Memorizing Modes

Right! After months of lazying around without playing, grab the bass and go back to getting the modes back engraved in the brain.

Takes a couple of hours and then the fingers get them back in. Here's my way of memorizing them (as long as my fingers don't recall them automatically).

Generally they come in two "basic shapes" (here for the bottom three strings):

|---|-*-|-y-|-y-|-*-|---| Major
|---|-*-|-x-|-x-|-*-|---|
|---|---|-*-|---|-*-|---|

|---|---|-*-|---|-*-|---| Minor
|---|---|-*-|-y-|-y-|-*-|
|---|---|-*-|-x-|-x-|-*-|

For x and y we can have the lower position (1) or the higher position (2). So, for example,

Mode I (Ionian) is "Major 1,2" (or systematically 4, 7)

|---|-*-|---|-*-|-*-|---|
|---|-*-|-*-|---|-*-|---|
|---|---|-*-|---|-*-|---|

Mode ii (Dorian) is the only one that doesn't work that way (because it's the only minor scale with an undiminished 6th). We'll look at it in a moment.

Mode iii (Phrygian) is "Minor 1,2" (systematically b2, 5)

|---|---|-*-|---|-*-|---|
|---|---|-*-|---|-*-|-*-|
|---|---|-*-|-*-|---|-*-|

Mode IV (Lydian) is "Major 2,2" (systematically #4, 7)
Mode V (Mixolydian) is "Major 1,1" (systematically 4, b7)
Mode vi (Aeolian) is "Minor 2,2" (systematically 2, 5)
Mode vii (Locrian) is "Minor 1,1" (systematically b2, b5)

So, apart from Dorian it all works nicely (as long as you remember the Major/Minor alternations, but that's more or less trivial - I use uppercase roman for Major and lowercase roman for Minor. And, no!, that doesn't refer to CS majors or minors.)

1,2
??
1,2
2,2
1,1
2,2
1,1

Dorian is obviously Minor 2,2 but it has this pesky 6th that maybe Jaco Pastorius could have reached on the second string (well, at least starting at F#) - I can't. In any case, I memorize it as "Minor 2,2,+1" and use the third string for the 6th:

|---|-*-|-*-|---|-*-|---|
|---|---|-*-|---|-*-|---|
|---|---|-*-|---|-*-|-*-|

So it all comes out to
1,2
2,2,+1
1,2
2,2
1,1
2,2
1,1

The pattern is easy, except for Dorian, which I treat as a special case anyway. So, it boils down to 1,2 - 1,2 - 2,2 - 1,1 - 2,2 - 1,1. Not too difficult.

With some special training in pattern recognition, the inquisitive mind now immediately stumbles on the questions: What then is "Major 2,1" and "Minor 2,1"? Easy:

Major 2,1: 1 2 3 #4 5 6 b7 8
Minor 2,1: 1 2 b3 4 b5 b6 b7 8

Well, they're obviously not modes; Minor 2,1 to me is Locrian with an undiminished 2nd - scaled back to Ionian that's a #1 and that's an Avoid Note in my book. I'm not so sure about that with respect to Major 2,1. Without any experience, I guess the 2 could work as a Passing Note on V (Mixo) - I might have to try that...