Reply #23: That was just an example in layman's terms... [View All]

[GoddessOfGuinness]

Modes were used in the earliest known Western music (gregorian chant), and were named for similar scales used by the ancient Greeks.

Modes can begin on any note. The sequences of half steps and whole steps (hereafter called "h" and "w")is what defines them.
To describe them simply:
Using only the white notes of the piano
D = Dorian w h w w w h w
E = Phrygian h w w w h w w
F = Lydian w w w h w w h
G = Mixolydian w w h w w h w
A = Aeolian w h w w h w w
B = Locrian h w w h w w w
C = Ionian w w h w w w h

The Ionian and Aeolian modes are quickly recognized as the major and natural minor scales that we're familiar with today. The Locrian mode was considered more a theoretical mode, as it was awkward to sing.

But modes are often used in contemporary music and in pop music.

:hi: