Ionian
“Everything’s going to be wonderful!” — bright, cheerful and totally at home. This is plain old major.
Notes
Songs that live here
- Let It Be — The Beatles
- Twinkle Twinkle Little Star — trad.
- Ode to Joy — Beethoven
Dorian
Minor, but make it smooth. Thoughtful and hopeful — sad with a little wink. That raised 6th keeps it from getting gloomy.
Notes
Songs that live here
- So What — Miles Davis
- Scarborough Fair — trad.
- Eleanor Rigby — The Beatles
Phrygian
Fiery, dramatic and a touch dangerous. That flat 2nd gives it a dark, Spanish, edge-of-your-seat tension.
Notes
Songs that live here
- Flamenco — Spanish guitar tradition
- Wherever I May Roam — Metallica
- White Rabbit — Jefferson Airplane
Lydian
Floating, magical and wide-eyed with wonder. The raised 4th makes everything shimmer — pure fairy-tale and starlight.
Notes
Songs that live here
- The Simpsons Theme — Danny Elfman
- Flying in a Blue Dream — Joe Satriani
- Man on the Moon — R.E.M. (chorus)
Mixolydian
Major with its boots off and a beer in hand. Bluesy, swaggering and fun — that flat 7th is the rock-and-roll secret sauce.
Notes
Songs that live here
- Sweet Home Alabama — Lynyrd Skynyrd
- Norwegian Wood — The Beatles
- Royals — Lorde
Aeolian
Wistful, moody and writing in a journal by the window. This is the classic natural minor — the sound of heartfelt sadness.
Notes
Songs that live here
- Stairway to Heaven — Led Zeppelin
- Losing My Religion — R.E.M.
- All Along the Watchtower — Bob Dylan
Locrian
The misfit who never quite settles. With both a flat 2nd and a flat 5th, its “home” chord is unstable — restless, eerie and rarely seen in the wild.
Notes
Songs that live here
- Army of Me — Björk (often cited)
- Dust to Dust — metal & tension riffs
- Mostly used in short bursts — full Locrian songs are famously rare!