Will you go to the rolling of the stones? (A modal tour)

Oh, no, here I go again with my favorite ballad! It's such a pretty song! Okay, even though it's grusome, I like it because of the tune. Besides the fact that it's easy to learn and describes Susie's greenbelt so well. The whistle does, I mean. And I do like it because it's descriptive.

It's in Aeolian mode. I am nuts about modes. There are...let's see...I think...six of them; Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeloian. There used to be a Locrian, but it sounds awful and didn't work well with tunes, so it went in the dustbin. Ionian and Aeloian are regular major and minor, respectively. Scarborough Fair (some versions, simpler versions edit out that part) is in Dorian. Phrygian sounds almost Balkan! Lydian is kind of weird-looking. Mixolydian is fun. "Old Joe Clark" is in Mixolydian and I love the little downward thing. If you have a piano and want to try 'em out, just play these on the white keys, one octave.

• Ionian: C - C
  
• Dorian: D - D
• Phrygian: E - E
• Lydian: F - F
• Mixolydian: G - G
• Aeolian: A - A
  

And, if you're really curious:

• Locrian: B - B (ugh)

So that's the modes. And I do enjoy playing with them. I always end up in Dorian for some reason or another...
Saro