Modal Keys
Hey guys,
Now that we have a decent understanding of how modes work, we’re going to apply the same concepts to the chords of a major scale. So let’s take our key of G for instance. It has the following chords:
G major, A minor, B minor, C major, D major, E minor, and F# diminished.
We can then create a modal key by starting on a different chord in the key. Let’s take the second chord, A minor. Our key now becomes:
A minor, B minor, C major, D major, E minor, F# diminished, and G major.
You can see how the chord values have stayed the same while the order has changed. Because we started on the second degree of the scale, our song would be in the key of A dorian. It’s that simple! So in a practical example, we would normally start our song on that chord and resolve to it in the end.
If you are confused about anything, please let us know and we’ll work with you until you understand it! Good luck guys!
We hope the idea of a modal key makes sense! Here are a few questions to quiz you:
1) If I start on a C major chord but use the chords in the key of F for my song, what key would it be in?
2) What about if I start on a G minor chord using the chords in the key of Eb?
3) And finally, what about if I start on a D minor chord but use the chords in the key of C for my song?
1) C Mixolydian
2) G Phrygian
3) D Dorian
