Resources for learning the music modes

Modes in music are scales that create different sound palettes. Think of C major versus A minor: they both use the notes A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and yet “Skip to My Lou” sounds different from “O Come, O Come Emmanuel.” Those represent the two most common modes. A few more modes are used by folk harpers and therapeutic musicians. Learn more about Lydian, Ionian, Mixolydian, Dorian, Aeolian, Phrygian (LIMDAP), and sometimes Locrian below.

Instruction books on music modes

Enjoy the Modes by Karen Peterson, CMP (that’s me!), 2022. Recommended chords, sensory descriptions, and analyses for each LIMDAP mode. Lead sheets for 29 modal pieces, plus 15 more for you to add chords to. Most pieces are paired up with a transformed version of that tune in another mode with color coding to show the differences. Exercises for improvising, arranging, and composing in the modes. Suggestions for segueing between modes and meters. Steps for figuring out which mode(s) a piece is in. Find key signatures, scales, and chords for all the modes on a fully levered harp tuned in flats. Scores include chord symbols and Roman numerals.

Modal Musings: Modes & Music➚ by Joanna Mell, 2011. Recommended chords and progressions, sensory descriptions, and analyses in each of the LIMDAP modes plus Locrian. Includes 18 original pieces divided amongst the modes. All scores include chord symbols. Her 2015 followup, Modal Meditations: Playing Spontaneously in the Modes➚, includes extensive rhythmic patterns and two example pieces for each mode. Exercises use Roman numerals instead of chord symbols.

Playing and Improvising Modal Music: Diatonic and Altered Modes for Lever Harp➚ by Verlene Schermer, 2021. Analyses, chord progressions, and chord function theory for LIMDAP, Locrian, harmonic minor, melodic minor, Phrygian dominant, Phrygian major, Spanish Phrygian, and a pentatonic scale. Two or three of the same songs are transformed for each of the modes, plus full arrangements of 38 other folk and original pieces. So much modal music! I love it. All scores include chord symbols.

Emoji Modes: The Seriously Fun Way to Play with Modes➚ by Anne Crosby Gaudet, 2017. A workbook that connects emotions with modes to expand your creativity in composing, improvising, and arranging. Analyses, sensory descriptions, and chord progressions for each of the LIMDAP modes, plus Locrian. The same song is transformed into each mode, and each mode presents an original arrangement. The example pieces include chord symbols. There is a phenomenal amount of valuable, practical information included in this slim volume. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Modes Reloaded➚ by Shelley Fairplay, 2022. “This book contains 7 modal pieces written by Shelley Fairplay in each of the 7 modern western modes; Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian and Locrian. There are two traditional bonus pieces ‘Scarborough Fair’ and ‘She Moved Through the Fair’ included that have original countermelodies included. The Fairplay Harp School ‘Modes Wheel’ is a creation by Shelley Fairplay that allows you to find the lever/pedal settings and starting note for any mode in any key and remind yourself at a glance the basic principals and features of each mode.”

The Gift of Healing Modes➚ by Stella Benson, 2010. Background, sensory descriptions, and analysis for the LIMDAP modes, plus Locrian. The same 12 pieces are arranged in each mode with minimalist accompaniment. No chord symbols. Includes a brief section on improvising. Stella Benson was a pioneer in the therapeutic music community, and she has other valuable books on therapeutic music.

Modalogy: Scales, Modes & Chords: The Primordial Building Blocks of Music➚ by Jeff Brent and Schell Barkley, 2011. Complete analyses and extremely deep breakdowns of LIMDAP, Locrian, and chromatic modes, including chord progressions and chord function theory, with descriptions of what every chord means in every mode. The tables analyzing what every chord means in each mode are interesting. After that, it gets…really… I’ll just say: these are jazz musicians, and they really love modes. There are no scores.

Collections of modal music

Enjoy the Dorian Mode by Karen Peterson, CMP (that’s me!), 2023. Arrangements for 26 “olde” songs in D Dorian (no sharps or flats), with companion lead sheets for each song transformed into D Aeolian (B♭) and D Mixolydian (F♯) for comparisons. The songs originate in Britain, Sweden, Hungary, medieval France, and more, spanning over 800 years. Each song includes lyrics, chord symbols, and historical context. The lowest note in the arrangements is the C below middle C.

• Modal Magic➚ by Louise Bell. Ten pieces in different modes. All modes are identified.

• Modal Moods➚ by Darhon Rees-Rohrbacher. Seven pieces, one in each mode. The title of each piece contains the mode. Chord symbols included.

• ModeUlations➚ and Perceptions➚ by Cindy Kleinstuber Blevins. Original songs in different modes and scales. ModeUlations contains a brief introduction to modes and other scales. Chord symbols included.

• Early Music for the Harp➚ by Deborah Friou (of Exercises for Agility & Speed➚ fame) provides 44 medieval pieces. Several modes are represented but aren’t labeled; you’ll need to do your own identification of which piece is in which mode. See also her Ballads and Court Dances of the 16th and 17th Centuries➚ and Renaissance Music for the Harp➚ which are also modal but often use borrowed chords (accidentals, a.k.a. lever flips).

• The Three Ravens and Other Ballads➚ by Suzanne Guldimann. Excellent selection of folk tunes from the 1600s and 1700s. Several modes are represented but aren’t labeled; you’ll need to do your own identification of which piece is in which mode. Easy arrangements with notated chord names. There are probably modal pieces in Suzanne’s other wonderful books➚.

• The Royale Harpist➚ by Therese Honey provides 11 medieval pieces and 11 Renaissance pieces with historical notes. Several modes are represented but aren’t labeled; you’ll need to do your own identification of which piece is in which mode.

• “The Chanter’s Tune” is usually arranged in the Dorian mode. Books that contain “The Chanter’s Tune”➚ might have other modal pieces.

• Not a book, but “Rorie Dall’s Sister’s Lament” by Karen Peterson (that’s me!) is a single song arranged in the Dorian mode.

Online courses on music modes

• Karen Ashbrook’s Mystery of Modes online workshop➚: Karen Ashbrook is a Certified Music Practitioner, hammered dulcimer player, and folk music expert. Check her website for the next scheduled offering of this fantastic 8-week workshop.

• Shelley Fairplay’s Modes Reloaded online classes➚: Shelley Fairplay is a harpist with several online classes, including a 6-week course on modes. Check her website for the next scheduled offering.

• Christina Tourin’s Creative Harping➚: Christina Tourin is the founder of the International Harp Therapy Program. Creative Harping is a 10-video course on DVD or anytime streaming online.

Videos for learning music modes

David Bennett Piano

David Bennett➚ is a pianist who explains music theory in relationship to popular music, from The Beatles to today.

Signals Music Studio

Guitarists understand modes in a way that is a bit different from how other instruments use them, because they solo over chords in a way that might not relate to the mode of the song itself. If that sentence doesn’t make sense, don’t worry. The point is that Jake Lizzio➚ is a guitarist who explains modes in a way that is more helpful to general musicians than most other guitarists’ explanations of modes.

Other great videos

More on modes from various folks and myself.

Webpages about music modes

• Good ol’ Wikipedia on modes➚

• This is in the context of Irish traditional music (ITM), but it is a terrific explanation of modes and chords that is great for folks new to modes in any genre: Modes & Keys from Slowplayers.org➚

Do you have a terrific mode resource that I should add? Did YouTube take down one of the videos? Please email me, and I’ll make updates.

Want to brush up on music theory in general? Or, read and watch more from my recommended sources for learning harp online.