Earlier posts in this series look at how to form and play different permutations (or "modes") of a key.

These principles apply to any key, including the key of Gb (a.k.a., F#), as we'll explore here. When you take the 7 notes of the Gb major scale -- Gb, Ab, Bb, Cb, Db, Eb, F, Gb -- you create 7 modes starting on each respective note.

Each pattern is a distinct sound because each mode begins and ends on a different note (or "tonic"). In this example, the tonic of Gb Ionian is Gb ... while the tonic of Ab Dorian is Ab ... and so on.

Each sequence of notes sounds nice. But they sound especially good when played as chords -- like these chords of Gb Ionian (a.k.a., Gb major):

The Gb Ionian mode sounds good fleshed out as harmonies because it's really just the major scale pattern. And just like the notes, these same 7 chords can also be arranged into 7 permutations -- like these three patterns, for example:

And the same idea applies to all of the other chords in this key, as you can see here....

There are 12 keys in music. And you can shift (transpose) a song to play any to them, as I explain in this video:

https://youtube.com/live/kKJG4_3hego

On the guitar, key changes are relatively easy using a capo. You just clamp the device onto the instrument’s neck and then play chord shapes to alter the pitch ... where the higher you rise up the fretboard, the higher the pitch.

Or at least this is how most guitarists transpose a song — mindlessly using the capo like a crutch, and never really understanding the underlying theory behind each key change.

If this hits a little close to home, don’t feel too bad. According to legend, famed composer, Irving Berlin, did this too. Only he played the piano. So the process was more involved. It’s said he had a special keyboard made that allowed him to play everything in the key of F# … mechanically moving the piano’s hammers to shift into any key by operating a crank.

But you don’t need to live this way — ignorant to the real theory at play behind key changes.

It turns out, it all pretty easy to understand transposition (a.k.a., the art of changing keys) using the circle of fifths. To illustrate, here are the diagrams that accompany the video. It’s the song, “Can’t Help Falling in Love," in three different keys….

When you write music, modes give you a range of emotional options to choose from. The major modes (Lydian, Ionian, and Mixolydian) are relatively bright … while the minor modes (Dorian, Aeolian, and Phrygian) are sonically more dark. And based on the mode you pick, you can create the kind of vibe you want, as I explain in this video:

https://youtube.com/live/00zzQ42bOz4

And what’s really cool is that even once you’ve composed a chord progression, you can morph it using modes. Reshaping the overall sound of a song by shifting from one mode to the next. And the result can be amazing — like morphing a Norman Rockwell painting into a Picasso, or vice versa -- to produce entirely new art.

To see what I mean, take the key of B major (a.k.a. B Ionian), which includes seven basic chords.

On a guitar, these chords are played like this:

And using just these seven chords (or even only a subset of this group), you can come up with all sorts of songs.

But using modes, you expand your palette as a songwriter, accessing even more patterns from which to build chords — and by extension, chord progressions.

Each mode is simply a permutation of the major scale — like these in the key of B. In other words, it’s all the same notes. Only each respective mode begins and ends on a different note.

And just as there are 7 chords in the Ionian mode, these same 7 chords appear in all modes derived from the underlying pattern. For example, C# Dorian includes the same chords as B Ionian … as does D# Phrygian … E Lydian … etc....