Another question along similar lines ~
How can I use a modal scale successfully in a composition?
Also, how can I 'not-so-awkwardly' modulate from a major/minor scale to a mode or vice versa?
Thanks in advance
Hey, sunflowah!
This is also another matter of experimentation but it'd be good to clarify one thing first!
So a scale is a collection of pitches arranged to have a certain melodic character. For example, a scale built from C includes the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, B. A mode is created when you take any of those pitches and start the scale from there. That scale already in the example is C Ionian mode or more commonly known as C major. However, if I started on say D using those exact same pitches, I don't get D major (because D major has an F#); instead, I get D Dorian mode. Modes as a concept honestly still confuses the heckles out of me even as a university student taking music theory but in short, your major and minor scales are also modes (Ionian and Aeolian respectively).
If you wanted to integrate modes in your composition, you could disrupt the expected intervals and borrow from other modes instead. If we keep using C as the example, you could go from C Ionian/major to C Phrygian by using the flattened notes in the mode. This can create some interesting colours and pitch relations in your composition. Beyond that, it really just depends on how you want to play things out! Bela Bartok and Zoltan Kodaly are fantastic composers to look at if you want to see great modal music in action. I'd highly recommend Kodaly's
String Quartet No.2 Op.10 Hope this helps!