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.
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Is there a common name for the scale [0 2 4 5 7 8 10] (C D E F G Ab Bb C)? [duplicate]
Is there a standard or common way to refer to the scale with pitch classes 024578T or C-D-E-F-G-Ab-Bb-C (on C)?
There's many ways to refer to it as a mixture of another scale. Like saying "...
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Confusion on modes
I'm a bit confused about the modes. I'm learning them by ear through this app, where the app explains what to listen for. For instance: dorian has 2b (flats), and lydian has 1# (sharp).
The thing I'm ...
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How come scales that differ in their ascent and descent tend to use raised notes going up and lowered notes going down regardless of musical culture?
A great variety of scales across the world differ in the way they go up and down. Some examples that come to mind are the Melodic minor that has A and B natural going up but Bb and Ab going down. A ...
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Are there any scales (in any musical culture) that can contain non-fixed members (ones that can be sharped or flattened at will)?
I am wondering if there are any scales (that are in actual use) that also contain non-fixed pitches. By that I mean that in addition to having several fixed pitches, also have some "flexible"...
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Modes by ear tips and tricks
Going to learn all the modes by ear. But finding info about is this strangely hard?
Ionian and Aeolian is the same as major and minor, right?
And what about the rest, you guys got any tips?
So far I'...
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Clarification of modes, mixed understanding of how they work
I'm just diving into music theory having largely ignored it in my playing up until now. I believe I've got the basics down of how to move modes around the finger board. But, there is some "...
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How does the analyze function work by taking 'key' in music21 library(python)? From a passed midi file, how can it determine the key and mode?
score = music21.converter.parse('filename.mid')
key = score.analyze('key')
print(key.tonic.name, key.mode)
This gives the key and the mode of a given midi file. How can I get similar information on ...
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Does it make sense to swich note and mode depending on the chord being played?
So, C Aeolian and A# Mixolydian have the same notes right? That means that the difference is just which notes I emphasize, correct? Like, focusing on A# notes instead of C just makes the sound more ‘...
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Fux Counterpoint
In Fux's study of First Species modal counterpoint, why is it permitted to raise the 7th as he approached the final cadence. I realize that allowing that creates a leading tone which sounds better, ...
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What is the correct term for the "common" pentatonic scale?
So a "pentatonic" scale is just any scale with 5 scale degrees (pitches). Yet, in most music we always just seem to assume that it's the scale with the following number of semitones (half ...
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Greek modes, minor and major scales
By definition, a major scale is:
W W H W W W H
similarly, a minor scale is:
W H W W H W W
Now, the standard notion of Greek modes begins with: a major scale, and the construction of the modes with ...
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Is Fantaisie Impromptu actually in G# Phrygian?
I’m new to music theory and the definition of key I’ve learned seems to contradict established fact. I’ve been told that the tonic of a piece is the key where the melody comes to rest, where it feels ...
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What is the lowered supertonic note called, especially in Phrygian and Locrian modes?
I know most scales/modes like Ionian (major), Dorian, Lydian, Mixolydian and Aeolian (natural minor) have a major second note called the supertonic, but some scales/modes like Phrygian and Locrian ...
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Does anyone have tips or tricks for remembering the function of mode harmony?
When I mean by that, I understand how the 7 modes are constructed:
Ionian: Major scale with no alterations
Dorian: natural minor scale with 1 alteration: #6
Phrygian: natural minor scale with 1 ...
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how to properly bring out a modal "color"
Let's please stay in the key of CMaj (C Ionian, D dorian, E phrygian, etc.)
If for example, if I have an underlying CMaj triad (C-E-G), but wanted to emphasize the middle note (E), I could solo using (...
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Lydian mode alleviates the clashing between the (M3) & (P4), but creates just as much between the (#4) & (5)?
I'm very confused when choosing modes to solo over my chord progressions. I've read that the Lydian scale is often used over underlying Major or Major 7th chords, to cut down on the natural clashing ...
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Three Notes Per String and the 7 Modes
If the third position of the three notes per string G major scale is the B Phrygian mode, then how do I play that same mode all over the fretboard of the guitar?
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Help with different modes of chords in a scale [duplicate]
I've recently been starting to learn music theory and I'm starting to get somewhere, but I've been confused on numbers and modes. I know that each number is a different mode in a scale, that there are ...
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In modal harmony, what are "modal tonic chords"?
I'm going through this video: "How to write a MODAL chord PROGRESSION (that sounds modal)", which is very interesting, but at a certain point it refers to:
a. Modal Tonic Chords - chords ...
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Descending mode vs. Mixolydian
I looked through my notes and I saw the formula for descending mode. I had written that the formula was "WWHWWHW". I'm confused because I'm sure that is also the formula for the Mixolydian ...
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How to tell the difference between lydian mode and dorian mode in songs
I am writing a song progression using the lydian mode using AABA form. My chord progression will be
A: E F# A E
A: E F# A E
B: C#m F# A E
A: E F# A E
The scale for the melody is E major pentatonic ...
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What are modes added with sharps and flats to make them sound better called?
I'm watching this video about modes and right here he mentions something that sounds like 'musica fikta' which he explains as sharps and flats added to modes to make them sound better (right when ...
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Question about Modes
I've been learning about music theory for quite some time now, and I've been wondering. How does one determine the modes of the sharps and flats?
For instance, what is the mode for C#, D#, F#, G#, and ...
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How to determine if a song is in F#Aeolian or D Lydian or Ab Locrian
Hello how are you? :) delighted to be here in my first post, I am a graduate of Sound Engineering and I am currently studying modern harmony in a self-taught way, I have been able to understand the ...
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Can you use both diatonic major and minor scale with any mode?
