How Triads Appear in the Different Modes

Seneca taught us that true mastery is not found in accumulating more — but in penetrating what we already hold. The same notes. Seven entirely different worlds. A comparative chart and ready-to-play chord progressions await.

In his Epistulae Morales, Seneca wrote to Lucilius with characteristic directness: it is not that we have too little time — it is that we waste what we have. The same warning applies, with striking precision, to how most guitarists approach the modes. We do not need more scales. We need to stop and truly listen to what the ones we already know are telling us.

For decades, the guitar world has handed us seven modes as if they were seven separate territories to conquer — memorise the shape, move it up the neck, call it done. But Seneca would have seen through that instinctly. He understood that depth of understanding always outweighs breadth of acquisition. And in music, there is no greater example of this principle than the triads hidden inside every mode. They are already there. They have always been there. The question was never how many scales we could play — it was whether we ever stopped to hear the chords that give each one its soul.

If you have ever wondered why a C major scale and a C Dorian scale use almost the same notes yet sound worlds apart, the answer lies not in the scale itself — but in the chords built upon it. The triads — those three-note harmonic building blocks — are the real architects of mood, colour, and atmosphere in every mode. This is the lesson that separates musicians who play notes from those who speak music.

Seneca's lesson, applied to the guitar: stop chasing new scales. The harmonic worlds you seek are already living inside the ones you know. Penetrate them — through their chords, their triads, their harmonic bed — and you will never need another pattern again.

— Ivan Cardozo, Guitar Instructor · Boston & Online

UNDERSTANDING THE FOUNDATION

Modes Are Not Just Scales

For decades, guitar pedagogy has presented modes as little more than "patterns" you memorise up and down the neck. Play the A minor pentatonic, shift to the A Dorian "pattern," and call it a day. But this approach misses the entire point. A mode only becomes a mode — in its true, expressive sense — when you hear and understand the chords that define it.

Consider this: if you play a C Phrygian scale over a plain C minor chord, you are simply playing a minor scale with a flatted second degree. Nothing particularly Spanish or tense about it. But the moment you build the full harmonic structure — C minor, D^b major, E^b major, F minor, G diminished, A^b major, B^b minor — suddenly the atmosphere shifts. That dark, brooding, flamenco-tinged quality emerges not from the scale, but from the triads and the chord progressions built upon it.

This is the central idea we will explore today. Every mode creates a unique constellation of major, minor, and diminished chords. It is this constellation — this harmonic bed — that defines the mood, the colour, and the emotional character of each mode. The scale is merely the raw material; the harmonised chords are the music.

THE COMPARATIVE CHART

Harmonised Modes: Side by Side

Below, every mode is built from the key of C. The notes change with each mode, but the root remains C — so you can hear exactly how the displacement of chords transforms the character. Each Roman numeral represents a scale degree, and the chord built on that degree.

							HARMONISED MODES IN C — TRIADS ON EACH DEGREE (I THROUGH VII)
MODE	I	II	III	IV	V	VI	VII
C Ionian ( = C Major )	C maj	D min	E min	F maj	G maj	A min	B dim
C Dorian	C min	D min	Eb maj	F maj	G min	A dim	Bb maj
C Phrygian	C min	Db maj	Eb maj	F min	G dim	Ab maj	Bb min
C Lydian	C maj	D maj	E min	F# dim	G maj	A min	B min
C Mixolydian	C maj	D min	E min	F maj	G min	A min	Bb maj
C Aeolian ( = C Natural Minor )	C min	D dim	Eb maj	F min	G min	Ab maj	Bb maj
C Locrian	C dim	Db maj	Eb min	F min	Gb maj	Ab maj	Bb min

INTERPRETING THE CHART

What the Displacement Tells Us

Notice how the same seven Roman numerals produce a completely different mix of major, minor, and diminished chords depending on which mode you are in. This shifting pattern — this displacement of chord qualities across the degrees — is precisely what gives each mode its distinctive character.

