============================================================================= = Scales and Modes in Scottish Traditional Music = = Jack Campin = ============================================================================= The Big Picture =============== The relationships between the modes and gapped scales can be summarized in a single diagram: six 7-note modes, five 6-note modes, four 5-note modes. The numbers from +1 to -4 indicate the change in the key signature, relative to the major scale, if the home note is kept the same: sharps are positive, flats negative. So lydian mode has one more sharp (or one less flat) than the major key with the same tonal centre; dorian has two less sharps (or two more flats) and so on. The gapped scales have alternative key signatures (two alternatives for hexatonic modes, three for pentatonic). Each mode in the diagram can be contructed either by taking all the notes that occur in both modes immediately below it, or by taking those notes that are in common to both modes immediately above it. I've also included the pipe (two-sharp) versions of each mode, the tonal centre and the omitted notes. I have also indicated the relative frequency of these in the older repertoire, as I see it after an informal scan of a lot of books, though without using a pocket calculator: ++ very common + common - rare -- very rare --- nonexistent lydian ------ major -- mixolydian -- dorian ----- minor ---- phrygian TTTS TTS TTST TTS TTST TST TSTT TST TSTT STT STTT STT +1 0 -1 -2 -3 -4 G D A E B F# -- ++ ++ + - -- \ /\ /\ /\ /\ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ lyd/maj maj/mix mix/dor dor/min min/phr TTm TTS TTST Tm TmT TST TSTT mT mTT STT (4-gap) (7-gap) (3-gap) (6-gap) (2-gap) +1,0 0,-1 -1,-2 -2,-3 -3,-4 D-G A-G, D-C A-C, E-G E-C, B-G B-C - ++ + ++ -- \ /\ /\ /\ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \/ \/ \/ \/ lyd/maj/mix maj/mix/dor mix/dor/min dor/min/phr TTm Tm TmT Tm TmT mT mTT mT pi-1 pi-2 pi-3 pi-4 (4,7-gap) (3,7-gap) (3,6-gap) (2,6-gap) +1,0,-1 0,-1,-2 -1,-2,-3 -2,-3,-4 D-GC, A-DG A-GC, E-CF A-CF, E-GC E-CF, B-GC ++ --- ++ - I have no explanation for this frequency pattern. Breandan Breathnach in "The Music and Dances of Ireland" gives a frequency breakdown of the 7-note modes of Irish music, concluding that it was the same across the British Isles; I don't think this would still hold if gapped modes were taken into account - English and Irish music are more similar to each other than either is to Scottish music in this respect, just as they are more closely related to each other rhythmically. A similar scheme, with more modes (most of which don't correspond to anything in Scottish music, and some to nothing in any music) was used by Bertrand Harris Bronson in his "The Traditional Tunes of the Child Ballads". I would be interested to know of real examples that don't fit my scheme. A table of the numbers of sharps (+) and flats (-) in these modes: lyd maj mix dor min phr D flat -4 . . . . . A flat -3 -4 . . . . E flat -2 -3 -4 . . . B flat -1 -2 -3 -4 . . F 0 -1 -2 -3 -4 . C +1 0 -1 -2 -3 -4 G +2 +1 0 -1 -2 -3 D +3 +2 +1 0 -1 -2 A +4 +3 +2 +1 0 -1 E . +4 +3 +2 +1 0 B . . +4 +3 +2 +1 F sharp . . . +4 +3 +2 C sharp . . . . +4 +3 G sharp . . . . . +4 and the hexatonic and pentatonic modes have alternatives derived from that list; so E mixolydian/dorian/minor pentatonic has 1, 2 or 3 sharps, which makes it playable on either a G, D or A whistle or possibly all three, depending on the tune's range. ============================================================================= == (c) Jack Campin http://www.campin.me.uk/ December 2009 == == 11 Third Street, Newtongrange, Midlothian EH22 4PU, Scotland == == == == these pages: http://tinyurl.com/scottishmodes == =============================================================================