Would someone please list all the different "Modes" and what keys they represent? Also, do they represent minor or major keys?

Sure. Think of modes as "white key" scales... Their intervals are equivalent to playing 8 white key notes on a piano. It's hard to describe, but I'll name them for you anyway:

Ionian
Dorian
Phrygian
Lydian
Mixolydian
Aeolian
Lorian


Arranged conveniently for you :P
Ionian is actually the major key scale. It's the white keys from C-C'.
Dorian is from D-D, Phrygian is from E-E, etc.. I arranged it in that order. :)

Thanks!

No problem, but I really do not know how to use them in context. They're supposed to be scales used in Gregorian chants.. or folk songs.

Apparently, they are the ancient Greek names for the different scales. During the Renaissance, the church wanted to keep the ancient names, while the contemporary composers of the time turned to the now-common uses of A Minor, D Minor, etc.

Uh...Actually, it helps while learning them to think of them as white key scales, but that's way far off. The only ones that developed into major and minor are Ionian (Major) and Aeolian (Minor). The other modes, however, don't really fit into a major/minor setting.

Take for example, the dorian mode of C. It's DEFGABCD.

The only way I know how to somewhat explain it, is to treat the tonic chord of it (which would be D minor in this case) as "home," like you would with C to C major and such. It doesn't sound anything like a traditional major/minor, because it's just way different. Likewise, the dorian of D would be E F# G A B C# D E.

Aside from the aeolian and ionic modes, dorian would come next. Some examples of this are -

Simon and Garfulkel - Scarborough Fair (Dorian of C)
Boa - Duvet (Dorian of D)

That's the best I can explain it. It doesn't sound as prominent as your major or minor, but dorian seems to stick a song in a feel of wistfulness, in a sense.

Yes, I probably didn't make myself clear -- I was saying that the intervals of the notes in the scales are equivalent to the white keys.. They can be transposed to start on any note. For example, if a Dorian starts on G, it's called the G Dorian...

Dorian is a nice mode. ^_^

Hrm. :) I get it now. Did they use modes throughout the medieval/middle ages, other than in Gregorian chants?

Can someone verify what mode Duvet is in? I think I might be wrong on that one.

Ok, I've noticed that if I make a song in the key of A minor, as long as I emphasize the D minor chord at the beginning and throughout much of the passages, it sounds complete when I end on it (or D major via the Picardy Third). So I guess when composing in modes, the actual key sig. at the beginning of the song doesn't really mean that the song should start/end/be based upon the corresponding chord?