In This article needs cleanup. Please edit this article to conform to a higher standard of article quality. Music is a word whose accepted definitions vary with time, place and culture. It is said to be an art, a form of entertainment, and is also often defined by contrast with noise... music, a mode is an ordered series of In music theory, an interval is the difference (a ratio or logarithmic measure) in pitch between two notes and often refers to those two notes themselves (otherwise known as a dyad). An interval class is measured by the shortest distance possible between its two pitch classes. Intervals may be labelled... musical intervals, which, along with the In Music theory, the key is the tonal center of a piece. It is designated by a note name (the tonic), such as C, and is the base of a musical scale from which most of the notes of the piece are drawn. Most commonly, that scale can be either... key or The tonic is the first note of a musical scale, and in the tonal method of music composition it is extremely important. The triad formed on the tonic note, the tonic chord, is thus the most important chord. More generally, the tonic is the pitch upon which all other pitches... tonic define the In music, pitch is the perception of the frequency of a note. For example, the A above middle C is nowadays set at 440 Hz (often written as A = 440 Hz, and known as concert pitch), although this has not always been the case (see #Historical pitch standards). Pitch is... pitches. However, mode is usually used in the sense of In music, a scale is an unordered collection of notes or pitches, as opposed to a series of intervals, which is a musical mode. However, they are most often notated in ascending or descending forms. Each note in a scale is referred to as a scale degree. Though the scales... scale applied only to the specific In Music theory, the diatonic major scale (also known as the Guido scale), from the Greek diatonikos or to stretch out, is a fundamental building block of the European-influenced musical tradition. It is sometimes used to refer to all the modes, but is generally used only in reference to... diatonic scales found below.

History

The early music of Ancient Greece is the term used to describe the Greek_speaking world in ancient times. It refers not only to the territory of the present Greek state, but also to those areas settled in ancient times by Greeks: Cyprus, the Aegean coast of Turkey (then known as Ionia), Italy (known as... Greek antiquity referred to In music, a scale is an unordered collection of notes or pitches, as opposed to a series of intervals, which is a musical mode. However, they are most often notated in ascending or descending forms. Each note in a scale is referred to as a scale degree. Though the scales... scales in the context of scalar modes. The modes are named after cities that preferred a given mode in times past. The Greek philosopher For the computing technology, see PLATO System. Plato (Greek: Πλάτων Plátōn) (c. 427 BC – c. 347 BC) was an immensely influential classical Greek philosopher, student of Socrates, teacher of Aristotle, writer, and founder of the Academy in Athens. Plato, a philodorian... Plato felt that playing music in a particular mode would incline one towards specific behavior associated with that mode, and suggested that soldiers should listen to music in dorian or phrygian modes to help make them stronger, but avoid music in lydian or ionian modes, for fear of being softened.

The Greek modes were:

• The Lydian mode is a musical mode or diatonic scale. It may be considered a major scale with the fourth scale degree of the scale is sharpened or raised. This was one of the ancient mediaeval modes, and dates from the church music of the 9th Century. A Lydian scale... Lydian, hypolydian and The Mixolydian mode is a musical mode or diatonic scale. It may be considered as having the same order of tones and semitones as the major scale except the fifth (dominant) note is taken as the tonic or starting pitch of the scale. It may also be considered a major... mixolydian.
• In music the Phrygian mode is a musical mode or diatonic scale and may be considered the major scale starting on the third scale degree. The Scale consists of flat 2, flat 3, flat 6, and flat 7 in the starting pitchs major scale Examples are: The E Phrygian... Phrygian and hypophrygian.
• In music, the Dorian mode is a diatonic scale or musical mode using all notes in the major scale beginning on the note just a whole tone below it, ie a major scale starting from its second degree. Examples are: The D Dorian mode contains all notes the same as... Dorian and hypodorian.
• The Aeolian mode is a musical mode or diatonic scale. It may be considered a major scale but starting from the sixth scale degree. Some examples are: A Aeolian mode is the C major scale starting on A. B Aeolian mode is the D major scale starting on B. C... Aeolian and The Locrian mode is a musical mode or diatonic scale. It may be considered the major scale with a flatted or lowered second, third, fifth, sixth, and seventh. The Locrian mode can also be thought of as the major scale but starting on the seventh scale degree. Some examples: The... locrian.
• In music theory, the major scale is one of the diatonic scales. It is often considered to be made up of eight notes (seven plus the octave), divided into two groups of four, the tetrachords. The pattern of steps in each tetrachord is, in ascending order: tone, tone, semitone, tone... Ionian.

