There are four minor modes (those with minor 3rds), and we have already seen one of them, Aeolian. ... The following contrasts the Aeolian scale with the other three minor modes: Dorian, Phrygian, and Locrian.

Are major and minor scales modes?

The modes built on the notes of the C Major scale are the following: As we can see, the scales which are used the most in the Western musical system (the ones commonly called Major and Minor scales) are the modes built on the first and sixth degrees of a Major scale.

What is the mode of a minor key?

In music theory, the term minor scale refers to three scale patterns – the natural minor scale (or Aeolian mode), the harmonic minor scale, and the melodic minor scale (ascending or descending) – rather than just one as with the major scale.