Hi

This is a really interesting and stimulating thread! I am a largely self taught musician, and various formally trained chums tried to explain modes to me in the past, but with limited success, mainly because I could not see the relevance at that time.

However, after a long break from regular practice and performing I came back to folk music about 4 years ago and especially fell in love with the Appalachian dulcimer and the folk tradition of that area. At that point I realised that I now NEEDED to understand modes in order to make sense of the tunes and songs I wanted to learn, especially in terms of working out appropriate accompaniements on dulcimer, banjo or guitar.It is also crucial for making sense of a diatonic instrument like the dulcimer and the different tunings needed to play in different modes.

We acquired a battered set of Sharp's Appalachian collection and I noticed that the text indicated for each tune the mode and if the scale was gapped (i.e. pentatonic, hexatonic). By sitting at the piano and picking my way through these, suddenly it fell into place.

So now I would say I have a practical knowledge of a range of modes I encounter in the music I listen to and make. I tend to use simple ways of understanding modes as a set of intervals, each with its own unique pattern of whole and half steps. I understand that if a tune is gapped, it can leave things ambiguous as to which exact mode it is, and I also understand that the mode crucially influences the harmonies (voice or instrument) that will work for a melody... I have had some cringing experiences of the kind described by Richard of Liverpool where well-intended peeps at a session have enthusiastically joined in and obliterated my own dulcimer playing with chords that just do not fit the mode!


The language of the modes is simply a short-hand that we have inherited, and I have a daft mnemonic for remembering them in order,(if you must know, it's this: "In Dorset Pixies Like Mulled Ale Lots"). I have also noticed that when I am recalling a mode I KNOW i close my eyes and visualise the pattern "on the white notes" in order to remind myself of the sequence of intervals. So the "white note" method obviously has some value as a possible starting place for action-oriented learners like me because it was sitting at a piano with Sharp's tunes that helped me to hear and comprehend the different modes in the first place. However, it was only a starting place for understanding the patterns of intervals, and I can see that it could be a stumbling block for some (what if you ain't got access to a piano? Or what if it leads to you to assume that the modes can only be in THOSE keys?)

So I would certainly say that having a simple but functioning knowledge of modes has helped my musical skills move forwards quite exponentially. I have progressed much quicker than I would have just by experimenting; theoretical knowledge about modes has been a great stepping stone for me.