Modern Western modes use the same set of notes as the
major scale, in the same order, but starting from one of its seven
degrees in turn as a
tonic, and so present a different sequence of
whole and
half steps. With the interval sequence of the major scale being W–W–H–W–W–W–H, where "W" means a whole tone (whole step) and "H" means a semitone (half step), it is thus possible to generate the following modes: For the sake of simplicity, the examples shown above are formed by
natural notes (also called "white notes", as they can be played using the white keys of a
piano keyboard). However, any
transposition of each of these scales is a valid example of the corresponding mode. In other words, transposition preserves mode. Although the names of the modern modes are Greek and some have names used in ancient Greek theory for some of the
harmoniai, the names of the modern modes are conventional and do not refer to the sequences of intervals found even in the diatonic genus of the Greek
octave species sharing the same name.
Analysis Each mode has characteristic intervals and chords that give it its distinctive sound. The following is an analysis of each of the seven modern modes. The examples are provided in a key signature with no sharps or flats (scales composed of
natural notes).
Ionian (I) The
Ionian mode is the modern
major scale. The example composed of natural notes begins on C, and is also known as the
C-major scale: {{Image frame|content= { \override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f \relative c' { \clef treble \time 7/4 c4 d e f g a b c } } |width=300|caption=The modern
Ionian mode on C}} •
Tonic triad: C major •
Tonic seventh chord: CM7 •
Dominant triad: G (in modern tonal thinking, the fifth or dominant
scale degree, which in this case is G, is the next-most important
chord root after the tonic) •
Seventh chord on the dominant: G7 (a
dominant seventh chord, so-called because of its position in this – and only this – modal scale)
Dorian (II) The
Dorian mode is the second mode. The example composed of natural notes begins on D: {{Image frame|content= { \override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f \relative c' { \clef treble \time 7/4 d4 e f g a b c d } } |width=300|caption=The modern
Dorian mode on D}} The Dorian mode is very similar to the modern
natural minor scale (see Aeolian mode below). The only difference with respect to the natural minor scale is in the sixth
scale degree, which is a major sixth (M6) above the tonic, rather than a minor sixth (m6). •
Tonic triad: Dm •
Tonic seventh chord: Dm7 •
Dominant triad: Am •
Seventh chord on the dominant: Am7 (a
minor seventh chord)
Phrygian (III) The
Phrygian mode is the third mode. The example composed of natural notes starts on E: {{Image frame|content= { \override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f \relative c' { \clef treble \time 7/4 e4 f g a b c d e } } |width=300|caption=The modern
Phrygian mode on E}} The Phrygian mode is very similar to the modern
natural minor scale (see Aeolian mode below). The only difference with respect to the natural minor scale is in the second
scale degree, which is a minor second (m2) above the tonic, rather than a major second (M2). •
Tonic triad: Em •
Tonic seventh chord: Em7 •
Dominant triad: Bdim •
Seventh chord on the dominant: Bø7 (a
half-diminished seventh chord)
Lydian (IV) The
Lydian mode is the fourth mode. The example composed of natural notes starts on F: {{Image frame|content= { \override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f \relative c' { \clef treble \time 7/4 f4 g a b c d e f } } |width=300|caption=The modern
Lydian mode on F}} The single tone that differentiates this scale from the
major scale (Ionian mode) is its fourth
degree, which is an augmented fourth (A4) above the tonic (F), rather than a perfect fourth (P4). •
Tonic triad: F •
Tonic seventh chord: FM7 •
Dominant triad: C •
Seventh chord on the dominant: CM7 (a
major seventh chord)
Mixolydian (V) The
Mixolydian mode is the fifth mode. The example composed of natural notes begins on G: {{Image frame|content= { \override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f \relative c'' { \clef treble \time 7/4 g4 a b c d e f g } } |width=300|caption=The modern
Mixolydian mode on G}} The single tone that differentiates this scale from the major scale (Ionian mode) is its seventh degree, which is a minor seventh (m7) above the tonic (G), rather than a major seventh (M7). Therefore, the seventh scale degree becomes a
subtonic to the tonic because it is now a whole tone lower than the tonic, in contrast to the seventh degree in the major scale, which is a semitone tone lower than the tonic (
leading-tone). •
Tonic triad: G •
Tonic seventh chord: G7 (the dominant seventh chord in this mode is the seventh chord built on the tonic degree) •
Dominant triad: Dm •
Seventh chord on the dominant: Dm7 (a minor seventh chord)
Aeolian (VI) The
Aeolian mode is the sixth mode. It is also called the
natural minor scale. The example composed of natural notes begins on A, and is also known as the
A natural-minor scale: {{Image frame|content= { \override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f \relative c'' { \clef treble \time 7/4 a4 b c d e f g a } } |width=300|caption=The modern
Aeolian mode on A}} •
Tonic triad: Am •
Tonic seventh chord: Am7 •
Dominant triad: Em •
Seventh chord on the dominant: Em7 (a minor seventh chord)
Locrian (VII) The
