The Modes of the Major Scale
One parent scale, seven starting points, seven personalities. Here's every mode of the major scale side by side, from the brightest sound to the darkest.
Built on C major's seven degrees
Take any major scale as a parent — C major is easiest, since it's all white keys — and build a scale starting on each of its seven degrees. Every one of those seven scales uses only C major's notes, yet each has its own name, formula, and mood:
| Degree | Mode | In C major | Formula (from tonic) | Character |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4th | Lydian | F | W W W H W W H | Dreamy, floating — brightest mode |
| 1st | Ionian | C | W W H W W W H | The plain major scale — bright, resolved |
| 5th | Mixolydian | G | W W H W W H W | Bluesy, dominant, unresolved major |
| 2nd | Dorian | D | W H W W W H W | Hopeful minor — jazzy and folky |
| 6th | Aeolian | A | W H W W H W W | The plain natural minor scale |
| 3rd | Phrygian | E | H W W W H W W | Spanish/flamenco-tinged, dark |
| 7th | Locrian | B | H W W H W W W | Unstable — diminished tonic, darkest mode |
Reading the brightness order
Musicians often rank modes on a "brightness" scale from Lydian (brightest) down to Locrian (darkest). Moving one step down this list always means lowering exactly one more note compared to the mode above it — Lydian's raised 4th resolves to a natural 4th in Ionian, Ionian's natural 7th drops to a flat 7th in Mixolydian, and so on, all the way down to Locrian, which has lowered nearly everything except the tonic and 4th.
Common questions
What are the 7 modes of the major scale, in order?
Built on the degrees of one parent major scale: Ionian (1st), Dorian (2nd), Phrygian (3rd), Lydian (4th), Mixolydian (5th), Aeolian (6th), and Locrian (7th).
Which mode is the brightest?
Lydian, thanks to its raised 4th degree, which adds even more lift than the plain major scale (Ionian).
Which mode is the darkest?
Locrian — the only mode with a diminished tonic triad, which makes it feel unstable rather than like a settled home.
What is the brightness order of the modes?
From brightest to darkest: Lydian, Ionian, Mixolydian, Dorian, Aeolian, Phrygian, Locrian. Each step down replaces one more major-scale note with its lowered counterpart.
Explore every mode hands-on
Melody Monkey lets you build and hear any mode, in any key, on a live instrument — free.
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