There is a common misconception that the Church modes of medieval European music were directly descended from this notion of modality. In fact, the church modes originated in the ( 8th century - 9th century - 10th century - other centuries) Events Beowulf might have been written down in this century, though it could also have been in the 8th century Reign of Charlemagne, and concurrent (and controversially labeled) Carolingian Renaissance in western Europe Viking attacks on Europe begin Oseberg ship burial The... 9th century. Authors from that period misinterpreted a text by Boethius, a scholar from the (5th century — 6th century — 7th century — other centuries) Events The first academy of the east the Academy of Gundeshapur founded in Persia by the Persian Shah Khosrau I. Irish colonists and invaders, the Scots, began migrating to Caledonia (later known as Scotland) Glendalough monastery, Wicklow Ireland founded... 6th century who had translated the Greek musical theory into Latin. In the (15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. Events Beginning of the Little Ice Age a cooling period that resulted in lower crop yields across the world, and harsher... 16th century, the Swiss theorist Heinrich Glarean (also Glareanus) (June 1488 – March 28, 1563) was a Swiss music theorist, poet and humanist. He was born in Mollis (in the canton of Glarus, hence his name) and died in Freiburg. After a thorough early training in music, he enrolled in the University of Cologne, where... Henricus Glareanus published Dodekachordon, in which he solidified the concept of the church modes, and added four additional modes: the Aeolian, Hypoaeolian, Ionian, and Hypoionian. Thus, the names of the modes used today do not actually reflect those used by the Greeks. However, the use and conception of modes or modality today is also different from their use and conception in Early music. Jim Samson (1977, p.148) describes: "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 nineteenth century requiring, a dialogue between modal and diatonic prodedure."

Early music is a term used to describe pre-Classical Western music, from the earliest written music to 1500 at the earliest (Judd, 1998, p.4) and the end of the Baroque era in about 1750 at the latest. Music in Antiquity Very little remains of music from Ancient Greece... Early music made heavy use of the Church modes. A mode indicated a primary pitch or final and the organization of pitches in relation to the final, and suggested range, melodic formulas associated with different modes, location and importance of cadences, and affect (ie, emotional affect). As Liane Curtis (1998) explains, "Modes should not be equated with scales: principles of melodic organization, placement of cadences, and emotional affect are essential parts of modal content," in Medieval and Renaissance music.

Carl Dahlhaus (June 10, 1928- May 1989), a musicologist from Berlin, has been one of the major contributors to the development of musicology as a scholarly discipline during the post-war era. He wrote numerous books and articles on a wide range of subjects within the field, though the majority... Carl Dahlhaus (1990, p.192) lists "three factors that form the respective starting points for the modal theories of Aurelian of Réôme, Hermannus Contractus (also called Hermannus Augiensis, Hermann of Reichenau) (1013 – 1054) was an 11th century scholar, composer, and music theorist. Hermannus was a son of the duke of Altshausen. He was crippled by a paralytic disease from early childhood. He spent most of his life in the abbey of... Hermannus Contractus, and Guido of Arezzo or Guido Monaco (995-1050) is regarded as the inventor of modern musical notation (staff notation) that replaced neumatic notation. Guido was a friar of the Benedictine order from the Italian city-state of Arezzo. He noted the difficulty that singers had in remembering Gregorian chants. He... Guido of Arezzo:

1. the relation of modal formulas to the comprehensive system of tonal relationships embodied in the diatonic scale;
2. the partitioning of the octave into a modal framework; and
3. the function of the modal final as a relational center."

