Day 9: Modes and Other Scales (Assessment)

Questions 1-10: Match each scale to its name.

1. Mixolydian Mode
2. Major Pentatonic Scale
3. Minor Blues Scale
4. Minor Pentatonic Scale
5. Diminished Scale
6. Locrian Mode
7. Whole-Tone Scale
8. Aeolian Mode
9. Lydian Mode
10. Dorian Mode

Question 11: Construct a minor blues on D.

Question 12: Construct a Locrian scale on F.

Question 13: Attempt to get at least an 8/10 on the exercise linked here.

Question 14: Listen to the audio file below. In which mode was the piece composed? (excerpt)

A. Phrygian
B. Dorian
C. Aeolian
D. Locrian

Question 15: The music below is composed in which of the following scales? (source)

A. C Lydian
B. G Major
C. G Dorian
D. A Dorian

*challenge* Question 16: Listen to the audio file below. In which mode was the piece composed? (excerpt)

A. Seventh mode of major scale
B. Third mode of major scale
C. Fifth mode of harmonic minor scale
D. Second mode of harmonic minor scale


Explanations are included in some answers.

Answer 1: D
Answer 2: F
Answer 3: C
Answer 4: E
Answer 5: J
Answer 6: A
Answer 7: G
Answer 8: I
Answer 9: H
Answer 10: B
Answer 11: D, F, G, Ab, A, C, D
Answer 12: F, Gb, Ab, Bb, Cb, Db, Eb, F
Answer 14: A, Phrygian. The violins start on the tonic. Around 8 seconds, you can hear Fairuz sing flatted seconds, indicating that the song is either in the Phrygian (A) or Locrian (D) mode. The Locrian mode features a flatted fifth, which you do not hear in the song, so it is Phrygian.
Answer 15: D, A Dorian. While the key signature has no sharps or flats, it is not C Lydian (A). While there are F# accidentals, the tonal center is not G (B); it is A, as the song features many A's, C's, and E's (1, 3, and 5 of A minor). The mode name is named after the tonic of the scale, not after the scale it's derived from. G Dorian is actually an F Major scale starting on G. So, the answer must be A Dorian. The notes all come from G Major, but the tonal center is on A.
Answer 16: C. The scale employed is called the Phrygian dominant scale, often used in ethnic music. While it sounds a lot like the Phrygian mode (B) or the Locrian mode (A), it is not due to its major third, giving it its distinct "exotic" sound. At the very end of the recording, you can hear the oboe go down a major third to the tonic. D isn't the answer either because the second mode of harmonic minor has a minor third. AP would not expect you to know this, or get this correct on the exam.