The major scale and modes:
The diatonic system is the tonal foundation of modern western music tradition. The major scale and it’s inversions is the key here. The scales ie. the ionian, dorian, phrygian, lydian, mixolydian, aeolian and locrian are all inversions of the major scale.
| C Ionian C D E F G A B | |||
| D Dorian D E F G A B C | |||
| E Phrygian E F G A B C D | |||
| F Lydian F G A B C D E | |||
| G Mixolydian G A B C D E F | |||
| A Aeolian A B C D E F G | |||
| B Locrian B C D E F G A |
As you can se above – all the scales consist of the same notes – but they sound very different. Check out the individual pages of each scale.
Harmonizing the major scale
All the scales has a natural chord rooted within them. This chord is found by playing every other note in the scale – this will be 4 notes within the octave and will turn out the following chords.
| Cmaj7 C E G B | | | |
| Dm7 D F A C | | | |
| Em7 E G B D | | | |
| Fmaj7 F A C E | | | |
| G7 G B D F | | | |
| Am7 A C E G | | | |
| Bm7b5 B D F A | | | |
The chordal formular always stays the same
(1)Major7 (2)Minor7 (3)Minor7 (4)Major7 (5)Dom7 (6)Minor7 (7)Minor7b5