The oldest medieval treatise regarding modes is Musica disciplina by Aurelian of Réôme while Hermannus Contractus was the first to define modes as partitionings of the octave (ibid, p.192-191).

However, the modes were later organized due to their relationship to the interval pattern of the major scale. The modern conception of modal scales describes a system where each mode is the usual diatonic scale, but with a different starting note. Modes came back into favour some time later in the development of For other article subjects named Jazz see jazz (disambiguation). Jazz is a musical art form characterized by blue notes, syncopation, swing, call and response, polyrhythms, and improvisation. It has been called the first original art form to develop in the United States of America. Jazz has roots in West African... jazz ( Modal jazz is jazz played using musical modes rather than chord progressions. An understanding of modal jazz requires prior knowledge of musical modes. Modes are the seven scales used in medieval music, but rediscovered by composers like Claude Debussy and frequently used by 20th century composers. In be-bop as... modal jazz) and more contemporary 20th century music. Much Folk music, in the original sense of the term, is music by and of the people. Folk music arose, and best survives, in societies not yet affected by mass communication and the commercialization of culture. It normally was shared and performed by the entire community (not by a special class... folk music is also composed or best analysed in terms of modes. For example, in Ireland is an island in the North Atlantic politically divided between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. It is internationally known for its folk music, which has remained a vibrant tradition throughout the 20th century, when many traditional forms worldwide lost popularity to pop music. In spite of emigration... Irish traditional music the ionian, dorian, aeolian and mixolydian modes occur (in roughly decreasing order of frequency); the phrygian mode is an important part of the Flamenco performance by the La Primavera group Flamenco is a song, music and dance style which is strongly influenced by the Gitanos, but which has its deeper roots in Moorish musical traditions. Flamenco culture originated in Andalusia (Spain), but has since become one of the icons of Spanish music and... flamenco sound.

Some works by Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptized December 17, 1770 – March 26, 1827) was a German composer of Classical music, the predominant musical figure in the transitional period between the Classical and Romantic eras. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest of composers, and his reputation both... Beethoven contain modal inflections, and This article is about Frédéric Chopin, the composer. For other people with the same last name, see Chopin (disambiguation). Frédéric-François Chopin (March 1, 1810 – October 17, 1849) is widely seen as the greatest of Polish composers and among the very greatest of composers... Chopin, Portrait of Berlioz by Signol, 1832 Louis Hector Berlioz (December 11, 1803 – March 8, 1869) was a French Romantic composer best known for the Symphonie Fantastique, first performed in 1830, and for his Requiem of 1837, with its tremendous resources that include four antiphonal brass choirs. Biography Berlioz was... Berlioz, and Franz Liszt (October 22, 1811 – July 31, 1886) was a virtuoso pianist and composer. He was born in the village of Doborján, near Sopron, Hungary, in what was then the Austrian Empire. Since the Treaty of Trianon in 1920, the city is now Raiding, Austria. His baptism records... Liszt made extensive use of modes. They influenced nineteenth century Russian music, Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky (Моде́ст Петро́вич Му́соргский) (March 21, 1839 – March 28, 1881; sometimes spelt Modeste Moussorgsky), was an innovative Russian composer famed for his colourful... Mussorgsky and bust of Alexander Borodin Alexander Porfyrevich Borodin (Алекса́ндр Порфи́рьевич Бороди́н) (November 12, 1833 – February 27, 1887) was a Russian composer who made... Borodin influenced Claude Debussy Claude Achille Debussy (August 22, 1862 – March 25, 1918), composer of impressionistic classical music. Born in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Yvelines, France, Claude Debussy studied with Guiraud and others at the Paris Conservatoire (1872-84) and as an 1884 Prix de Rome winner, went to Rome, Italy... Claude Debussy, The title given to this article is incorrect due to technical limitations. The correct title is Leoš Janáček. Leoš Janáček (July 3, 1854 – August 12, 1928) was a Czech composer. He is particularly remembered for his orchestral piece Sinfonietta and for his operas... Leos Janacek, and other twentieth century nationalists. Zoltán Kodály, Holst may be: Adriaan Roland Holst (1888 - 1976), Dutch writer Gustav Holst (1874 - 1934), British composer Imogen Holst (1907 - 1984), British conductor, composer and writer, daughter of Gustav This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. If an... Holst, Manuel de Falla y Matheu (November 23, 1876 – November 14, 1946) was a Spanish composer of classical music. He was born in Cádiz. From the late 1890s he studied music in Madrid, studying piano with José Tragó and composition with Felipe Pedrell. It was from Pedrell that de... Manuel de Falla use modal elements as modifications of a diatonic background, while Debussy and B la Bart k (March 25, 1881 – September 26, 1945) was a composer, pianist and collector of East European folk music. Bart k was one of the founders of the field of ethnomusicology, the study of folk music and the music of non-Western cultures. B la Bart k... Bela Bartok modality replaces diatonic tonality. (Samson 1977)

