Modes in melody
Identify the mode of a short melody by its tonic and characteristic degree.
Three steps
A melody rarely runs through the whole scale, so the mode is found in steps:
- Find the tonic. Most often it is the last note; often also the first and the most repeated one.
- Look at degree III. A minor third above the tonic means the minor group (natural minor, Dorian, Phrygian); a major third, the major group (major, Lydian, Mixolydian).
- Find the characteristic degree: VI for Dorian, II for Phrygian, IV for Lydian, VII for Mixolydian.
Tonic D, third F: minor; B natural (a high VI): D Dorian
If the melody lacks the characteristic degree, the mode cannot be named: a five-note melody on C, D, E, G and A suits major, Mixolydian and Lydian alike.
Practice: The mode of a melody (1)
Practice: The mode of a melody (2)
Melodies in different modes
Listen to the three melodies and look at them. In each, find the tonic, the third and the characteristic degree.
E Phrygian: the semitone E–F at the start
F Lydian: B natural, a tritone above the tonic
G Mixolydian: F natural just below the tonic