The Aeolian Mode

Author:

Ryan Wood

Reviewer:

Kevin Kuschel

Reading time:

5 mins

The Aeolian mode is the sixth mode of the major scale. It uses the same notes as the natural minor scale. Aeolian is commonly used in a variety of genres, including classical music, pop, rock, folk and blues.

This article will explore the Aeolian mode, how to play it and give some examples of its use in music.

Modes have a formula that is easy to grasp, but requiress some knowledge of scales, whole steps and half steps. If these are new concepts to you, this free overview guide on scales will teach you the basics, in preparation for learning about Aeolian.

Table of Contents

What does Aeolian sound like?
Learning the Aeolian Mode
Aeolian vs Natural Minor - What's the difference?
Minor Pentatonic Scale
Summary
Learn the other Modes
Examples of Aeolian in popular music

What does Aeolian sound like?

_{A Aeolian starting from A:}

Aeolian shares the same whole-step and half-step pattern with the natural minor scale: W-H-W-W-H-W-W.

Therefore, it adopts the same dark, melancholic feel, yet is ambiguous enough to evoke a larger range of emotions. This ambiguity is because the relative key of the natural minor scale (and the Aeolian mode) is the major scale.

This means Aeolian can sound bright and happy (major), dark and sad (minor) and everything in-between.

A relative major key shares the same notes as its minor counterpart.

Learning the Aeolian Mode

Step pattern	Main characteristics	Example track
W-H-W-W-H-W-W	Minor 3rd, Minor 6th, Minor 7th	R.E.M - Losing my Religion

If you want to play Aeolian it's easy to find using the C major scale.

Mnemonic

A for Aeolian: play all of the white notes from A up to the next A.

Click to enlarge

^{A Aeolian starting on A}

Don’t forget, the whole-step/half-step pattern of Aeolian is W-H-W-W-H-W-W. So, if you start on any key and play this pattern, it will be Aeolian.

A great example of a track that uses Aeolian is R.E.M’s ‘Losing My Religion’.

Alternative methods

Another way to play Aeolian is:

Choose a starting note
Play the notes of the major scale a minor third above the starting note

For Example, if you wanted to play Aeolian in E, play the G major scale starting on E. You can also choose any major key, play it starting a minor third below the tonic, and this will also be Aeolian. For instance if it’s D major, play it starting on B.

Want to learn all 7 modes in music? Start with this free beginner-friendly overview.

Aeolian Vs Natural Minor - What’s the difference?

So, if a natural minor scale and Aeolian have the same notes, what distinguishes them?

Their main difference is that the natural minor can be used in connection with the melodic and harmonic minor scales, whereas in Aeolian, only the notes within its scale are used.

This limitation in context is what gives Aeolian its distinctive sound.You can learn more about these scales in this free music theory overview guide.

Click to enlarge

^{All 3 minor scales in succession: 1. A natural minor scale, 2. A harmonic minor scale, 3. A melodic minor scale.}

Chords and notes used in A Minor

Chords of A Aeolian	Chords of A Harmonic Minor	Chords of A Melodic Minor
A Minor - A,C,E	A Minor - A,C,E	A Minor - A,C,E
B Diminished - B,D,F	B Diminished - B,D,F	B Minor - B,D,F#
C Major - C,E,G	C Augmented - C,E,G#	C Major #5 - C,E,G#
D Minor - D,F,A	D Minor - D,F,A	D Major - D,F#,A
E Minor - E,G,B	E(7) Major - E,G#,B,(D)	E Major - E,G#,B
F Major - F,A,C	F Major - F,A,C	F# Minor b5 - F#,A,C
G Major - G,B,D	G# Diminished - G#,B,D	G# Minor - G#,B,D

As seen in the above table, the only notes that are used for A Aeolian (including in the chords) are: A-B-C-D-E-F-G. However, in A minor, these notes also regularly include F# and G#, which creates a different tonality to A Aeolian.

For example, the fifth chord (or dominant chord) is an E minor in A Aeolian but an E major in A harmonic and melodic minor.

You can learn more about modal chords and their chord progressions in this free article.

Minor Pentatonic Scale

Another scale you can use that is related to the Aeolian mode is the minor pentatonic scale - ‘penta’ meaning five, as it only contains five notes. The minor pentatonic scale consists of the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 7th notes of Aeolian.

Click to enlarge

^{A minor pentatonic scale starting on A}

The blues and rock genres often use this scale in guitar solos due to its emotive sound. It is a simplified version of Aeolian mode, making it an ideal scale for improvisation.

Summary

Aeolian and natural minor are essentially the same scale, with the same intervals (W-H-W-W-H-W-W), but Aeolian is limited to the notes of its scale, as opposed to the flexibility of natural, harmonic and melodic minor scales.

You can find the notes of the Aeolian mode with either of the following methods:

To play Aeolian in A, just remember A for Aeolian and play all white keys upward.
Apply the whole-step/half-step pattern of W-H-W-W-H-W-W to any key.
Play the notes of the major scale a minor third above your starting note.
Choose a major scale and play it starting a minor third below the starting note.

And if you like to improvise in Aeolian, give the minor pentatonic scale a try: The 1st, 3rd, 4rd, 5th and 7th notes of the Aeolian scale.