While all tonal music may be described as modal, music that is labeled modal most often has less See also: function and functional. Diatonic functionality, in music, is the assumption used in tonal music theory that pitches may only be used in their recognized roles. This includes the assumption that a pitch or pitch class and its enharmonic equivalents can not be used in the same way. For... diatonic functionality and changes key less often.

Church modes

The eight Church modes, or Gregorian modes, can be divided into four pairs, where each pair shares the "final note" or tonic. Most chants in a particular mode will begin on the mode's final note, and all are expected to end on that note. The pair also shares the central five notes of the scale. If the "scale" is completed by adding the three upper notes, the mode is termed "authentic", while if the scale is completed by adding the three lower notes, the mode is called "plagal" (serious).

The pairs are organized so that the modes sharing a final note are numbered together, with the odd numbers used for the authentic modes and the even numbers for the plagal modes.

In addition, each mode has a "dominant" or "reciting tone" which is the tenor of the psalm tone. The reciting tones of all authentic modes began a The musical interval of a perfect fifth is the relationship between the first note (the root or tonic) and the fifth note in a major scale. It is the inversion of the perfect fourth. Its abbreviation is P5. It can be produced by starting on a high note and playing... fifth above the final, with those of the plagal modes a In music, see the following intervals: Major third Minor third The mediant, and the chord built on the mediant, is often called simply the third, as it is the third degree of the diatonic scale. In Mathematics, Third is also the ordinal number corresponding to three, as well as the... third above. However, the reciting tones of modes 3, 4, and 8 rose one See also: Dance step, Stairway. In music, a step is a linear interval between two pitches which are consecutive scale degrees; conjuct melodic motion, which in a diatonic scale is either a minor second or major second. More generally it is a smaller or narrower interval in a musical line... step during the tenth and eleventh centuries with 3 and 8 moving from b to c' ( A half step is either: the interval of a minor second in music, or the half step (dance move) in dance. This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. If an article link referred you here, you might... half step) and that of 4 moving from g to a ( The musical interval of a major second — also called a whole-tone — is the relationship between the first note (the root or tonic) and the second note in a major scale (and also a minor scale). It is the inversion of the minor seventh. It is abbreviated as... whole step). (Hoppin 1978, p.67)

Only one accidental is permitted in classical Gregorian chant -- si (B) may be lowered by a half-step. This usually (but not always) occurs in modes V and VI, and is optional in other modes.

Given the confusion between ancient, Early, and modern terminology, "today it is more consistent and practical to use the traditional designation of the modes with numbers one to eight," (Curtis 1998) using The system of Roman numerals is a numeral system originating in ancient Rome, and was adapted from Etruscan numerals. The system used in antiquity was slightly modified in the Middle Ages to produce the system we use today. It is based on certain letters which are given values as numerals... Roman numeral (I-VIII), rather than using the pseudo-Greek naming system.

The eight musical modes. f indicates "final" (Curtis, 1998).

Use of the modes

It is important to realize that the "theory" of the Gregorian modes postdates the composition of the early Gregorian chant repetoire. Primitive chants do not appear to have been composed with the desire to fit them into a particular mode. As a result, for these chants, the application of a mode number can be only approximate. Later chants, however, were written with a conscious eye on the eight modes.

