Western music, for the most part, since the time of Bach and the establishment of equal temperament, is primarily harmonic in nature.  Melodies are drawn primarily from the major and minor scales that we will be looking at below.  However this wasn’t always the case.

Music of ancient times was modal in nature.  In modal music harmony plays a very small part while melody is predominant.  This was due partly to the fact that non-equal tempered systems were used in the past, and harmony is very difficult to establish music in a “harmonious” way. While this may seem limiting by today’s musical standards this isn’t really the case, each musical mode had a very distinct quality giving rise to quite a different view of use of modes and setting moods in musical terms.  Even in equal temperament the musical modes have distinctive qualities that distinguish them from each other.  As an introduction to a further discussion on temperament in Western and Non-Western music we will have a brief introduction to the modes.

In Indian music, where modal music is pre-dominant the music is based on a drone, a continual pitch that sounds throughout the piece. This acts as a point of reference for everything that follows, a home base that the musician returns to after a flight of improvisation.  The effect of the drone is that sustained the low frequency tones cause the body and all the muscles to relax due to entrainment or becoming 'in sync' with the music.

The main thing to look for as we look at these modes is the half steps and where they occur.  As you will notice the placement of whole and half steps is what will distinguish one mode from another.

There are two ways of looking at modes, as parallel modes or as relative modes.  Below are relative modes.  In relative modes the notes all remain the same and the   mode is changed by changing root notes.  In relative modes the same notes are always used but the root note changes.

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Relative Modes

Mode	Notes	Explanation
Ionian	C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C	This is also the basic major scale, the half steps occur between the 3rd and 4th,and 7th and 8th steps
Dorian	D, E, F, G, A, B, C, D	Minor derivative, half steps between 2nd and 3rd, and 6th and 7th steps
Phrygian	E, F, G, A, B, C, D, E	Minor derivative, half steps between the 1st and 2nd and 6th and 7th steps
Lydian	F, G, A, B, C, D, E, F	Major derivative, half steps between 4th and 5th, and 7th and 8th steps
Mixolydian	G, A, B, C, D, E, F, G	Major derivative, half steps between 3rd and 4th, and 6th and 7th steps
Aeolian	A, B, C, D, E, F, G, A	This is also the basic minor scale, half steps between the 2nd and 3rd and 5th and 6th
Locrian	B, C, D, E, F, G, A, B	This is a diminished type scale, the half steps fall between the 1st and 2nd  and 5th and 6th steps

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Parallel Modes

In parallel modes the same root notes is always used and, therefore, the rest of the notes change.  Below are the notes in parallel modes in the key of C.

Mode	Notes	Explanation
Ionian	C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C	This is also the basic major scale, the half steps occur between the 3rd and 4th, and 7th and 8th steps
Dorian	C, D, Eb, F, G, A, Bb, C	Minor derivative, half steps between 2nd and 3rd, and 6th and 7th steps
Phrygian	C, Db, Eb, F, G, Ab, Bb, C	Minor derivative, half steps between the 1st and 2nd and 6th and 7th steps
Lydian	C, D, E, F#, G, A, B, C	Major derivative, half steps between 4th and 5th, and 7th and 8th steps
Mixolydian	C, D, E, F, G, A, Bb, C	Major derivative, half steps between 3rd and 4th, and 6th and 7th steps
Aeolian	C, D, Eb, F, G, Ab, Bb, C	This is also the basic minor scale, half steps between the 2nd and 3rd and 5th and 6th
Locrian	C, Db, Eb, F, G, Ab, Bb, C	This is a diminished type scale, the half steps fall between the 1st and 2nd and 5th and 6th steps

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Pentatonic Scales

Folk music in most cultures is based on a five note scale (pentatonic). There are two widely used pentatonic scales, the minor pentatonic and the major pentatonic.

Mode	Notes	Explanation
C Minor Pentatonic	C, Eb, F, G, A	So it is the minor scale with the 2nd and 6th scale degrees omitted.
C Major Pentatonic	C, D, E, G, A	The major pentatonic omits the 4th and 7th scale degrees of the major scale.