Musical Practice and Performance Stack Exchange
Musical Practice and Performance Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [modes]

For questions concerning the musical modes. These can include historical views of mode by the Greeks or the various rotations of scale collections. Questions about historical views of mode should also include the history tag.

A mode is a type of scale, coupled with a set of characteristic melodic behaviors.

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418 questions
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Can you help me understand Modes from the aspect of chord changes?

I am 70 years old, have played (strummed) guitar all my life, with some multi-year gaps. I never wanted to know theory; was more interested in the occasional surprise of learning something new. I started over sixty years ago with three fingered…
Don
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Why is it a convention to number modes by their tonic scale degree relative to ionian (major)?

In modern western modes, Ionian seems to be arbitrarily assigned as 'mode I', while the remaining modes are numbered according to the scale degree their tonic is relative to Ionian of same key. For example, changing the tonic of the all naturals key…
Dan Pos
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Music and Maths - Is there a way to prove that there are only 7 Modes of Limited Transposition?

'Modes of limited transposition' are modes that have a limited availability of transpositions. Unlike a major scale that has 12 possible unique transpositions, the seven modes of limited transposition have fewer than 12 possibilities of…
DPJDPJ
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How to distinguish the mode of a riff

I am having a hard time understanding what exactly it means to be playing in a certain mode of a scale. I will try to pose my question in mathematical terms. A given key has a set of notes, for example, the set of notes for the key of C would…
Malonge
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What are the modal characteristics of major modes?

This question comes out of two recent questions and answers about modal music: In what way is music considered to be in a mode when accidentals seemingly contradict the mode? What are modes in the real world? @Athanasius gave very helpful…
Michael Curtis
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Flavor of the modes in melody

I practice modes on my guitar nowadays, but when I try to solo freely (without a backing track) in a mode (D dorian in key of C major), I usually don't find it as a "modal music", I only hear its parent scale. (C major) How should I approach playing…
Gery
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Is there such a thing as a Harmonic key besides for Harmonic Aeolian?

My understanding of the various modes is that, relative to the base note’s natural major key: Ionian is the same as natural major; Dorian flats the third and seventh; Phrygian flats the second, third, sixth, and seventh; Lydian sharps the…
DonielF
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How are/were the "non-standard" modes used?

By "non-standard" I mean all the modes other than Ionian and Aeolian. By "how are they used", I'm referring to how often when I discuss modes I'll end up hearing something along the lines of "Phrigian(or whichever) is used in jazz". What I'd like to…
rootmeanclaire
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Mode for french 16th century music

This is about the 6th's of the song "Quand je bois du vin clairet", a tourdion from 16th century's France by Pierre Attaingnant. The song is in some kind of minor mode, but it is unclear to me and to others I've talked to if the sixths should be…
Gauthier
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Strongest notes in the major scale modes

When playing in a key over a track with chords in that key, I notice that some notes sound better to rest on over the others. I think I remember reading about these intervals, and that they have names that correspond to their "strength". Is there a…
Paul Nikonowicz
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Is there a mode with the following notes?

Is there a mode which contains the following notes? E flat D D flat C
lionel319
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Is there a cadence that supports ^3 ^2 ^1 in the phrygian mode?

My harmony books all talk about the "phrygian half cadence" which is just a half cadence usually approached from iv6. I don't know why this is called a phrygian cadence because it is not a cadence in phrygian at all. This is not what I am talking…
user35708
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How do you establish a feel of the mode?

I have been trying to learn some music theory and I'm kind of a confused about modes. Reading explanations and watching numerous videos about subject just don't seem to clarify it enough. What is the relationship between modes and chords? If we are…
JonasJ
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Did the modes change when they came to be "expressed as permutations of the major-minor scale system"?

Christopher Whitt - Origins of the church modes The next milepost in the misnaming of church modes happened over a 75 to 100 year period ending in roughly 1675 ... when the church modes of Gregory were expressed as permutations of the then new…
Нет войне
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C dorian or D dorian?

Hi I'm trying to understand modes and I've got a basic question: if you are working with C scale (so this will be your Ionian), do you call the next one C Dorian or D dorian? the two scales I refer to are: C D E F G A B C (called "C Ionian" or maybe…
Patrick
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