Interpretation of the modes

Various interpretations of the "character" imparted by the different modes have been suggested. Three such interpretations, from Guido D'Arezzo (995-1050), Adam of Fulda (1445-1505), and Juan de Espinoza Medrano (1632-1688), follow:

Modern modes

The major and minor modes

Three of the modes are major, while four of them are minor. One of the minor modes is considered theoretical rather than practical. A mode is said to be minor if the 3rd scale degree is flattened.

Major modes

• In music theory, the major scale is one of the diatonic scales. It is often considered to be made up of eight notes (seven plus the octave), divided into two groups of four, the tetrachords. The pattern of steps in each tetrachord is, in ascending order: tone, tone, semitone, tone... Ionian (listen)
• The Lydian mode is a musical mode or diatonic scale. It may be considered a major scale with the fourth scale degree of the scale is sharpened or raised. This was one of the ancient mediaeval modes, and dates from the church music of the 9th Century. A Lydian scale... Lydian (listen)
• The Mixolydian mode is a musical mode or diatonic scale. It may be considered as having the same order of tones and semitones as the major scale except the fifth (dominant) note is taken as the tonic or starting pitch of the scale. It may also be considered a major... Mixolydian (listen)

Minor modes

• In music, the Dorian mode is a diatonic scale or musical mode using all notes in the major scale beginning on the note just a whole tone below it, ie a major scale starting from its second degree. Examples are: The D Dorian mode contains all notes the same as... Dorian (listen)
• In music the Phrygian mode is a musical mode or diatonic scale and may be considered the major scale starting on the third scale degree. The Scale consists of flat 2, flat 3, flat 6, and flat 7 in the starting pitchs major scale Examples are: The E Phrygian... Phrygian (listen)
• The Aeolian mode is a musical mode or diatonic scale. It may be considered a major scale but starting from the sixth scale degree. Some examples are: A Aeolian mode is the C major scale starting on A. B Aeolian mode is the D major scale starting on B. C... Aeolian (listen)
• The Locrian mode is a musical mode or diatonic scale. It may be considered the major scale with a flatted or lowered second, third, fifth, sixth, and seventh. The Locrian mode can also be thought of as the major scale but starting on the seventh scale degree. Some examples: The... Locrian (listen)

Mode characteristics

Each mode has a characteristic In music or music theory a scale degree is an individual note of a scale, both its pitch and its diatonic function. First, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh, or the appropriate roman numerals, may be used to indicate degree as well as tonic, supertonic, mediant, subdominant, dominant, submediant... scale degree and certain In music and music theory a chord (from the middle English cord, short for accord) is three or more notes sounding simultaneously, or near simultaneously over a period of time. In laymans terms, if you simultaneously play any three (or more) keys of lets say, a piano, you... harmonic structures that give each its distinctive sound.

• The Lydian mode has a raised fourth, which creates a iv diminished, vii minor, and a II major chord. The theme song from the TV show The Simpsons. Clockwise from top left: Homer, Marge, Maggie, Santas Little Helper, Bart, Snowball II, and Lisa. The Simpsons is the longest-running animated television series and sitcom series in U.S. television history, with 16 seasons and 344 episodes since its debut on December 17, 1989. Highly satirical... The Simpsons is written in the Lydian mode.

• The Ionian mode has a V7 chord, and is the only mode where the V7 occurs naturally. Most common songs, including such simple classics as "Happy Birthday" and "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star," are in the Ionian mode.

• The Mixolydian mode has a flat 7th degree; this creates a I7, a v minor, and a VII major chord. There is also a iii dim chord, but it is not used extensively in modal compositions. The The Beatles appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964 as part of their first tour of the United States, promoting their first hit single there, I Want To Hold Your Hand. The Beatles were the most influential music group of the rock era. They affected the post-war baby... Beatles song "Norwegian Wood" and the ABBA on the cover of their album The Definitive Collection (2001) ABBA were a Swedish pop music group, the most successful to date from that country. Although an acronym formed from the initial letters of the names of the groups members, it is more often written as Abba. The... ABBA Song "The Visitors" are in mixolydian mode.

