In the last article, we discussed the 7 Modes that exist within each Major Key and how to derive them from each Step of the Major Scale.
Towards the end of the article I made reference to the 6th Mode being the Natural Minor Scale of the Major.
In addition to scales, did you know you could derive fundamental triad and 7th chords from these Modes as well?
Matter of fact, each Mode can develop a Major, Minor, Dominate 7th or Half-Diminished chord that will sound “in-key” with the Major Scale it was derived from.
When played in series, this collection of chords is called the Diatonic Scale.
Diatonic Scale = The fundamental triads and 7th chords built off each Mode of the Major Scale. These are the most fundamental chords that exist within each Major Key.
Here is a map of each Mode, it’s ancient European name, and the chord symbol describing the chord quality built off of it.
Fundamental Triad Chord Symbols:
M = Major
m = minor
mb5 = minor b5
Fundamental 7th Chord Symbols:
M7 = Major 7
m7 = minor 7
7 = Dominate 7
m7b5 = minor 7 b5
Below, we'll learn exactly how these are derived.
Mode 1 = Ionian Scale = M or M7
Mode 2 = Dorian Scale = m or m7
Mode 3 = Phrygian Scale = m or m7
Mode 4 = Lydian Scale = M or M7
Mode 5 = Mixolydian Scale = M or 7
Mode 6 = Aeolian Scale = m or M7
Mode 7 = Locrian Scale = mb5 or m7b5
The majority of popular music uses these fundamental chords to create Chord Progressions.
Chord Progressions are a series of chords that sound good together because they're in-key and resolve. Sometimes Chord Progressions temporarily leave the song's key, but resolve back to it using advanced techniques such as pivot chords or modal interchange.
For now, just know a lot of music is Diatonic in nature with maybe some minor modifications made to the chords. This means the chord progressions that make up the song use chords derived from the Major Key's Diatonic Scale.
So where do we start?
What's a Triad?
First, I'd like to point out the basic definitions of our fundamental chords.
Triads are chords made up of 3 notes.
The Major Triad is made up of the 1st, 3rd and 5th notes of a Ionian, Lydian and Mixolydian Scales.
Major Triad = 1 3 5
Minor Triads are made up of the 1st, b3rd and 5th notes of a Dorian, Phrygian and Aeolian Scale.
Minor Triad = 1 b3 5
The Diminished Triad is made up of the 1st, b3rd and b5th notes of the Locrian Scale.
Diminished Triad = 1 b3 b5
When we compare D Dorian to the D Major Scale, you would see that we natural flatted the 3rd and the 7th scale degree of D Major because we are limited to the notes of C Major (D Dorian is simply the C Major Scale starting from “D”), thus we produce a Dm & Dm7 chord from the D Doran Scale deriving from the C Major Scale. To flat (b) a note means to move it back one half-step.
What's a Seventh Chord?
Seventh Chords are made up of 4 notes and contain the basic triads mentioned above with the addition of the 7th note of the scale.
Major 7th chords are made up of the 1st, 3rd, 5th and 7th notes of the Ionian & Lydian Scales.
Major 7th = 1 3 5 7
Minor 7th chords are made of the 1st, b3rd, 5th and b7th notes of the Dorian, Phrygian and Aeolian Scale.
Minor 7th = 1 b3 5 b7
Dominate 7th Chords are made of the 1st, 3rd, 5th, and b7th notes of a Mixolydian Scale.
Dominate 7th = 1 3 5 b7
Diminished 7th chords are made of the 1st, b3rd, b5th and b7th notes of the Locrian Scale.
Diminished 7th = 1 b3 b5 b7
When we compare G Mixolydian to the G Major Scale, you see that we naturally flatted the 7th scale degree of G Major because we are limited to the notes of C Major (G Mixolydian is simply the C Major Scale starting from “G”), thus we produce a GM and G7 chord from the G Mixolydian Scale deriving from the C Major Scale. To flat a note means to move it back one half-step.
Major, Minor, Dominate 7th and Minor b5 chords are the fundamental chord types that exist in every Major Key. Advanced chords are just substitutes or modifications to these chords and we'll discuss these in later articles when we learn about extensions, inversion and modal interchange.
