Modes of the Major Scale

Here’s a novel way to view the seven modes of the major scale. Each row is a mode, across twelve columns representing a one-octave chromatic scale. So the top row is the lydian mode, moving down until the bottom row—the locrian mode. The lydian has the brightest sound, since it has the sharpest overall intervals, whereas the locrian, being the flattest overall, is the darkest sounding. Every mode is different from one other mode by a single adjustment. Flatten the ♯11 of the lydian, and you have the ionian. Flatten the ♮7 of the ionian, and you have the mixolydian, and so on.

Here it is again with labels. It’s going in my music theory book, but it’s so pretty I thought I’d stick it up here too.

If all these modes came from the same major scale, their roots would move around the circle of fifths. In C major, for example, you’d have: F lydian, C ionian, G mixolydian, D dorian, A aeolian, E phrygian, B locrian.

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