For instance, Ionian and Mixolydian both begin on a major chord, but Mixolydian's V becomes minor and the VII becomes major (a ^bVII) instead of the leading-tone diminished chord — instantly lending a bluesier, more relaxed quality. Meanwhile, Dorian and Aeolian both start on a minor chord, yet Dorian's IV is major (lending it characteristic brightness) whilst Aeolian's IV is minor (contributing to its more melancholic weight). These subtle differences in the harmonic landscape are everything.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

Chord Progressions in Every Mode

All examples below are in the key of C. Play each progression on its own and listen carefully to the atmosphere each one creates. The notes may overlap — the feelings could not be more different.

C Ionian

BRIGHT · TRIUMPHANT · UPLIFTING

C maj → A min → F maj → G maj

The classic I – vi – IV – V progression. This is the harmonic backbone of countless pop anthems, hymns, and celebratory pieces. Its brightness comes directly from the strong I–IV–V major triad relationships.

C Dorian

SOULFUL · HOPEFUL · GROOVY

C min → F maj → G min → E^b maj

The signature brightness in Dorian emerges from the major IV chord (F major) sitting above a minor tonic — a contrast absent in Aeolian, where IV is minor. This interplay between the dark i and the luminous IV is what gives Dorian its soulful, hopeful quality, heard everywhere in jazz, funk, and soul.

C Phrygian

DARK · TENSE · FLAMENCO

C min → D^b maj → F min → G dim

The half-step relationship between i and ^bII (C minor to D^b major) is the defining flavour of Phrygian. That minor-to-major movement a semitone apart creates an intense, Spanish-inflected tension that has captivated composers for centuries. The diminished V chord deepens the darkness further.

C Lydian

DREAMY · ETHEREAL · CINEMATIC

C maj → D maj → E min → C maj

Two consecutive major chords (I – II) is extraordinarily rare in Western harmony — and it is Lydian's signature gift. The raised fourth degree dissolves tension and creates a floating, otherworldly quality beloved by film composers and progressive rock artists alike.

C Mixolydian

BLUES · ROCK · LAID-BACK

C maj → B^b maj → G min → F maj

Mixolydian starts on a major chord but features a minor V and a major VII — a subtle but crucial difference from Ionian. The ^bVII major chord (B^b major) sliding down to the tonic is the quintessential rock and blues move, pulling the brightness back just enough to create that earthy, laid-back swagger.

C Aeolian

MELANCHOLIC · EMOTIONAL · INTROSPECTIVE

C min → E^b maj → G min → A^b maj

The natural minor scale's harmonic home. The i – ^bIII – v – ^bVI progression is the foundation of countless ballads, laments, and emotionally intense pieces across every genre. Its power lies in the weight of those minor triads on i and v.

C Locrian

UNSTABLE · EERIE · AVANT-GARDE

C dim → D^b maj → E^b min → F min

Locrian is the rarest mode in popular music — and for good reason. A diminished tonic chord has no stable root, creating a perpetual sense of unease. The ^bII major chord (D^b major) offers a brief, deceptive brightness before the tension returns — making it indispensable in film scoring, metal, and experimental composition.

THE TAKEAWAY

The Harmonic Bed Is Everything

Now that you have seen — and ideally heard — these seven modes side by side in the same key, the central lesson should be unmistakable: it is not the scale that creates the mood — it is the chords. A scale is a collection of notes. A mode, in its truest sense, is a harmonic universe.

When you improvise or compose, the scale you choose is secondary to the chord progression underneath. That progression — that harmonic bed — is what tells your ears where "home" is, what tension feels like, and what resolution sounds like. Every note you play gains meaning from the chords it floats above.

Master the triads in each mode, understand how they move and why, and you will not simply be playing a scale — you will be navigating an emotional landscape. That is what separates a guitarist who knows theory from one who truly understands music.

Seneca was right. We did not need more. We needed to stop — and listen.

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