What is happening here is exactly why I curse the fool who started to use the word "mode" to describe certain scales used in contemporary music practice--People confuse the modes as used in A)contemporary Pop music and Jazz B)Church C)Folk and traditional music, which are related, but not the same (incidentally, Art's explanation above should be printed out and saved) and when they become entangled, it is impossible to get things straightened out until everyone understands the differences between each--

T--I wasn't talking about counterpoint, I was talking about what Jazz people do with the "Dorian" and "dominant" scale-which is simply to play them over chord progressions--

Peter, you need to get a book that provides simple explanations that you can pour over until you understand them--I recommend(if I could, I would actually require it!!) The Harvard Brief Dictionary of Music, which you should be able to find anywhere--

Also, you should get the concepts behind major and minor scales and the keys and basic harmonies really clear in your mind before you start trying to deal with "modes" because, in order to make sense out of them, you must know the other stuff--