• The Dorian mode has a characteristic raised sixth, which produces a major IV chord and a minor II chord. "What shall we do with the drunken sailor" is in the Dorian mode.

• The Aeolian mode has a flat six and seven; its characteristic chords are the minor iv and v chords. There is a subtle distinction between an Aeolian modal composition and a composition in a A minor scale in musical theory can be viewed as the sixth mode of the major scale. However, see below. Constructing and recognising minor scales Finding key signatures Like major scales, minors are named after their tonic (first) note. However unlike majors, minor scales do not have their own set... minor key, because the sixth and seventh degrees in a minor key can be altered to create major IV and V chords. (example...)

• The Phrygian mode has a characteristic lowered second, which creates its characteristic bII major and v diminished chords. This mode is quite common in flamenco music and is often referred to as the "Spanish" mode. The Jimmy Somerville (born June 22, 1961) is a Scottish pop singer. He had considerable success in the 1980s with the pop groups Bronski Beat and The Communards, and has also had a successful solo career. Somerville was born and raised in Glasgow and has a highly distinctive falsetto (high pitched... Jimmy Somerville song "So Cold The Night" and the Jefferson Airplane was an American rock band from San Francisco, a pioneer of the LSD-influenced psychedelic rock movement. Various successor incarnations of the band have performed under different names, reflecting changing times and performer lineups, known as Jefferson Starship, and later simply Starship. Jefferson Airplane was inducted in the... Jefferson Airplane song " The White Rabbit is a character appearing in Lewis Carrolls Alices Adventures in Wonderland. Perhaps most famous for being late, his first words are Oh Dear! Oh Dear! I shall be too late! (The phrase Im late, Im late, For a very important date does not... White Rabbit" are in phrygian mode. The second movement of Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (May 7, 1833 – April 3, 1897) was a German composer of classical music. Brahms was considered by many to be the successor to Beethoven, and his first symphony was described by Hans von Bülow as Beethovens tenth symphony (the nickname is still used... Brahms's The Symphony No. 4 in E minor by Johannes Brahms is the last of his symphonies. It has the opus number 98. It is a lushly romantic, lyric piece. Brahms began working on the piece in 1884, just a year after completing his Symphony No. 3, and completed it in... Fourth Symphony famously opens in the phrygian mode.

• The Locrian mode has a flat second and fifth scale degree and has a diminished i chord. It is highly unstable, and its diminished i chord makes establishing Tonality is the character of music written with hierarchical relationships of pitches, rhythms, and chords to a center or tonic. Tonic is sometimes used interchangeably with key. The term tonalité was borrowed from Castil-Blaze (1821, François Henri Joseph Blaze) by Joseph Fétis in 1840 (Reti, 1958; Judd... tonality in the mode nearly impossible. The few pieces written in this mode usually used an altered i minor chord to establish the tonal center, and then used the minor iii and major V chord to establish the modality. The locrian mode is so unstable that the bII chord cannot be used as it will quickly and inevitably establish itself as the I chord of a major key. The iv minor chord in second inversion with the tonic doubled is a good I chord for Locrian because it is the exact reverse of a major chord.

Learning the modes

You may work with the modes in a couple of ways.

If you're an instrumentalist, you may find the following approach useful to understanding the modal scales.

• The Ionian mode is identical to the In music theory, the major scale is one of the diatonic scales. It is often considered to be made up of eight notes (seven plus the octave), divided into two groups of four, the tetrachords. The pattern of steps in each tetrachord is, in ascending order: tone, tone, semitone, tone... major scale of tonal music.

• The Aeolian mode is identical to the natural A minor scale in musical theory can be viewed as the sixth mode of the major scale. However, see below. Constructing and recognising minor scales Finding key signatures Like major scales, minors are named after their tonic (first) note. However unlike majors, minor scales do not have their own set... minor scale of tonal music. Compared to Ionian, its 3rd, 6th, and 7th notes have been lowered one half-step.

• Lydian is identical to Ionian, except that the 4th note in the scale is raised one half-step.

• Mixolydian is identical to Ionian, exception that the 7th note in the scale is lowered one half-step.

