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Modes and Chords (Noob Theory 4/10) – Pico-8 Music Tutorial #40
🕑 Added 2018-09-27 14:00:02 +0000 UTCA new tutorial video, complete with at least three audible stomach gurgles. Let’s think of them as easter eggs hah!
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By the end of this tutorial, you should be able to:
- Find the seven modes of the major scale in Pico-8
- Create chords and stability within each mode using the 1st, 3rd and 5th scale degrees
- Use different modes/chords as the basis of a new composition
One limitation with working with major scales is that you’re limited to a particular emotional character. If you want to express something different from the character of a major scale (darker, lighter, more mysterious etc.) you can use the modes of the major scale.
For example, in the video, I play the C# major scale starting on the 2nd note (D#). Now D# is the new tonic and is where all the other notes want to resolve. This particular scale is called D# Dorian. Here’s a list of all seven modes of the major scale:
- Ionian (aka the major scale) – Built from the 1st degree of the major scale
- Dorian – Build from the 2nd degree of the major scale
- Phrygian – 3rd
- Lydian – 4th
- Mixolydian – 5th
- Aeolian – 6th
- Locrian – 7th
Each mode has a unique, emotional quality. In some cases, it can be helpful to think of these modes on a scale of lightness and darkness. From light to dark:
- Lydian – 4th
- Ionian – 1st
- Mixolydian – 5th
- Dorian – 2nd
- Aeolian – 6th
- Phrygian – 3rd
- Locrian – 7th
Want to write music that sounds evil? Start with the Phrygian mode. How about music that sounds cool and mysterious? Try Dorian and Mixolydian. How about music for a sunrise? Start with Lydian and Ionian.
For practice, I’d recommend taking any mode and establishing a sense of stability within that mode using the 1st, 3rd and 5th scale degrees. Then write a melody using all the other notes. To create compositional development, do this again with a different mode and put them together.
More information about modes can be found in this Wiki, under “Modern modes:”
Note: as it says in the Wiki, the Locrian mode is inherently unstable. Keep that in mind if you want to write something using that mode!
