Ionian mode is a
musical mode 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 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 p ...
octave species from C to the C an octave higher, divided at G (as its dominant,
reciting tone/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 (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 doub ...
of
tonal music.
Church music had been explained by theorists as being organised in eight
musical modes: the scales on D, E, F, and G in the "greater perfect system" of "musica recta," each with their
authentic 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 musical interval encompassing three staff positions (see Interval number for more details), and the major third () is a third spanning four semitones. Forte, Allen (1979). ''Tonal Harmony in Concept and P ...
as its ''tenor'', and having a melodic range from a
perfect fourth 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) 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, si ...
*
Shankarabharanam, the equivalent scale (
melakarta) 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 is o ...
Notes
References
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External links
Ionian mode for guitarat GOSK.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ionian Mode
Modes (music)
Diatonic set theory
Major scales