Aeolian mode: notes, sound and examples

Aeolian is the name that modal theory gives to the natural minor scale. If you already know natural minor, you already know Aeolian: they are two names for the same set of notes. It is the sixth mode of the major scale, so it starts on the sixth note of a major key and uses that key's notes.

The Aeolian formula

In steps, Aeolian is whole, half, whole, whole, half, whole, whole: W-H-W-W-H-W-W. As scale degrees it is 1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7. Compared with the major scale on the same note, three notes are lowered: the third, the sixth and the seventh.

The characteristic notes are the lowered sixth and the lowered seventh, together with the minor third. Dorian has a natural sixth, Phrygian has a lowered second, and Aeolian has neither.

Aeolian and natural minor: the same thing?

In sound and notes, yes. The difference is in the name and in the way of thinking. People say natural minor when they are thinking of a key with a key signature and chords that follow it. They say Aeolian when they want to compare it with other modes, such as Dorian or Phrygian, or when they use a modal approach to a piece of music, with the tonic as a center and no need for a leading tone.

How to build Aeolian in any key

1. Write the major scale of the tonic.
2. Lower the third, sixth and seventh by a half step.
3. Or: find the major scale a minor third above your tonic, and play its notes starting from your tonic.

A Aeolian uses the notes of C major, E Aeolian uses the notes of G major, and D Aeolian uses the notes of F major. The tonic is the sixth note of the major key, and the major key is the relative major.

How it sounds

Aeolian sounds sad, serious or reflective, though not as dark as Phrygian or Locrian. Without a raised seventh, it has no strong pull to the tonic, and that gives it a more open, modal sound in a folk tune or a rock ballad. Songs that move between the minor tonic, the major chord on the flat sixth and the major chord on the flat seventh are the typical Aeolian sound.

Where you hear Aeolian

• Most pop, rock and folk songs in a minor key.
• Classical themes in minor keys, in the passages without a raised seventh.
• Film music for sadness and drama.
• Metal and rock riffs, where the flat sixth and flat seventh chords give power.

Aeolian in practice

To hear Aeolian, play an A minor chord and then play the notes of A natural minor over it. Next, try changing to the major chord on the lowered sixth (F major) and the major chord on the lowered seventh (G major), and return to A minor. This four-chord loop is the classic Aeolian sound, and it appears in a large part of minor-key pop and rock.

To feel the difference between Aeolian and the other minor forms, play A Aeolian, then A harmonic minor, and then A melodic minor going up. Listen for the G, which turns to G♯, and the F, which turns to F♯. The more you raise, the stronger the pull to the tonic.

One more thing to try

Choose a favorite song in a minor key, and find its home note. Then play the scale of that key and check which notes it uses. In many songs, you will find that the notes are exactly those of Aeolian, with no raised seventh. This simple exercise shows how common the mode is in everyday music.

Next, compare it with the harmonic and melodic forms in the minor scales page, and see all the modes to place it between Dorian and Phrygian.

Aeolian scale in every key

Check yourself

Related pages

• Music modes: the seven modes explained
• Minor scales: natural, harmonic and melodic
• Dorian mode: notes, sound and examples
• Phrygian mode: notes, sound and examples
• Relative minor and relative major keys
• Key signatures: how to read every key