The Strokes, however, came up with a great riff using these notes. That chord is used a lot in jazz so that’s where you hear the locrian used in walking bass lines that outline the harmony. The chord that comes from this is a minor 7 flat 5 (or “half-diminished”) and that is where bass players commonly employ the locrian mode. The mode that starts on the 7th note of a major scale is the locrian. Ionian Mode Midnight In Harlem - Tedeschi Trucks Band This knowledge can be then used when you are writing music, constructing bass lines, jamming with other musicians or working out a bass line. Once you can link a mode to a certain piece of music that you’re familiar with, they will start to mean a lot more to you and you’ll be able to listen with a much more educated ear. There are 7 modes in the major scale and I’m just sticking to those for now (there are 7 from the harmonic minor and 7 from the melodic minor but let’s not go too crazy…). This blog post will just show you a few tunes that contain bass lines that use certain modes. But you often hear the lydian mode in films set in space ( Wall:E is a great example). Now, this is my interpretation of it - you can make your own decision about what it sounds like to you. The position of that one note turns the scale into a dreamy, exotic, mystical sound. Think of it as just a major scale except you nudge the 4th note up (higher) one fret (see below for a diagram). The lydian mode is my absolute favourite. I think it’s a really powerful skill to be able to manipulate these sounds to change the way people feel. Think how much music you could make by knowing some of these modes. I think the best way to learn modes is to find out a little about what they sound like and how they make you feel as well as identifying popular examples that you can relate to. I’ve always thought that’s totally bonkers (in a good way!). Literally your mood can be altered due to a change in chemical reactions in your body due to these modes. It’s crazy to think that by changing just one note a composer or player can completely change the way you feel.

Different scales generate different sounds. However, when you strip them down to their bare bones, a ‘mode’ is just another word for ‘scale’ and a scale is simply a collection of musical notes. When modes have names like ‘Super Locrian’ and ‘Phrygian’ you’re not to be blamed if you're totally confused by them.

Juicebox bass