Here is a list of some fundamental Major Scales for reference, I'm just putting these here because we'll need them to learn how and why we're deriving the Major, Minor, Dominate 7th and Diminished chord types from each Mode.
1) A Major Scale: A B C#/D E F# G#/A = Every note that exists in A Major
2) B Major Scale: B C# D#/E F# G# A#/B = Every note that exists in B Major
3) C Major Scale: C D E/F G A B/C = Every note that exists in C Major
4) D Major Scale: D E F#/G A B C#/D = Every note that exists in D Major
5) E Major Scale: E F# G#/A B C# D#/E = Every note that exists in E Major
6) F Major Scale: F, G, A/Bb, C D E/F = Every note that exists in F Major
7) G Major Scale: G A B/C D E F#/G = Every note that exists in G Major
Now here are the Modes of the Key of C. We're using the Key of C Major because there are no sharps & flats, so you can just follow the movement of the natural half-steps BC & EF to see where the half-steps are. These scale patterns are identical for every Major Key and the chord shapes and scale patterns look & feel the same on the guitar, regardless of the Key.
Ionian = 1C 2D 3E/4F 5G 6A 7B/8C = Major Scale = CM or CM7
Dorian = 1D 2E/b3F 4G 5A 6B/b7C 8D = Minor Scale = Dm or Dm7
Phrygian =1E/b2F b3G 4A 5B/6C b7D 8E = Minor Scale = Em or Em7
Lydian = 1F 2G 3A #4B/5C 6D 7E/8F = Major Scale = FM or FM7
Mixolydian = 1G 2A 3B/4C 5D 6E/b7F 8G = Dominate Scale = GM or G7
Aeolian = 1A 2B/b3C 4D 5E/b6F b7G 8A = Minor Scale = Am or Am7
Locrian = 1B/b2C b3D 4E/b5F b6G b7A 8B = Half-Diminished Scale = B-b5 or B-7b5
(The number to the left of the note reflect the amendments to the root note’s major scale - such as flatting or sharping…)
So now let's analyze the Modes of the Key of C and find the fundamental chords derived from each Mode by cross-referencing them with the Major Scales above.
Why is there a Major Chord built off the 1st Mode?
Step 1) Look at the C Major Scale.
C Major Scale: 1C 2D 3E/4F 5G 6A 7B/8C = Every note that exist in C Major.
Step 2) Look at the 1st Mode of C Major.
Mode 1 = 1C 2D 3E 4F 5G 6A 7B 8C = Major Scale = Ionian Mode = CM or CM7
Step 3) Notice that the all the notes are the same as the Major Scale? Thus, Ionian is a synonym for the Major Scale.
Thus, the 1st Mode is a Major Scale with Major Chords.
CM = 1 3 5 = C E G
CM7 = 1 3 5 7 = C E G B
Why is there a Minor Chord built off the 2nd Mode?
Step 1) Look at the D Major Scale.
D Major Scale: 1D 2E 3F# 4G 5A 6B 7C# 8D = Every note that exist in D Major.
Step 2) Look at the 2nd Mode of C Major.
Mode 2 = 1D 2E b3F 4G 5A 6B b7C 8D = Dorian Scale = Dm or Dm7
Step 3) Notice the 3rd and 7th notes are F & C, however in the D Major Scale we have a F# & C#.
In turn, we flatted the 3rd & 7th note by limiting ourselves to the notes of the Key of C.
Thus, the 2nd Mode is a Minor Scale with Minor Chords.
DM = 1 3 5 = D F# B (For Comparison)
DM7 = 1 3 5 7 = D F# B C# (For Comparison)
Dm = 1 b3 b5 = D F A
Dm7 = 1 b3 5 b7 = D F A C
Why is there a Minor Chord built off the 3rd Mode?
Step 1) Look at the E Major Scale.
E Major Scale: 1E 2F# 3G# 4A 5B 6C# 7D# 8E = Every note that exist in E Major.
Step 2) Look at the 3rd Mode of C Major.
