Do all modes make another mode when inverted?

Question

I may just being going crazy but I was writing some music theory and noticed that if you reverse the whole steps and half steps of a mode it becomes another mode. (W= whole tones H= half tones) Example: Lydian is W W W H W W H Now when you reverse it you get this H W W H W W W Notice that this reversed scale shares the same sequence of steps as Locrian. Now what I'm trying to figure is if I may be on to something here. Does it mean with a Lydian scale you can get a Locrian sound out of it? I don't know if I'm over thinking or not.

Answer 1

Hi there, I think I can help with your question. As you mentioned at the end of your description, you may be overthinking things just a little bit. You can use any note of a major scale as a starting note, play each note of the scale, and see/hear one of our modes. It's very interesting that by reversing the steps of your Lydian scale that you would get the steps of a Locrian scale, but I would argue that you are making things a bit more complicated than they need to be. In the end, our major scale and its respective modes are just 7 notes. Therefore, I would argue that you could get the sound of any mode using those 7 notes if you arrange them in the "right" way.

So in a way, yes, you can get a Locrian sound from a Lydian mode, as you could get a Dorian sound from an Ionian/Major scale (Dorian is often mixed in with Major/Minor scales in blues for example).

I would suggest just working on memorizing your modes if you haven't already. Look at and analyze them separately, then work on using them together and analyze what stands out to you. Keep in mind that what makes a mode a mode is the sound of it, not just the order of steps.

Hope that helps!

-Nic

Answer 2

Yes, you're exactly on the right track! So long as you are only considering diatonic modes that is. All diatonic modes have 7 notes in them, and there is a mathematical limit to how many ways you can organize 7 notes within the western tuning system (welcome back to mathematical combinations, pick one, choose one sound at all familiar?). There is one mode name for each possible arrangement of modal whole and half steps, so if you invert the series you will naturally get one of the other possible arrangements.

In answer to the second question, you can get a Locrian sound out of a Lydian piece, but it may temporarily shift the aurally understood pitch center. If you wanted to incorporate a Locrian scale in a Lydian piece, all you would need to do would be to start on the 5th note of the scale and ascend up the Lydian scale. (starting on the 5th note of the scale and ascending according to Lydian will give you H W W H W W W). So it will sound like a "So" based Locrian. For example, if you are in C Lydian, your scale is C, D, E, F#, G, A, B, C. If you start on G and go up, you will still be using your original C Lydian mode, but the order of whole and half steps will make it sound like G Locrian. Hope that helps!