Arranging in Modes
A mode is a tonal centre plus a characteristic degree, and that degree decides which chords and colours belong.
Related
Set a D Dorian tune as D minor and the first bar may already be wrong. No note is mistyped, but the function is. The major sixth in Dorian is not a passing tone; it is a note that must be heard.
A centre plus a characteristic degree
A mode is not a scale started on a different step. It is a centre, with certain degrees lending a specific colour. The major sixth of Dorian, the flat second of Phrygian, the flat seventh of Mixolydian and the sharp fourth of Lydian do most of the identifying. Before scoring, find which chords contain the characteristic note and decide who carries it: the voice, an inner part, or an instrument that sustains.
Chords: resist functional pull
Functional harmony moves by dominant tension. Modal music prefers juxtaposition and sustain. Dorian can use a minor tonic, a major fourth and a major flat seventh, and keep the fifth minor without raising a leading tone. Phrygian's flat second to tonic is a signature move, Mixolydian's flat seventh to tonic carries a folk flavour, and Lydian's major second chord is its brightest colour. Ask of every chord whether it pulls the mode back towards major or minor. If it does, replace it or invert it.
| Mode | Characteristic degree | Common chords | Scoring tendency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dorian | Major sixth | Minor tonic, major fourth, flat seventh | Sustained mid-register lines that expose the sixth |
| Phrygian | Flat second | Minor tonic, flat second, flat seventh | Pedal bass, flat second on brass or choir |
| Mixolydian | Flat seventh | Major tonic, flat seventh, fourth | Open fifths, folk plucked instruments |
| Lydian | Sharp fourth | Major tonic, major second, minor seventh | High overtones, sparse voicings |
Sections: pedal points and modal shifts
Modal contrast can come from a pedal: the bass stays, the chords above change colour, and the listener hears light and shade rather than departure and return. Another route is a modal shift on the same tonic, Dorian in the verse and Mixolydian in the chorus, so the centre holds while the colour moves. That is gentler than modulation and suits a section change that should not change key.
Scoring: give the characteristic note to a voice you can hear
A characteristic note buried in a thick chord does not exist. Put it in the top part, on a long note, or on an instrument with a strong colour: the Dorian sixth on violin or voice, the Phrygian flat second on brass, the Mixolydian flat seventh in the bass line. Keep percussion and rhythm simple so the harmony is not chopped into pieces.
Common errors
The first is a stray leading tone: an A major chord in Dorian turns the mode into D minor at once. The second is applying two-five-one progressions and writing the mode as a variant of functional harmony. The third is over-colouring, adding ninths and elevenths to every chord until the characteristic note drowns. The point is not stranger chords but one characteristic note heard clearly at the right moment.
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Along the same line
Sources
- The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians 中 mode 与 modal harmony 条目
- Walter Piston, Harmony（W. W. Norton）关于调式与功能和声差别的章节
- Diether de la Motte, Harmonielehre（Bärenreiter）关于教会调式与和弦选择的章节