Ionian mode: name, structure, notes and sound

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Such a concept as scale in music appeared relatively recently. But after all, people have been composing works since time immemorial, somehow writing them down and passing them on from generation to generation? Our ancestors used frets. These are special musical structures that, like keys, could set the character and technical data of a piece, but differed in their structure. Now we will look at the Ionian mode, its features and history.

What is this?

Some musicians are a little afraid of such a concept as the Ionian mode, however, like all other modes within the framework of solfeggio. But regarding this particular musical structure, there is nothing mysterious and requiring careful study: this mode is an exact copy of the major scale. That is, it consists of seven notes, covers a whole octave and has a structure typical of major: tone, tone, semitone, three tones and semitone. According to this scheme, it can be built not only from "do" to "do", but also from any other note- "re", "fa", "la", etc. It is only important to observe the structure and sequence of tones-semitones, and you can get the very sound of the Ionic mode. Music based on it is all known classical, jazz or any other works written in major.

Major difference from major

Why then, you ask, are we used to calling this scale the major, and not the Ionian mode? The whole point here lies in the different types of these two scales, in their properties and features. Well, let's start with the Major. This is a generalized name that always requires the presence of a "note" prefix - C major, B major, F major, etc. That is, we have a scale that is tonal in structure - with a clear reliance on the first step. In addition to the first step, the third and fifth are considered the main ones in the scale - this is the very triad that is the hallmark of any major. But at the same time, the remaining steps can be raised or lowered. As a result, harmonic, melodic, doubly harmonic, or doubly melodic major can be played. In this case, the scale will have different sequences of tones-semitones.

What do we know about frets? For them, there is no such thing as a tonic - they are modal. That is, like a swing, they can move up or down the stave, but at the same time remain intact. They preserve the scale - a sequence of tones-semitones. Therefore, the mode will always sound the same, the only difference is how high it is.will or low.

The origin and the beginning of existence

The history of the name of the Ionian mode is very interesting. Now we call it that, based on the ancient Greek settlement that lived on the shores of the Ionian Sea and bore the corresponding name. It was they who invented this simple and ingenious scale (at that time it was still called simply a mode), which subsequently became the indestructible basis for writing all the works that we can now be content with. But in ancient Greece itself, the now well-known scale in C major was called the Lydian mode. Nowadays, we call this term a different musical sequence - this is also a natural major, but its IV degree is raised (that is, just alternately pressing the white keys from "fa" to "fa", without flats or sharps). But due to the fact that earlier the modes were perceived rather not as an integral structure, but as tetrachords, that is, partially (in four steps), people often interchanged the "top" and "bottom" of the scale. So the transfer of the upper four notes of the modern Lydian mode to its lower part contributed to the formation of a new one - the Ionian mode.

About the ancient Greeks and their musical culture

Everyone who is at least briefly familiar with the solfeggio course knows that every ancient Greek mode - Ionian, Dorian, Mixolydian, etc. are diatonic. That is, each consists of its own unique sequence of tones and semitones and has seven steps. This became the basis of modern musical literacy, which practically has not changed, and even simplified to our days. The Greeks, who lived long before the beginning of the new era, were very sensitive to modes. People from each individual region could boast of their own unique scale, on the basis of which ancient works were written. But the top of society singled out the most melodious from the many modes, and such as Dorian, Aeolian and Ionian entered their ranks. Music based on this diatonic sequence was performed at the most important events and was considered noble and refined.

Is it really only in the major?

Not at all. The notes of the Ionian mode were the basis for building a really cheerful (as was noted by the ancient Greeks themselves) and perky scale. Solemn motifs, cheerful melodies for dinner parties and holidays were composed on the basis of this scale. But much more mysterious and even dramatic were the two second most popular modes - Aeolian and Dorian. The first is an exact copy of the current natural minor - that is, without sharps and flats from "la" to "la". The second one was presented in the form of a minor with an increased VI step. The easiest way to imagine it is to remove the "B flat" from the natural D minor and replace it with the usual "B". Often, two minor modes were used as the basis for writing music for performances, for evenings of grief, and simply to create mysterious and melodic motifs.

Medievalconfusion

A name like Boethius is central not only for musicians, but also for philosophers, theologians and other representatives of the so-called metaphysical segment. He deeply studied both science and philosophy with art, while uniting all these branches. For the first time, it was Boethius who documented all the modes that existed at the time of his life, invented by the ancient people. Thus, he left behind the greatest cultural heritage, which became the basis for the development of the medieval epic and church hymns. But the musicians of this gloomy era, having discovered the achievements of Boethius, slightly misinterpreted the ancient Greek octave, and as a result called all the scales not by their proper names. The notorious Ionian received a new name - Hypolydian, and it was used quite often in church culture. They "edited" the mode and returned its true name only in the era of enlightenment, when tonic scales almost completely replaced such a concept as mode from solfeggio.

Today

Since the modal modes of the ancient Greeks were not based on the tonic, they did not need a clear designation of each sound. Dots marked tones and semitones that went up or down. It turns out that each singer or musician chose the pitch of the melody for himself - depending on the timbre of the voice or the structure of the instrument. In terms more understandable to a modern musician, this is the same as if you could freely play a piece written in D major, B major, A major,G sharp major and any other major. The appearance of the tonic is most associated with keyboard instruments - first the harpsichord and organ, then the piano. There is already a clear octave here, so there is a need to rely on the first sound.

But all these frets are still relevant for folk instruments. Very often the Ionian fret is performed on the guitar - it is quite easy to play the modal major scale from any note you choose, also on the harp, occasionally on bowed string instruments.

Conclusion

Frets are the basis on which our modern music was built. The ancient Greeks achieved tremendous success in this area of art, they created a unique system that allowed not only to play motives and forget them, but to structure music, make it recognizable and stylized. And the Ionian mode in music is a prototype of our major, which has an identical sound, but slightly different properties.