ones who make use of this sound.

Artists:Jazz

Example:
Ab A Bb B C C# D Eb E F F# G

Locrian:
b C d e F G a

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Locrian_mode

Scale:
Aeolian Mode

Sound:
The Aeolian mode is also called the ‘natural minor’. It sounds like the Ionian mode, but as a minor. So, if you want to take the ‘major’ key and drop the happy bright sound, this is an easy choice.

It is another one of my favorites. It is great when I want something more mild, but I want to maintain the sweet minor sound.

Resources

Example:
Chromatic
Ab A Bb B C C# D Eb E F F#

Aeolian
a b C d e F G

Take note of where the A shows up in relation to C. Notice that when you make a chord of Am (meaning A Minor) that it includes 2 notes from the CM (meaning C Major) chord. That means these chords have only a 1 note difference. This is why this mode sound so much like the Major counterpart.

This knowledge is very valuable because it introduces you to something else: Transitions. When you go from one chord to another, you can throw in the natural minor(s) of the chords before going to the major chordal movement.

References:

http://www.tonalcentre.org/Diatonic.html

Scale:
Mixolydian Mode

Sound:
The well known bluesy sound of the Mixolydian has been used quite a bit in blues and rock. It has even been used in country in certain cases.

Artists: BB King, Stevie Ray Vaughan

As you might have guessed already, the Mixo mode gives you that good ole blues sound. This blues sound has a lot of soul packed into it. Many people will use the Pentatonic scale for the blues/rock solo to get the blues sound. However, when adding in some color notes, you should prefer the surrounding notes that fit into the Mixolydian.

Later on, I will show you my system that combines the Pentatonic with the Diatonic for the purposes of fills and solos that move with the chord changes.

Example:
Ab A Bb B C C# D Eb E F F# G

Mixo:
G a b C d e F

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mixolydian_mode

Scale:
Lydian Mode

Sound:
The Lydian mode has a major sound like the Ionian, but lacks the bright and happy generic sound of the Ionian. For this reason, it is loved by the guitar solo greats.

Artists: Joe Satriani (Satch), Steve Vai

Example:
Ab A Bb B C C# D Eb E F F# G

Lydian:
G a b C d e F

References:

http://gosk.com/scales/lydian-scale-for-guitar.php