Diatonic Modes

The seven diatonic modes are all generated from the same pool of seven pitch classes as the major scale, but each mode begins on a different scale degree and therefore presents a unique pattern of whole and half steps. Starting on each degree of C major produces: Ionian (C, identical to the major scale), Dorian (D), Phrygian (E), Lydian (F), Mixolydian (G), Aeolian (A, identical to the natural minor scale), and Locrian (B).

Each mode has a distinctive interval pattern that gives it a characteristic quality. Lydian (W-W-W-H-W-W-H) is bright and raised, with its augmented fourth above the tonic. Mixolydian (W-W-H-W-W-H-W) resembles a major scale but with a lowered seventh, common in folk and rock. Dorian (W-H-W-W-W-H-W) is a minor mode with a raised sixth, giving it a neutral or bittersweet quality. Phrygian (H-W-W-W-H-W-W) has a distinctive half step from scale-degree 1 to ♭2, lending it a Spanish or archaic flavor. Locrian, with its diminished fifth above the tonic, is the most unstable and appears rarely.

In 20th-century and contemporary music, composers treat modes not merely as rotations of the major scale but as independent tonal resources, each with its own tonic and expressive character. Bartók, Vaughan Williams, Shostakovich, and many jazz musicians exploited modal colors systematically. When analyzing modal music, identify the tonic pitch first, then determine which pattern of whole and half steps the melody or harmony follows — do not assume the piece is in a major or minor key just because it uses diatonic pitch classes.