From grimoire
Applies modal harmony (Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Locrian) to create emotional atmospheres beyond major/minor. Useful for composers seeking richer harmonic language.
How this skill is triggered — by the user, by Claude, or both
Slash command
/grimoire:apply-modal-harmonyThe summary Claude sees in its skill listing — used to decide when to auto-load this skill
Apply modal harmony by identifying each mode's characteristic notes and chords, understanding its emotional color, and using modal chord progressions that establish and sustain a specific modal atmosphere rather than resolving to major/minor functional harmony.
Apply modal harmony by identifying each mode's characteristic notes and chords, understanding its emotional color, and using modal chord progressions that establish and sustain a specific modal atmosphere rather than resolving to major/minor functional harmony.
Adopted by: Modal harmony is a core component of jazz theory education at Berklee, Juilliard, and the Manhattan School of Music. Mark Levine's "The Jazz Theory Book" — the definitive jazz theory text — devotes multiple chapters to modes and modal harmony. Miles Davis's "Kind of Blue" (1959) introduced modal jazz to a broad audience; Coltrane, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, and virtually all post-bop jazz composers use modal harmony extensively. Modal harmony is also fundamental to folk traditions (Dorian in Celtic music), rock (Mixolydian in blues-rock), and contemporary film scoring. Impact: Restricting composition to major and minor keys limits the emotional palette available. Each mode has a characteristic color that cannot be achieved by transposing major or minor: Dorian sounds simultaneously minor and somewhat bright; Lydian sounds dreamy and elevated; Phrygian sounds dark and Spanish-Mediterranean; Mixolydian sounds bluesy and slightly unresolved. Understanding modal harmony expands the emotional vocabulary available to composers and improvisers.
All seven modes derive from the major scale by starting on different scale degrees:
| Mode | Starting degree | Formula | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ionian (major) | 1st | W W H W W W H | Bright, stable, resolved |
| Dorian | 2nd | W H W W W H W | Minor but somewhat bright; jazz, soul, Celtic folk |
| Phrygian | 3rd | H W W W H W W | Dark, exotic, Spanish/flamenco, menacing |
| Lydian | 4th | W W W H W W H | Dreamy, elevated, magical, sci-fi |
| Mixolydian | 5th | W W H W W H W | Bluesy, slightly unresolved, blues-rock, country |
| Aeolian (natural minor) | 6th | W H W W H W W | Minor, melancholic, standard |
| Locrian | 7th | H W W H W W W | Unstable, tense, rarely used as tonal center |
W = whole step; H = half step
Identifying the characteristic note: each mode differs from major or natural minor by one or two altered notes; this characteristic note is the mode's identity:
Modal harmony avoids the dominant-tonic resolution that pulls music toward major/minor functional harmony:
Dorian (on D): Dm - G - Dm - G (the G major chord contains the natural 6th B, the characteristic Dorian note)
Lydian (on C): Cmaj7#11 → D → Cmaj7#11 (the #11/F# is the Lydian characteristic)
Mixolydian (on G): G7 → F → C → G7 (the ♭7/F is the characteristic; G7 does not resolve to C as it would in C major)
Phrygian (on E): Em → F → Em (the F major chord contains the ♭2 that defines Phrygian)
The chords establish the modal center through repetition and emphasis of the characteristic note, not through functional cadences.
A pedal point (sustained bass note under changing harmony) is the most effective way to establish and maintain a modal center:
Example (Dorian on D): bass holds D throughout — upper voices move Dm → G → Am → G → Dm. The stationary D bass ensures the listener hears the progression as D Dorian, not G major with a pedal.
Miles Davis used pedal points extensively on "Kind of Blue" (notably on "So What") to establish modal centers without functional resolution.
Mode mixture borrows chords from modes sharing the same root, creating color changes without leaving the tonal center:
Mode mixture enriches functional major/minor harmony with modal colors without committing to a full modal framework.
When improvising over a sustained chord or a simple vamp:
Modal improvisation practice:
Modal improvisation was the foundation of Miles Davis's approach on "Kind of Blue" — players were given scales (modes) rather than complex chord changes and improvised within the modal framework.
npx claudepluginhub jeffreytse/grimoire --plugin grimoireComposes chord progressions using functional harmony, diatonic chords, and cadence types. Useful when building harmonic frameworks for songs or harmonic analysis.
Composes or analyzes sacred music in Hildegard von Bingen's modal style, covering modal selection, melodic contour, text-setting, neumatic notation, and liturgical context for antiphons, sequences, and responsories.
Sets a musical mood (chill, dark, hype, focus, funky, dreamy, weird, epic) by generating Strudel live-coding audio via `/dj-set-mood`. Useful for ambient coding music or creative vibes.