• Dorian is identical to Aeolian, except its 6th scale degree is raised one half-step.

• Phrygian is identical to Aeolian, except its 2nd scale degree is lowered one half-step.

• Locrian, the theoretical mode, is identical to Aeolian, except its 2nd and 5th scale degrees are flattened. Because its 5th scale degree is flattened, this mode sounds very unstable, and thus, is seldom used.

Using this technique, one may apply a simple bit of mathematics towards converting from one mode to another. First, one should memorize the number of flats and sharps for all Ionian scales (e.g. F ionian has 1 flat). One should also memorize how to notate the flats and sharps on a musical bar. Then, one should memorize this chart:

• Ionian: 0
• Dorian: −2
• Phrygian: −4
• Lydian: +1
• Mixolydian: −1
• Aeolian: −3
• Locrian: −5

If you think of flats as negative numbers and sharps as positive numbers, you may use simple mathematics to convert between modes. For example, having memorized that the C major/ionian scale has zero sharps or flats, and wanting to know what notes C phrygian should change, you would add 0 to phrygian's −4 to get −4.. meaning four flats. So C phrygian has four flats, (B, E, A, and D).

Or, for a slightly more complicated example, try figuring out F locrian:

F major/ionian has 1 flat, so it is −1. Locrian has a −5, so −1 +−5 is −6. Therefore, F locrian has six flats (B, E, A, D, G, and C).

If you work with keyboard instruments, you may find the following technique more useful in working with modes.

If you are familiar with major scales, each modal scale may be thought of as starting at a different scale degree from the major scale.

Thus, you may memorize which scale degree to start at for each mode.

• Ionian: I
• Dorian: II
• Phrygian: III
• Lydian: IV
• Mixolydian: V
• Aeolian: VI
• Locrian: VII

The patterns of tones (T) and semitones (s) are as follows:

 TTsTTTs Ionian (modern major) TsTTTsT Dorian sTTTsTT Phrygian TTTsTTs Lydian TTsTTsT Mixolydian TsTTsTT Aeolian (modern minor) sTTsTTT Locrian 

Note the shifts of alternate semitones from row to row.

Each of these modes has a unique scale without any sharps or flats. They are as follows:

 Ionian C major Dorian D Phrygian E Lydian F Mixolydian G Aeolian A minor Locrian B 

Other possible uses

In modern music theory, scales other than the major scale sometimes have the term "modes" applied to the scales which begin with their degrees. This is seen, for example, in "Melodic Minor" scale harmony (see A minor scale in musical theory can be viewed as the sixth mode of the major scale. However, see below. Constructing and recognising minor scales Finding key signatures Like major scales, minors are named after their tonic (first) note. However unlike majors, minor scales do not have their own set... Minor scale for a brief description of the melodic minor), which is based on the seven modes of the melodic minor scale, yielding some interesting scales as shown below, where "Structure" refers to the structures of the various modes of the C melodic minor scale:

Though the term "mode" is still used in this case (and is useful in recognizing that these scales all have a common root, that is the melodic minor scale); it is more common for musicians to understand the term "mode" to refer to Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, or Locrian scales. In everyday speech, this is the most common understanding.

References

• Dahlhaus, Carl. Gjerdingen, Robert O. trans. (1990). Studies in the Origin of Harmonic Tonality. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0691091358.
• Hoppin, Richard H. (1978). Medieval Music. New York: W.W. Norton & Co. ISBN 0393090906.
• Judd, Cristle Collins (ed.) (1998). Tonal Structures of Early Music. New York: Garland Publishing. ISBN 0815323883.
  • Liane Curtis. "Mode".

Further reading

• The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians is a dictionary of music and musicians, generally considered to be one of the best general reference sources on the subject. It was first published in 1878 as A Dictionary of Music and Musicians in four volumes edited by Sir George Grove with... New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians
• Grout, Donald and Palisca, Claude. A History of Western Music. ISBN 0393975274.
• Levine, Mark (1989). The Jazz Piano Book. Sher Music Co. ISBN 0961470151.