Ionian mode

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Ionian mode

The Ionian mode is a musical mode

Musical mode

Mode is a term from Western music theory having three senses: the rhythmic relationship between long and short values in the late medieval period; in early medieval theory, Interval ; and, most commonly, a concept involving Musical scale and melody type ....
of diatonic scale

Diatonic scale

In music theory, a diatonic scale is a seven note musical scale comprising five whole steps and two half steps, in which the half steps are maximally separated....
. It was part of the music theory

Music theory

Music theory is the field of study that deals with how music works. It examines the language and notation of music. It identifies patterns that govern composer techniques....
of ancient Greece

Ancient Greece

The term Ancient Greece refers to the period of History of Greece lasting from the Greek Dark Ages ca. 1100 BC and the Dorian invasion, to 146 BC and the Roman Republic conquest of Greece after the Battle of Corinth ....
, and was based around the relative natural scale in C (that is, the same as playing all the 'white notes' of a piano from C to C). This simple scale was called the Hypophrygian mode

Hypophrygian mode

The Hypophrygian mode, literally meaning 'below Phrygian', is a musical mode or diatonic scale of ancient Greece that was based upon the Phrygian mode tetrachord: a series of rising intervals of a major second, followed by a semitone, followed by another whole tone....
in Greek theory, and the Ionian mode must have been a different, perhaps chromatic

Chromatic scale

The chromatic scale is a musical scale with twelve Pitch es, each a semitone or half step apart. "A chromatic scale is a diatonic scale consisting entirely of half-step interval ," having, "no tonic ," due to the symmetry or equal spacing of its tones....
, variation of this.

The term Ionian mode fell into disuse in medieval Europe.

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Encyclopedia

The Ionian mode is a musical mode

Musical mode

Diatonic scale

Music theory

Music theory is the field of study that deals with how music works. It examines the language and notation of music. It identifies patterns that govern composer techniques....
of ancient Greece

Ancient Greece

Hypophrygian mode

Chromatic scale

Authentic mode

An authentic mode is one of four Gregorian mode whose final is the lowest note of the scale . These four modes correspond to the modern modal scales starting on D , E , F , and G ....
and plagal

Plagal mode

A plagal mode is a musical mode, and one of four Gregorian modes whose range includes the octave from the fourth below the tonic, or final, to the fifth above....
counterparts. However, Greek music theory was poorly understood, and the modes in G were called Mixolydian

Mixolydian mode

The Mixolydian mode is a musical mode or diatonic scale. It has the same series of Major second and Minor second as the major scale, except the fifth note is taken as the tonic or starting pitch of the scale ....
and Hypomixolydian (authentic and plagal modes, respectively).

In 1547, Heinrich Glarean

Heinrich Glarean

Heinrich Glarean was a Switzerland music theory, poet and humanist. He was born in Mollis and died in Freiburg.After a thorough early training in music, he enrolled in the University of Cologne, where he studied theology, philosophy, and mathematics as well as music....
published his Dodecachordon. Central to its premise was the idea that there were twelve diatonic modes rather than eight. It seems that the additional modes were used in popular folk music, but were not part of the official church repertory. Glarean borrowed the Greek term Ionian for a quite different mode. He added Ionian as the name of the new eleventh mode: the relative natural mode in C with the perfect fifth

Perfect fifth

The perfect fifth is the musical interval between a note and the note seven semitones above it on the musical scale. For example, the note G lies a perfect fifth above C; D is a perfect fifth above G, C is a perfect fifth above F, and so on....
as its dominant, reciting note or tenor. The twelfth mode was the plagal version of the Ionian mode, called Hypoionian (under Ionian), based on the same relative scale, but with the major third

Major third

A major third is one of two commonly occurring musical intervals that span three diatonic scale degrees, the other being the minor third. It is denoted 'major' because it is the larger of the two: the major third is a leap of four semitones, the minor third three....
as its tenor, and having a melodic range from a perfect fourth

Perfect fourth

The perfect fourth is a musical interval which spans four diatonic scale scale degree. It consists of the note and the note five semitones above it on the musical scale....
below the tonic, to a perfect fifth

Perfect fifth

The perfect fifth is the musical interval between a note and the note seven semitones above it on the musical scale. For example, the note G lies a perfect fifth above C; D is a perfect fifth above G, C is a perfect fifth above F, and so on....
above it.

As mediaeval monophonic church music was replaced by polyphonic music, the folk modes added by Glarean became the basis of the minor

Minor scale

A minor scale in music theory is a diatonic scale with a third scale degree at an Interval of a minor third above the Tonic . While this definition encompasses Musical mode with the minor third, such as Dorian mode, the term may more usually refer only to the natural minor, harmonic minor, and melodic minor scales, descri...
/major

Major scale

In music theory, the major scale or Ionian mode scale is one of the diatonic scale Musical scales. It is made up of seven distinct notes, plus an eighth which duplicates the first an octave higher....
division of classical European music, the Ionian mode being the major mode.

The Ionian mode of Glarean is effectively the same as the ancient Greek Lydian mode

Lydian mode

Due to historical confusion, Lydian mode can refer to two very different musical modes or diatonic scales....
and the modern major mode. However, it would not be correct to refer to any piece in a now-traditional major key as being in the Ionian mode, which would imply that the style of the piece was modal, which is usually not the case with music in a major key as understood today.

External links

at GOSK.com