Preface from Dan Hulsman, VGM Academy:

 

Today, we have a special treat for the VGM Academy community – our very first guest post!  Today’s post comes from composer/arranger/YouTuber Joshua Taipale.  Aside from his personal YouTube channel, Joshua is the creator of Ongaku Concept – a website + YouTube channel that teaches intermediate/advanced music theory through HD videos focused on video game and anime music.

 

In today’s post, Josh gives us several examples of Dorian mode in video game music and discusses how you can use Dorian mode in your own work.  If any of the content in this article goes over your head, try brushing up on some music theory basics with 7 Music Theory Lessons from Final Fantasy VII first for a quick primer.

 

Enjoy!

 

-Dan

And now, Joshua:

Video game music is a special thing. It takes on a role most other types of music can’t claim. It sets the tone for the environment and actions taking place in a story, much like film music — but VGM is not “fixed” in the same way film scores are. It’s much more interactive than that. It’s often written to loop without becoming boring (because you might be in an area for a long time), or even modulate and add layers to correspond to your actions as a player.

In this post, I’m going to explain to you how to use “modes” to enhance an environment with your music. Specifically, I’m going to focus on the Dorian mode (one of the most popular). Let’s begin!

Example: What is Dorian Mode?

First off… Here’s the title theme from Super Smash Bros. 4:

This song makes heavy use of the Dorian mode to create this amazingly epic, regal atmosphere. By the end of this post, you’ll know what the Dorian mode is, how it works, and how to use it.

If you have a little knowledge of the basics of music theory (and I suggest you have a working knowledge of the major and minor scales before continuing), you might have heard the term “mode” thrown about. A “mode” is a special type of scale, derived from another scale. Check this out…

Deriving a Modal Scale from the Major Scale

The major scale is made up of 7 notes. There are 7 basic modes that can be derived from this scale: Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, and Locrian. There are more modes than listed here, but these are the most common, often called the “church modes” or “Gregorian modes” for their prominence in early Medieval church music.

How do we get these modes out of this major scale? Let’s look at the C Major scale and I’ll explain.

 

The C Major scale is made up of 7 notes — C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. But you already knew that, right? This also happens to be the first mode — C Ionian. Watch this… Let’s start the scale on D, not changing any of the other notes: D, E, F, G, A, B, C.

 

This is the D Dorian mode. Continuing on in this fashion will get you all the other modes, in the order previously listed (starting on E will get you E Phrygian, starting on F will get you F Lydian, and so on). However, we’ll just be focusing on the Dorian mode for now.

So what does this mean? What is the Dorian mode, exactly, and how do we use it? First of all, I need to make one very important clarification: Modes are NOT scale “positions,” and the way they’re used has little to do with the scale they are derived from. As a guitarist (we are in love with scale patterns and positions!) I run into this all the time. The key difference (hehe, music puns) is tonal center. In the C Major scale, the tonal center is “C” — the note everything revolves around, and the note everything resolves to, ultimately. It’s the sun of the musical solar system (at least, for that key). Even though D Dorian is derived from C, the tonal center is D. This is the fundamental principle on which the modes work, so make sure you understand it.

You probably already use this principle now, even if you don’t realize it. I’m sure you know that the C Major and A Minor scales contain the same notes, right? What’s the difference between the scales, why do they sound so different from one another? Two words: Tonal center. In C Major, the tonal center is C, and in A Minor, the tonal center is A. In fact, the Aeolian mode, when derived from C, has its tonal center on A! “A Aeolian” is actually just another term for the A Minor scale. If you can understand the distinction between C Major and A Minor (C Ionian and A Aeolian), you can understand how the rest of the modes work.

A Better Way…

The “deriving” method explains how we get the modes — kind of like proofs in geometry — but it doesn’t tell us how to use them, or what contexts they fit in. Let me explain it another way: D Dorian is just D Minor scale with a raised 6th. Most music theory books I’ve come across (and most teachers I’ve met) don’t explain it like this, which I think is a shame because it makes so much sense (and it makes the modes much easier to remember!) If you know the D Minor scale, its notes are D, E, F, G, A, B♭, and C. The difference between D Minor and D Dorian is a single note — the 6th. Counting up from D, the 6th scale degree is B♭. In order to use the Dorian mode, all you have to do is take the 6th degree of a minor scale and raise it a semitone! In this case, B♭ is raised to B♮.

 

If you know what the harmonic minor scale is and how to use it, modes work exactly the same way. If you don’t, no worries; I’ll explain. The Dorian mode is one of the 3 “minor” modes (the other two being Phrygian and Aeolian). This means that you can use it any time you’re writing in a minor key — well, within reason. Remember to use your ears and judge for yourself if something works or not! The raised 6th can sound pretty bad when paired with a typical iv chord, for example. In the key of D Minor, this would be a B natural playing over a Gm chord.

