The Ionian Mode

What does Ionian sound like?

The Ionian mode, also known as the major scale, has a familiar sound most people recognize in some way. It’s commonly found in lullabies, musicalized nursery rhymes and celebration songs in Western culture, which is why we become familiar with its qualities from an early age.

The most characteristic notes of this scale are the major third, which gives it the “happy” sound often associated with this interval, and the major seventh , also known as the leading tone .

The sound of this scale can be heard in songs the majority of people know, lullabies like “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” and Brahms’ Wiegenlied Op. 49 No. 4 (probably the most famous lullaby), or in celebration songs like “Happy Birthday to You”.

Learning the Ionian Mode

This mode consists of seven notes arranged in a certain pattern of whole-steps and half-steps: W-W-H-W-W-W-H. 

If you go from C to the C one octave above, all the white notes in between follow this interval pattern, creating the C major scale.

^{C Ionian starting on C}

Mnemonic: “The Ionian C” (the Ionian sea in Greece is one of the best destinations for an unforgettable island vacation in Europe).

That being said, you can build a major scale starting on any note you want. Just pick one and apply the formula described above—simple but effective!

^{F Ionian starting on F}

Ionian, along with Lydian and Mixolydian, belongs to the major modes. This means it has a major third (unlike the minor modes), which determines an important part of their sound.

As we previously mentioned, the major seventh—also present in the Lydian mode—is another characteristic note of Ionian. This note creates a sense of resolution towards the tonic (the note where the scale begins), resulting in its name leading tone. The major seventh makes the dominant chord of this scale a major chord, enabling a perfect cadence that provides a satisfying and conclusive end to a musical phrase.

Alternative Methods 

Another way to play the Ionian mode is:

• Choose a starting note
• Play the notes of the minor scale a minor third below the starting note

For example, if you wanted to play Ionian in F, play the D minor scale starting on F. Similarly, you can pick any minor key, and by playing it starting a minor third above its tonic note, you will be playing the Ionian mode. For instance, if you play the A minor scale starting a minor third above, you have C Ionian.

Harmonic Major (Ionian b6)

A less common Ionian scale is Ionian b6 (speak Ionian flat six), also known as the harmonic major scale. It gets its name from its resemblance to the harmonic minor scale, but with a major third instead of a minor third. 

As you might have guessed, Ionian b6 has a flat sixth compared to the natural sixth present in the regular Ionian scale. To construct this scale, we use a combination of half-steps and whole-steps, but we also need to include a minor third interval in its structure (we’ll notate it as W#): W-W-H-W-H-W#-H.

While the Ionian b6 mode is rarely used in Western music, its chords are sometimes borrowed to add flavor—especially in jazz improvisations.

^{C harmonic major scale starting on C}

Major Pentatonic Scale

Another variation of the Ionian mode is the major pentatonic scale, which has all the notes present in Ionian, except for the fourth and seventh. It is named “pentatonic” because it only has five notes.

The major pentatonic scale is particularly valuable because of its simplicity. It is easy to learn and use due to the absence of dissonant half-steps in its construction.

^{C major pentatonic scale starting on C}

For example, this C major pentatonic scale contains the notes C, D, E, G and A. These notes correspond to the first, second, third, fifth and sixth notes of C major, respectively. The notes excluded from the C major scale are F (the fourth), and B (the seventh).

The major pentatonic scale is used in a large variety of genres. Due to its simplicity and catchy sound, it is a common feature of pop songs, folk melodies, chants, children’s songs and nursery rhymes. Guitarists also frequently use parts of the major pentatonic scale as elements in rock and jazz solos.

Summary

The Ionian mode has an instantly recognizable joyful and innocent sound. It has been used extensively throughout the history of music in all kinds of different genres and styles.

The notes of the Ionian mode can be found by either of these three methods:

• Use the whole-step/half-step pattern of W-W-H-W-W-W-H.
• Pick a note and play a minor scale from a minor third below it.
• Play all the white notes starting from C (“ The Ionian   C ”).

You can also try the major pentatonic scale, which is easy to learn and removes the more tense fourth and seventh(leading tone) notes from the major scale.

For a fun musical exercise, you can try making a song with the chords in Ionian, and an improvised melody in major pentatonic. Be sure to experiment with other creative ways of using these scales!

Learn the other Modes