Ever Wondered How Composers Create Emotional Music?

Caveat

This is highly simplified and intended for a layperson to understand. This means there will be academically questionable generalizations as well as the omission of confounding variables such as instrumentation, rhythmic interpretation, and so forth.

Quick Background: The Major Scale

Musical compositions are comprised of pitches derived from sequences of notes known as scales, the most common of which is the Major scale. The C Major Scale is a 7-note scale that you may recognize as all the white notes on the piano, where it repeats itself over several octaves.

These are the notes: C D E F G A B

Modes Of The Major Scale

The major scale may be extrapolated into 7 different MODES by picking any one of the pitches to start 7-note stepwise sequence on.

If you start on a C, that is C Ionian.

If you start on a D, that is D Dorian.

If you continue this, you will end up with 7 different note sequences, all derived from the C major scale, that each have very specific and recognizable characteristics in terms of emotion and color.

"Modifications" To The Major Scale

If you take all those sequences and start them on C, it will be apparent that they are each a "modified" version of the C major scale. It is these modifications that cause these sequences to have their specific qualities.

Let's take a look at all 7 modes. I will be accompanying each mode with 1. A drawing that I feel encapsulates the most common emotional interpretation, as well as 2. A list of notes that will include indications of any modifications relative to the Major scale.

Ionian

This will be the most familiar sounding Mode - it is identical to the Major scale (no modifications) and generally sounds pleasant, uplifting, and unobtrusive. Of course, a masterful writer would be able to take these notes and create a fair amount of sophistication and nuance, but the basic foundation is the same.

Here is an example of a familiar song written with notes in the Ionian mode:

Dorian

The Dorian mode enjoys a great deal of popularity in Jazz due to its "cool" sound, popularized by Miles Davis in possibly the most iconic Dorian jazz tune ever, "So What" . It contains 2 modifications relative to the Major scale - a lowered 3 (giving it a slightly dark, melancholy sound) and a lowered 7 (giving it a smooth, slightly ambiguous sound).

Here is an example of a song using this mode in a different style.

Phrygian

The Phrygian mode has 2 modifications in addition to the 2 already present in the previously examined Dorian mode. It also contains a lowered 2 (contributing to an increased level of darkness and mystery) and a lowered 6 (which weaves in some level of melodrama). This is a mode that is highly popular in traditional Spanish Flamenco, though it is by no means the only mode used, since the style is fairly complex.

The following example contains heavy use of it, but keep in mind that there are also other stylistic choices that contribute to the overall sound.

Lydian

Lydian is unique among the Major scale Modes in that its single modification is one where a note (the 4) is raised, rather than lowered. This results in a bright, floaty, and versatile sound, that some may consider to be "spacey", "dreamy" or "heavenly". Here's an example.

Mixolydian

Similar to Lydian, Mixolydian is very mildly modified from the Major scale. It features a lowered 7. It is the core of many distinctive styles, including Scottish bagpipe music, the blues, and more. It is a versatile, grounded, and folksy sound, and has been used to create memorable melodies from Scotland The Brave to Sweet Child o' Mine.

Aeolian

Aeolian, also known as "Natural Minor" is similar to Phrygian with the exception of the lowered 2. This results in a Mode that sounds less mysterious, but that has a similar dark and dramatic texture. Composers have used this mode to create extremely sad and moving music, such as Samuel Barber's Adagio For Strings (it is not in Aeolian throughout, but large portions of the piece are).

Locrian

Locrian is the most modified of the Major scale Modes, with a total of 5 lowered notes, giving it the darkest, most mysterious, and uneasy sound of all. It is very rarely used, so there are not many songs that can be used as an example. The following song, Dust To Dust by John Kirkpatrick makes excellent use of this mode. This will quite possibly be the most melodically alien song you will have heard, but the lyrical context and bare bones instrumentation make it an apt and effective artistic choice.