Locrian mode is the seventh mode. The example composed of natural notes begins on B: {{Image frame|content= { \override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f \relative c'' { \clef treble \time 7/4 b4c d e f g a b } } |width=300|caption=The modern
Locrian mode on B}} The distinctive
scale degree here is the diminished fifth (d5). This makes the tonic triad diminished, so this mode is the only one in which the chords built on the tonic and dominant scale degrees have their roots separated by a diminished, rather than perfect, fifth. Similarly the tonic seventh chord is half-diminished. •
Tonic triad: Bdim or B° •
Tonic seventh chord: Bm75 or Bø7 •
Dominant triad: F •
Seventh chord on the dominant: FM7 (a major seventh chord)
Summary The modes can be arranged in the following sequence, which follows the
circle of fifths. In this sequence, each mode has one more lowered interval relative to the tonic than the mode preceding it. Thus, taking Lydian as reference, Ionian (major) has a lowered fourth; Mixolydian, a lowered fourth and seventh; Dorian, a lowered fourth, seventh, and third; Aeolian (natural minor), a lowered fourth, seventh, third, and sixth; Phrygian, a lowered fourth, seventh, third, sixth, and second; and Locrian, a lowered fourth, seventh, third, sixth, second, and fifth. Put another way, the augmented fourth of the Lydian mode has been reduced to a perfect fourth in Ionian, the major seventh in Ionian to a minor seventh in Mixolydian, etc. The first three modes are sometimes called major, the next three minor, according to the quality of their
tonic triads. The Locrian mode is traditionally considered theoretical rather than practical because the triad built on the first scale degree is diminished. Because
diminished triads are not consonant they do not lend themselves to
cadential endings and cannot be tonicized according to traditional practice. • The Ionian mode corresponds to the major scale. Scales in the Lydian mode are major scales with an
augmented fourth. The Mixolydian mode corresponds to the major scale with a
minor seventh. • The Aeolian mode is identical to the
natural minor scale. The Dorian mode corresponds to the natural minor scale with a
major sixth. The Phrygian mode corresponds to the natural minor scale with a
minor second. • The Locrian is neither a major nor a minor mode because, although its third scale degree is minor, the fifth degree is diminished instead of perfect. For this reason it is sometimes called a "diminished" scale, though in jazz theory this term is also applied to the
octatonic scale. This interval is
enharmonically equivalent to the augmented fourth found between scale degrees 1 and 4 in the Lydian mode and is also referred to as the
tritone.
Usage The usage and conception of modes or modality today is different from that in early music. As Jim Samson explains: "Clearly any comparison of medieval and modern modality would recognize that the latter takes place against a background of some three centuries of harmonic tonality, permitting, and in the 19th century requiring, a dialogue between modal and diatonic procedure." Indeed, when 19th-century composers revived the modes, they rendered them more strictly than Renaissance composers had, to make their qualities distinct from the prevailing major-minor system. Renaissance composers routinely sharped leading tones at cadences and lowered the fourth in the Lydian mode. The Ionian, or Iastian, mode is another name for the
major scale used in much Western music. The Aeolian forms the base of the most common Western minor scale; in modern practice the Aeolian mode is differentiated from the minor by using only the seven notes of the Aeolian mode. By contrast, minor mode compositions of the
common practice period frequently raise the seventh scale degree by a semitone to strengthen the
cadences, and in conjunction also raise the sixth scale degree by a semitone to avoid the awkward interval of an
augmented second. This is particularly true of vocal music. Traditional folk music provides countless examples of modal melodies. For example,
Irish traditional music makes extensive usage not only of the major and minor (Aeolian) modes, but also the Mixolydian and Dorian modes. Within the context of Irish traditional music, the tunes are most commonly played in the keys of G-Major/A-Dorian/D-Mixolydian/E-Aeolian (minor) and D-Major/E-Dorian/A-Mixolydian/B-Aeolian (minor). Some Irish music is written in A-Major/F#-Aeolian (minor), with B-Dorian and E-Mixolydian tunes not being completely unheard of. Rarer still are Irish tunes in E-Major/F#-Dorian/B-Mixolydian. In some regions of Ireland, such as the west-central coast area of counties
Galway and
Clare, "flat" keys are far more prevalent than in other areas. Instruments will be constructed or pitched accordingly to allow for modal playing in C-Major/D-Dorian/G-Mixolydian or F-Major/G-Dorian/C-Mixolydian/D-Aeolian (minor), with some rare exceptions in Eb-Major/C-minor being played regionally. Some tunes are even composed in Bb-Major, with modulating sections in F-Mixolydian. A-minor is less popularly played in the region, despite the localised prevalence of tunes in C-Major and related modes. Much
Flamenco music is in the Phrygian mode, although frequently with the third and seventh degrees raised by a semitone.
Zoltán Kodály,
Gustav Holst, and
Manuel de Falla use modal elements as modifications of a
diatonic background, while modality replaces diatonic
tonality in the music of
Claude Debussy and
Béla Bartók. ==Other types==