Originally Posted by: rightturnonlyI just got done studing modes again, I'm beginning to think that they are no more important than the circle of 5's, just another way to get there. As I hear other players explain them I begin to think that that they are giving me a bunch of heady retoric. That isn't necessary. :)

There's a lot more to modes than just another way to do the same thing. Modes are in fact the complete opposite. There a way to do something completely different. When you take a scale, you're working with a selection of intervallic steps. When you change the root note, but stick with the same notes, all the intervallic steps change order. Everything is based around and compared to that beginning note. When playing a melody in Ionian, moving from the root to the 3rd, you're hitting a Major 3rd. If you lowered your root note a mere 1/2 step and switched to Locrian then you're changing the Major 3rd to a Minor 3rd. And all the other steps have changed as well. The Perfect 5th has moved 1/2 step down and is now Diminished.

For example, here are the intervallic steps comparing the traditional Major scale (Ionian) to Locrian. Capital letters

Ionian
W W H W W W H
2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Locrian
H W W H W W W
b2 b3 4 b5 b6 b7 8

As you can see, most of the only types of intervals that remain the same are the 4th and the octave. Granted, it can take some time before the unique sound of a given mode clicks, but the more you work with them, the more you'll pick up on it. But bear in mind, that all of this is determined by where you start.