In this video I’m calling out the biggest “modes” mistake I see all the time: people think they’re playing Dorian, Phrygian, Locrian, etc., but they’re really just running major scale positions. Yeah, you can point at the shape and name the intervals—like “flat 2, flat 3, flat 5” and say “that’s Locrian”—and visually it checks out. Same with Dorian: minor sound with a natural 6. But none of that actually functions as a mode without harmonic context behind it. If you’re jamming over a one-chord backing track like a straight C major drone, the tonality is going to pull hard to C and everything you play will resolve like C major. You can try to “switch” to Dorian or Locrian all day, but there’s no modal color happening because the chords aren’t supporting it. The fix is understanding what creates the mode: the harmony and the interval color. And when I do want a modal sound on top of a major tonality, I’m not thinking diatonic “positions”—I’m thinking parallel modes: same root, altered intervals. Example: C Ionian versus C Lydian, where that sharp 4 gives you the real Lydian vibe. Start thinking parallel, learn the interval tweaks, and the modes will finally sound like modes.