I want to soon move on to more complex topics in this blog (like chord progressions), but I don’t think it would be fair to do so without first writing about the modes. The modes are a closely-related and very commonly used family of scales in Western music theory, but just saying “modes” leaves some ambiguity as to what scales you are actually talking about: there is the modern system of modes, but there is also the closely related medieval/church mode system, and also several systems of ancient Greek/”classical” modes. To make things more confusing, there are many common misconceptions on the system of modes (many of which I held before writing this post), including the idea that the modern modes are the same as the earlier systems, the idea that these systems were used for the same purpose, the idea that modern modes arose from the ancient Greek ones, and more! This post will be a bit different from the previous ones: I won’t be exploring psychological or mathematical reasons for the modes, but rather just their history and how they work, starting with the modern modes.

 

Today, the modern system of modes serves as a way for composers to customize how “light” or “dark” they want a scale to be. Some modes have more augmented (raised) and less diminished (lowered) notes, and are seen as brighter. Others have more diminished and less augmented notes, and are seen as darker. Darker and lighter modes often correspond to sadder or happier songs, but this isn’t always true; it’s possible to write a happy song in a dark mode or a sad song in a light one.

The modern system is definitely dominated by the major and minor scales, sometimes called Ionian and Aeolian (respectively). Some even view the system as an extension of these scales, with the other modes as lighter or darker versions of major or minor. That being said, it isn’t uncommon to see songs written in the other modes. For example, Dorian (a mode between major and minor) is commonly used in folk music, Mixolydian and Lydian (the two modes closest to major) are sometimes used in pop music to add a more nuanced feel, and Phygrian and Locrian (the modes darker than minor) are often used in dark or spooky music.

From darkest (with the most diminished, or lowered, notes) to lightest (with the most augmented, or raised, notes), the modern modes are Locrian, Phrygrian, Aeolian (minor), Dorian, Mixolydian, Ionian (major), and Lydian. If these names seem a bit strange, it’s because they are; more on this weird name system later. Anyway, below you can listen to these modes on C, in this same dark-to-light order:

Below, there is a chart showing the specific notes diminished (♭) or augmented (♯) for each mode. You can see how the modes very smoothly transition from dark to light, or Locrian to Lydian:

If you are wondering why these note patterns seem strangely convenient or consistent, or why these exact scales were chosen, read on! The medieval/church system explains this.

 

The purpose of the medieval/church system was to organize how different instruments and voices could play or sing together on the same scale, despite their different ranges of notes. Note that this is a very different purpose from the modern system: the modern system is for choosing a scale with a specific brightness, while the church system was for organizing voices.

Because the church system was intended to have different voices to play on the same scale, every church mode is actually different placements of the same scale; although the modes start and stop on different notes, their overall pattern of what notes to include is the same. This was very useful for organizing instruments or singers with different ranges; just give them the right scales, and they will all play the same notes! Because the modern system of modes inherited the scale of the church system, the major modes are also all different placements of the same scale. This is why the modern modes all sound similar, but have different brightnesses, and why the modern modes have their specific diminished and augmented notes. This is also why there are seven modes; there are seven notes on their shared scale, and you can start on each of these notes to begin a new mode. If this all seems a bit unintuitive (because, let’s be honest, it is), this one-scale-many-modes pattern is shown in the chart below, using the modern names for scales:

Below, there is an audio clip showing this same trend by playing through all “white key” modes in ascending order (from C Ionian, D Dorian, etc. all the way looping up to C Ionian again). You can hear how the same scale and notes gives rise to many modes:

 

Beyond this point, I’ll be talking about the nomenclature and history of the medieval/church and ancient Greek modes. If you were most interested in the modern music theory component of modes, feel free to stop reading.

The church modes’ purpose of organizing voices shines through in their naming system. Although the church modes had the same scales as the modern modes, some of the names are different: Aeolian (minor) was called Hypodorian, Locrian was called Hypophrygian, Ionian (major) was called Hypolydian, and Dorian was sometimes called Hypomixolydian. These “hypo-” scales were collectively called the Plagal modes, and the remaining scales (Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, and Mixolydian) were collectively called the Authentic modes. Although these multiple names are confusing, they made sense for the church modes’ purpose. “Hypo” means below, and the Plagal (“hypo-“) scales were for assigning voices or instruments with ranges lower than those of other voices or instruments. Hence, the Plagal version of a Authentic scale is that same scale, but starting a third lower.

The church modes were also given roman numerals, and sometimes referred to by their numeral. Here, too, the voice organizing purpose shows through. An Authentic scale’s Plagal pair was given the numeral after it (for example, “I” was Dorian and “II” was Hypodorian/Aeolian/minor). Also, a mode one note higher than another sharing the same scale was given a numeral 2 higher than the other (for example, “III” Phrygrian, starting on E, was one note higher than “I” Dorian, starting on D; “V” Lydian, starting on F, was one note higher than “III” Phrygian, starting on E, etc.)

Although it’s often associated with the church and modern mode systems, the ancient Greek systems of modes were very distinct. The entire idea of what a scale is was different in ancient Greece, and it isn’t really fair to compare the Greek modes head-on with the comparatively recent church and modern ones. That being said, let’s do it anyway!

There were many systems of modes used in ancient Greece, but I’ll be discussing the most widely-known one, called the Aristoxenian tradition. Unlike the modern and church mode systems, this system was composed of different genera, each with their own scale: there was the diatonic genus, using a scale very similar to the one used now for the church and modern modes, but also the enharmonic genus and the chromatic genus. Thus, in the Greek system there wasn’t just a Ionian mode. Instead, there was a enharmonic Ionian, chromatic Ionian, and diatonic Ionian. You can hear these different Ionian scales below, in the order above:

Aristoxenus, an ancient Greek philospoher, was responsible for naming the Greek modes. He chose to name them after particular nearby ethnicities and regions associated with the scales. For example, the Dorian mode was named after the Dorians, the Locrian mode was named after the Locris region, and the Lydian mode was named after the kingdom of Lydia. (These names may have actually preceded Aristoxenus, but his work formalized them.) During the Renaissance, the Aristoxenian naming system was rediscovered, and applied to the very different church modes. Despite their shared names, the church and ancient Greek modes were very distinct in their development, but the confusing nomenclature has led many (including me, as of three days ago) to falsely believe that the church modes evolved from the Greek ones.

Funnily enough, historians now know that the regions and ethnicities Aristoxenus chose were often not involved in the creation of the modes named after them. Thus, there really isn’t any reason Dorian is called “Dorian”; it’s all just because Aristoxenus made incorrect guesses, and the names stuck for over two thousands years.