Now for some chord progressions!

Before getting in to specific ideas, there are a number of general

guidelines/suggestions to keep in mind when getting modal with your progressions. These
guidelines will help keep the tonal center where it needs to be (on the modal tonic) and not lead
back to the parent key's tonic. -In all modes except Ionian and Locrian, the diminished chords
should be avoided. This is because they create such a strong suggestion that the Major chord a half
step higher is next to be played. This Major chord is the tonic of the parent key, and if the
progression resolves to this chord, it is not really a modal chord progression.

-In all modes except for Ionian and Locrian, a straight minor chord may be a suitable substitute for
the diminished chord if arranged properly. This is especially common with the 3 chord in
Mixolydian.

-In Phrygian, Mixolydian, and Aeolian, a Major or Dominant 7th V (5) chord may be played in
place of the existing minor or diminished 5 chord. Having a Major or Dominant 5 chord draws the
ear back to the 1 chord.

-It is acceptable and common practice to enter a mode or switch modes for only a brief period
during a song. You can modulate and change modes all over the place so long as you keep your
intended tonal centers in mind. When implementing these suggestions, there will be accidentals
(notes outside the parent key signature, and thus outside a single mode) but remember that it is all
about pointing back to the modal tonic. Use your ear! Here is a non-comprehensive list of common
modal chord progression possibilities (keep in mind the exceptions discussed above when playing
through them):

Ionian
I - IV - vi - V - I
I - ii - IV - V - I
I - V - vi - IV - I
I - iii - vi - V - I

Dorian
i - IV - i - VII - i
i - VII - i - VII - i
i - IV - ii - v - VII - i
i - III - IV - i - VII - i

Phrygian
i - II - III - i
i - V7 - i - II - i
i - iv - i - II - i
i - III - vii - i
 Lydian
I - II - I - II (modulate whole step up and repeat, then go back down)
I - II - I - II - iv - V - iv - V - I
I - vi - II - V - I
I - V - I - II - I

Mixolydian
I - VII - I - VII - I
I - vi - IV - V - VII - I
I - IV - I - VII - I
I - ii - IV - VII - I

Aeolian
i - VI - VII - i
i - iv - v - i
i - iv V7 - i
i - III - i - VII - i

Locrian
i - V - i - V - i
i - iii - i - II - i
i - iii - vii - i
i - vii - i - vii - i

Using these chord progressions as a starting point in your writing and arranging will take you to a
new level in your playing. It will also improve your improvising and train your ear. For example, if
you're listening to a song that appears to be in a minor key (having a minor 1 chord) but you are
hearing a Major 4 chord, you know you can use Dorian to improvise over that song. If you hear a
chord progression with a pretty noticeable and consistent toggle between a two Major chords, you
just might be in Lydian. A minor 1 chord with a half step up to a Major 2 chord, followed by a
Major 3 chord would suggest Phrygian.

There are some of those substituted chords present in the above examples. When soloing over these
chords, try to figure out where there may be a temporary shift in the parent key and then work that
into a seamless shift in your modal position playing. For example, consider the following chord
progression in based off of G tonic:
G - C - Em - D - F - F - G - G

This chord progression is really modulating from G Major to G Mixolydian (who's parent key is C)
and still sounds like a very complete and musical thought. When improvising, start with G Major,
and then simply drop the 7th scale degree a half step over the second half of the progression.

There may not be a clear 'modulation' point, which makes it more difficult to switch the thinking
around. A chord progression could be written like this:
G-F-G-C-D-F-G
In this example, there is a D Major chord followed by an F Major Chord. This isn't entirely sticking
to G Major or G Mixolydian for a convenient amount of time. So, it will actually sound good to use
both within the same phrase. Tastefully putting in both a F and an F# will sound great. When
deciding where to place these notes, it is helpful to analyze the 'misfit' chord (in this case D Major if
we're classifying the progression as G Mixolydian). In a D Major chord, there is an F# present as
the 3rd. So dwelling on a regular F over the D will not work, but using the F and the F# in a
chromatic fashion over the D to F to G chord changes will sound very cool.

Another common occurrence is the presence of a V7 chord in an otherwise (apparently) Aeolian

mode. Whenever you hear this substitution, you can play the harmonic minor scale which is a
natural minor (or Aeolian mode) with a natural 7th tone.

As your diving in to this stuff more deeply, keep in mind that all the sounds, and the theory behind
the sounds are, or should be primarily fueled by raw creativity. Modes, chord progressions based on
modes, alterations/outside chords within a modal chord progression are all just ways of making
music sound cool. The theory and explanations behind all if it should be seen as a starting point and
learning and mastering the ideas should be a practiced discipline that fuels greater creativity.

Here are some exercises and habits to start working out these ideas and theoretical situations into
your everyday musical life:
-Turn on your radio, MP3 player or Internet music stream, sit down with your guitar and
try to identify modal moments. You may be able to identify entire songs, but you may
also be able to identify just a bridge that goes in to Mixolydian while the rest of the
song appears to be in Ionian. Try to figure out the chord progressions by ear, and write
down modes as you hear them.

-Take your own tunes and analyze them. Odds are, you may be using some modal chord
progressions and not even know it. If you can't find any, try altering your melodies in
places to apply some modal flavors.

-Finally, record some of the modal chord progression examples listed in this article and
practice soloing and writing melodies over them.