Mode 3 =1E b2F b3G 4A 5B b6C b7D 8E = Phrygian Scale = Em or Em7
Step 3) Notice the 2rd, 3rd, 6th and 7th notes are F, G, C and D, however in the E Major Scale we have F#, G#, C# and D#.
In turn, we flatted the 3rd & 7th note by limiting ourselves to the notes of the Key of C.
Thus, the 3rd Mode is a Minor Scale with Minor Chords.
EM = 1 3 5 = E G# B (For Comparison)
EM7 = 1 3 5 7 = E G# B D# (For Comparison)
Em = E G B
Em7 = 1 b3 5 b7 = E G B D
Why is there a Major Chord built off the 4th Mode?
Step 1) Look at the F Major Scale.
F Major Scale: 1F 2G 3A 4Bb 5C 6D 7E 1F = Every note that exist in F Major.
Step 2) Look at the 4th Mode of C Major
Mode 4 = 1F 2G 3A #4B 5C 6D 7E 8F = Lydian Scale = FM or FM7
Step 3) Notice all the notes of F Lydian are the same as F Major for the exception of the #4. In F Major you have a Bb and in C Major you have a B natural.
Thus, the 4th Mode is a Major Scale with Major Chords.
FM = 1 3 5 = F A C
FM7 = 1 3 5 7 = F A C E
Why is there a Dominate 7th Chord built off the 5th Mode?
Step 1) Look at the G Major Scale.
G Major Scale: 1G 2A 3B 4C 5D 6E 7F# 8G = Every note that exist in G Major.
Step 2) Look at the 5th Mode of C Major.
Mode 5 = 1G 2A 3B 4C 5D 6E b7F 8G = Mixolydian Scale = GM or G7
Step 3) Notice that the 1st, 3rd, 5th notes all belong to the Key of G Major, for the exception the 7th note which is an F.
In the Key of G Major, you have a F# as you can see in the G Major Scale.
Thus, we get a GM Triad or a G7, or Dominate 7th, chord built off Mode 5.
(Chords labeled with a (7) are dominate seventh chords. This is a fundamental chord quality just like the Major or Minor chord.)
Dominate 7th Chords = 1 3 5 b7
GM = 1 3 5 = G B D
GM7 = 1 3 5 7 = G B D F# (For Comparison)
G7 = 1 3 5 b7 = G B D F
Why is there a Minor 7th Chord built off the 6th Mode?
Step 1) Look at the A Major Scale.
A Major Scale: 1A 2B 3C# 4D 5E 6F# 7G# 8A = Every note that exist in A Major.
Step 2) Look at the 6th Mode of C Major.
Mode 6 = 1A 2B b3C 4D 5E b6F b7G 8A = Natural Minor Scale = Aeolian Scale = Am or Am7
Step 3) Notice the 3rd, 6th and 7th notes are C, F and G, however in the A Major Scale we have a C#, F# & G#.
In turn, we flatted the 3rd & 7th note by limiting ourselves to the notes of the Key of C.
Thus, the 6th Mode is a Minor Scale with Minor Chords.
AM = 1 3 5 = A C# E (For Comparison)
AM7 = 1 3 5 7 = A C# E G# (For Comparison)
Am = 1 b3 5 = A C E
Am7 = 1 b3 5 b7 = A C E G
Why is there a Half-Diminished 7th Chord built off the 7th Mode?
Step 1) Look at the B Major Scale.
B Major Scale: 1B 2C# 3D# 4E 5F# 6G# 7A# 1B = Every note that exist in B Major.
Step 2) Look at the 7th Mode of C Major.
Mode 7 = 1B b2C b3D 4E b5F b6G b7A 8B = Locrian Scale = B-b5 or B-7b5
Step 3) Notice the 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th and 7th notes are C, D, F, G and A, however in the B Major Scale we have a C#, D#, F#, G# and A#.
In turn, we flatted the 3rd, 5th and 7th notes by limiting ourselves to the notes of the Key of C.
Thus, the 7th Mode is a Half- Diminished Scale with Half-Diminished Chords.
BM = B D# F#(For Comparison)
BM7 = 1 3 5 7 = B D# F# A# (For Comparison)
B-b5 = 1 b3 b5 = B D F
B-7b5 = 1 b3 b5 b7 = B D F A