In fact, a major IV chord in a minor key is the most common way to utilize the Dorian mode. Here’s “Mute City” from F-Zero, which uses the Dorian mode in the opening.

 

The C Minor scale is C, D, E♭, F, G, A♭, B♭. Raising the 6th degree of the scale (A♭) up a semitone to A♮ gives us the C Dorian mode. The iv chord in C Minor is Fm (F-A♭-C). Using the Dorian mode brings that A♭ up and turns Fm into an F Major chord. It gives the song a very (for lack of a better word) “hip” vibe that it wouldn’t have otherwise.

Using Dorian Mode for World-Building

So now that you understand what the Dorian mode is… Let’s explore how it can be used to create various environments.

Just like the major and minor scales, the Dorian mode can create a variety of different feelings depending on how it’s used and what instruments are present. It’s often associated with space levels, water levels, or generally anything “mysterious” or “unknown.” One of my favorite examples comes from Sonic Advance (a game that I have a lot of nostalgia for). In Egg Rocket Zone, the Dorian mode is very much at the foreground, creating an adventurous soundscape. About 25 seconds in comes this wonderful melody…

 

I put an asterisk under the raised 6th (the “Dorian” note) so you can see it more clearly. As one of the longer, held-out notes, it gets a lot of air time, so the Dorian sound is very heavy. As with Mute City, the iv chord becomes major.

When discussing the Dorian mode, we certainly can’t leave out The Legend of Zelda. In “Windmill Hut” (otherwise known as “Song of Storms”), the mode is cleverly used in the chord progression, raising the 5th of the ii chord to bring in that Dorian flavor. It’s a bit rarer to see the ii chord of a minor key altered. There are no out-of-key notes in the melody itself, so the Dorian sound is a part of the harmonic bed, still affecting the tone of the song but not at the foreground where it would be more obvious.

 

The Dorian mode is also wonderful for making Medieval-themed music. Check out the main theme of “Shovel Knight,” composed by the amazing Jake Kaufman:

 

This effect is even more noticeable in a 6/8 or 3/4 time signature. Atelier Rorona’s “Hitori Shizuka” (“Quiet Moment Alone”) uses the Dorian mode in 3/4 time… and a harpsichord to boot:

 

Going Further…

Most of these songs I’ve shown here are based around the Dorian mode, and don’t use the normal ♭6 at all. However, you don’t have to write a song entirely in the Dorian mode… You can borrow from it sparingly, which can make it all the more surprising. Richard Jacques’ “Rusty Ruin Zone Act 1” from Sonic 3D Blast is a great example of this:

About 47 seconds in, there’s a Cm(add9) chord, in the key of F Minor. The 9th of C (D natural, normally flattened in the key of F Minor) brings a completely unexpected shift in the sound. This is an incredibly subtle use of the Dorian mode, proving its versatility even more.

The Dorian mode is just one of several common modes, but it’s definitely one of the most common (and with good reason!) Even though it’s only one note away from being a straight-up minor scale, it adds such an impact to the tone that the scale carries. Instrumentation and arrangement play a big role in deciding how the Dorian mode will come off in a song, and just like the major and minor scales, it can bring a large variety of sounds to your music.

Dan’s Closing Thoughts & Summary:

 

Wow!  That was a lot of awesome information about an under-utilized technique that can really take a piece of music to a new level.  Joshua did an amazing job of providing several examples (many of which I didn’t even notice before now) of the Dorian mode in action, but I wanted to provide some bullet-points to reiterate some of the points he made:

 

• The Dorian Mode is a musical scale that uses a minor chord as the tonic (home) chord;
• Dorian is the same as a major scale, starting and ending on the 2nd scale degree or pitch.  Instead of singing/playing Do-Re-Mi-Fa-So-La-Ti-Do, Dorian would be Re-Mi-Fa-So-La-Ti-Do-Re.  For the simplest example, play from D to D on the white keys of a piano;
• Dorian = D Minor scale + a raised 6th;
• You don’t have to write an entire piece of music in Dorian!  When writing in minor, you can occasionally raise the 6th scale degree (in the melody or in a single chord) to throw in some of that Dorian flavor.

Remember that Dorian mode is more of an intermediate/advanced tool for composers, so if some of this stuff went over your head you can brush up on your music theory with 7 Music Theory Lessons from Final Fantasy VII.  Questions?  Still confused?  Ask Joshua or VGM Academy on Twitter, or leave a question in the comments on this blog post!  We’ll do our best to help.

 

-Dan Hulsman, VGM Academy