Hello

Some fascinating detail here: too much on the scales of different cultures to take in for me.

Sadly, not all the links on this thread still function.

A point about minor scales in 'classical' music: there are more than one. In classical music they often use a major 7th if the tune is moving up, as it is felt to 'lead' to the tonic, but a minor, or flat one if it is moving down. So when we learned the melodic minor scale as kids it was different going up and coming down. Coming down, it was like the 'natural' or aeolian, with a flat7 or minor 7. Whereas, I guess, something more 'modal' would not have this characteristic.


More examples, but not necessarily folk/blues ones.

Feel Good Inc by Gorilla'z riff is aeolian.
Carlos Santana used to use Dorian a lot and still may.


One online course by Edinburgh University that I did used a mnemonic for modes, which I share:

I (ionian)
Don't (dorian)
Punch (phrygian)
Like (lydian)
Mohammed (mixoldian)
A (aeolian)
L (lochrian)

This is the order if you work your way round a 'major' or 'ionian' scale starting from the bottom eg C ionian, D dorian etc.

On another course, I learned another way of thinking about them. It was a jazz-based course. The teacher (Gary Burton) thought of modes in terms of musical quality from 'light' to 'dark'. I found this a helpful way to think about the modes for some reason, especially when trying to play in one (assuming I knew the major scale).

The 'light' one was lydian, with a sharp 4th compared to the major scale.


Next came 'ionian', which is the major scale.

Then it starts to get 'dark':

Then mixo, with one flat compared with the major scale (b7)

Then dorian, with 2 flats compared with major   (b7, b3)


Then aeolian, 3 flats .........................(b7, b6 b3 )

Then phrygian 4 flats ......................   (b7, b6 b3, b2)

Then lochrian 5 flats ....................    (b7, b6, b5 b3 b2 )


There is a pattern for how the flats appear, as you will see.

The mnemonic for this ordering is


L ight

I nitially


M uddy


D arkness


A s


P lunge


L ower.