Ionian mode is a
musical mode
In music theory, the term mode or ''modus'' is used in a number of distinct senses, depending on context.
Its most common use may be described as a type of musical scale coupled with a set of characteristic melodic and harmonic behaviors. It ...
or, in modern usage, a
diatonic scale
In music theory, a diatonic scale is any heptatonic scale that includes five whole steps (whole tones) and two half steps (semitones) in each octave, in which the two half steps are separated from each other by either two or three whole st ...
also called the
major scale
The major scale (or Ionian mode) is one of the most commonly used musical scales, especially in Western music. It is one of the diatonic scales. Like many musical scales, it is made up of seven notes: the eighth duplicates the first at doub ...
.
It is the name assigned by
Heinrich Glarean
Heinrich Glarean also styled Glareanus (born as Heinrich Loriti on 28 February or 3 June 1488 – 28 March 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 im ...
in 1547 to his new
authentic mode on C (mode 11 in his numbering scheme), which uses the
diatonic
Diatonic and chromatic are terms in music theory that are most often used to characterize scales, and are also applied to musical instruments, intervals, chords, notes, musical styles, and kinds of harmony. They are very often used as a ...
octave species
In the musical system of ancient Greece, an octave species (εἶδος τοῦ διὰ πασῶν, or σχῆμα τοῦ διὰ πασῶν) is a specific sequence of intervals within an octave. In '' Elementa harmonica'', Aristoxenus clas ...
from C to the C an octave higher, divided at G (as its dominant,
reciting tone
In chant, a reciting tone (also called a recitation tone) can refer to either a repeated musical pitch or to the entire melodic formula for which that pitch is a structural note. In Gregorian chant, the first is also called tenor, dominant or tub ...
/reciting note or ''tenor'') into a fourth species of
perfect fifth
In music theory, a perfect fifth is the musical interval corresponding to a pair of pitches with a frequency ratio of 3:2, or very nearly so.
In classical music from Western culture, a fifth is the interval from the first to the last of five ...
(tone–tone–semitone–tone) plus a third species of
perfect fourth
A fourth is a musical interval encompassing four staff positions in the music notation of Western culture, and a perfect fourth () is the fourth spanning five semitones (half steps, or half tones). For example, the ascending interval from C to ...
(tone–tone–semitone): C D E F G + G A B C. This octave species is essentially the same as the
major mode
The major scale (or Ionian mode) is one of the most commonly used musical scales, especially in Western music. It is one of the diatonic scales. Like many musical scales, it is made up of seven notes: the eighth duplicates the first at double i ...
of
tonal music.
Church music had been explained by theorists as being organised in eight
musical modes
In music theory, the term mode or ''modus'' is used in a number of distinct senses, depending on context.
Its most common use may be described as a type of musical scale coupled with a set of characteristic melodic and harmonic behaviors. It ...
: the scales on D, E, F, and G in the "greater perfect system" of "musica recta," each with their
authentic
Authenticity or authentic may refer to:
* Authentication, the act of confirming the truth of an attribute
Arts and entertainment
* Authenticity in art, ways in which a work of art or an artistic performance may be considered authentic
Music
* A ...
and
plagal counterparts.
Glarean's 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
In classical music, a third is a Interval (music), musical interval encompassing three staff positions (see Interval (music)#Number, Interval number for more details), and the major third () is a third spanning four semitones.Allen Forte, ...
as its ''tenor'', and having a melodic range from a
perfect fourth
A fourth is a musical interval encompassing four staff positions in the music notation of Western culture, and a perfect fourth () is the fourth spanning five semitones (half steps, or half tones). For example, the ascending interval from C to ...
below the tonic, to a
perfect fifth
In music theory, a perfect fifth is the musical interval corresponding to a pair of pitches with a frequency ratio of 3:2, or very nearly so.
In classical music from Western culture, a fifth is the interval from the first to the last of five ...
above it.
See also
*
Bilawal
Bilaval or Bilawal () is a raga and the basis for the eponymous ''thaat'' (musical mode) in Hindustani classical music. Raga Bilaval is named after Veraval, Gujarat.
Bilaval has been the standard for North Indian music since the early 19th cen ...
, the equivalent scale (
thaat
A Thaat () is a "Parent scale" in North Indian or Hindustani music. It is the Hindustani equivalent of the term ''Melakartha raga'' of Carnatic Music. The concept of the ''thaat'' is not exactly equivalent to the western musical scale because t ...
) in
Hindustani music
Hindustani classical music is the classical music of northern regions of the Indian subcontinent. It may also be called North Indian classical music or, in Hindustani, ''shastriya sangeet'' (). It is played in instruments like the violin, sita ...
*
Shankarabharanam, the equivalent scale (
melakarta
Mēḷakartā is a collection of fundamental musical scales (ragas) in Carnatic music (South Indian classical music). ''Mēḷakartā'' ragas are parent ragas (hence known as ''janaka'' ragas) from which other ragas may be generated. A ''melaka ...
) in
Carnatic music
Carnatic music, known as or in the South Indian languages, is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including the modern Indian states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, and Sri Lanka. It ...
Notes
References
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External links
Ionian mode for guitarat GOSK.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ionian Mode
Modes (music)
Diatonic set theory
Major scales