I am learning the modes right now for the Harmonic Major scale. I usually get the idea of a mode by droning some key and then playing all notes of that modem to sort of internalize its sound, and I ...
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What mode or scale does Hans Zimmer dwell on in Dune? [closed]
I was listening to the Dune soundtrack just now as background music, and I noticed that it felt very modal. It keeps using the following series of intervals:
wholestep-halfstep-wholestep-halfstep-...
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Historical origin of the raised sixth scale degree in minor
The way I understand the melodic minor scale — with its raised 6 and 7 ascending and lowered 6 and 7 descending — is that it's representative of how composers operated when composing in minor.
However,...
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If a song has no scale degree 6, how to decide between aeolian and dorian?
I don't know what I did to deserve it, but I had "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" stuck in my head this morning (perhaps better known with lyrics about an ant colony, as popularized by a ...
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How to transcribe key(or mode) signature to word
Here is my method and it work 80% of the time but sometimes it didn't work. What do I do wrong?
I know how to do all the major no problem.
so:
C = 0
D = 2#
E = 4#
F = 1b
G = 1#
A = 3#
B = 5#
and if ...
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Does this mode of voice have a name and a use?
I found when I was a child that if I attempt to sing a note in a particular part of my vocal range, I can produce a chord rather than the usual single note. I can even speak in this mode. It is ...
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Is D minor also F Aeolian?
If I were to write a song in D minor, could I notate it correctly in F Aeolian? Because the subsequent 4th of the root in F Aeolian would be flat, right? Therefore, D minor and F Aeolian, which in ...
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Given a four note combination under the span of a fourth, does this chart correctly show the number of times it will appear in a scale?
I have made this chart
that shows how many times will a four note combination under the span of a fourth whether perfect or augmented appear in a scale and some observations, so I wanted to ask you if ...
user85162
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With modes, is 'tonic' still the appropriate term for naming the first note of the scale?
Or is it better to just call it 'first note' (eg: In D Dorian, is 'D' the tonic or just 'first note'). And I suppose same question for the the rest of the scale degrees too (super tonic, mediant etc.)....
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Does this chord fit D minor?
Is it ok to play a g flat chord in a D minor scale? Basically I wrote a song where one riff plays a G flat at the end of it then goes right back to a D minor chord. It’s a rock song. It sounds cool ...
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What did Schoenberg mean with this?
A couple of years ago I decided to formalize my harmony studies (I'm a mathematician) by reading Schoenberg's book Theory of Harmony, however I left it since it felt a little too difficult for my ...
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What comes after Locrian?
I've been playing around with octatonic and enneatonic (sp?) scales of 8 and 9 discrete notes (not including the octave, of course). For the modes, this leaves one or two missing terms for the 8th and ...
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Soloing over modulation: a specific case
Consider the following chord progression:
G F#m G F#m G F# ...going on with G again...
1 measure each chord
The melody is in key of D (at least until F#)
Soloing over this progression requires me ...
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What determines which mode you're in? [duplicate]
I've learned all about modes, but there's something that confuses me.
The G major scale contains the exact same notes as the A Dorian scale. So what determines which of those two scales you are ...
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How do you memorize the modes of the melodic minor scale on guitar?
I'm looking for ideas to memorize the 7 positions of the melodic minor on the guitar fretboard. Any suggestions? Is there a way to map each pattern to a chord shape? Or a way to quickly visualize the ...
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Help me figure out the mode of this Howard Shore piece
I have been trying to harmonically analyse this piece by Howard Shore called “Beyond the Forest”, an Elvish song from the Hobbit. I have included the sheet music below (page two is linked) and you can ...
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Strange out-of-key chords in Blow by Beyonce?
Can someone explain to me what is going on tonally in Beyonce's song Blow? The bass notes deceptively seem to suggest the chords in the verse are G major and F major. But these chords do not sound ...
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Can a musical mode have more than one note for a given degree?
I know there's an exception for "melodic minor" (M7 ascending, m7 descending), but does the framework of musical modes support the notion in general? Put another way, are there any modes ...
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What are some useful resources for modal study? [closed]
I'm looking for some useful historical references for modal study. Specifically, great books or texts on how modes evolved, progressed and became the elusive subject they are today.
What resources ...
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Is it possible to distinguish if a melody is in C Dorian or in D Phrygian?
(This is my first post in this community, I tried to search an answer about that basic question but it's not easy, so sorry if it is a duplicate)
Since the C Dorian scale contains the following notes:
...
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Categorizing modes of scales other than major scale
Modes of major scale are often ordered such that each consecutive scale can be obtained by altering one step of the previous one:
lydian 1 2 3 #4 5 6 7
ionian 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
...
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What is the difference between "primi toni" and "octavi toni"
In XVI century, there was a composer called Girolamo Cavazzoni. He wrote (amongst other pieces) a couple of Magnificats - in primi toni, quarti toni, sexti toni and octavi toni. You can find the sheet ...
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What do you mean by the tonic chord feels as 'home'?
I am new to the world of music theory and have some basic knowledge of the different modes of the major scale.
As per my knowledge, every scale has a tonic chord which is essentially the one all other ...
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What scale or mode is this?
The notes of the scale or mode in question are:
G A B-flat D E F. Does this combination of notes have a name?
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What mode/scale are these notes in? [closed]
I have created a short melody that uses these notes:
What mode contains these notes?
I have tried Dorian, Aeolian, Lydian, Phrygian and Mixolydian by starting at the scale in each mode that contains ...
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Understanding method of applying modes on chords
I am learning about modes and trying to apply them on guitar over chord progressions, and I wanted to understand how exactly to know, when you hear some song, "ah, this song allows me to play ...
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