Hey! Join Sunday's stream for the first in the Theory Course LIVE series.

We'll be going through the course lessons page-by-page, playing the exercises, etc. -- with questions, answers, and sidebars along the way. It's a new and insightful look into music theory.

(The live stream link referenced in this video is actually in the NEXT post.)

Why do modes seem confusing? There are a couple of reasons:

1) Because they're often depicted using traditional notation. This is a problem because the linear structure of notation distorts the inherently cyclical nature of music. So the way modes are typically pictured is warped.

2) Because different song examples are commonly used to illustrate the sonic qualities of the respective modes. But that's like comparing apples to oranges, in a way. So the point of the comparison gets lost.

So this video demonstrates how the various modes alter the sound of a single song -- using the ChordMap to visualize the changes.

The accompanying chord diagrams are in the follow-up post (341b). Cheers.

This Donovan song feels like spring to me. Here's how to play it.
(Chord diagrams are attached to post 332b)

Has anyone ever tried using Grok 3 AI to explain how modes work? It does not do a good job at it all. Watch Mike's video because humans rock! Lol.

It would be super cool to do a breakdown with the circle of fifths of Radiohead’s - exit music (for a film). I can’t figure out which mode it is and which sections are using borrowed chords or if it’s using modal mixture.