Major key vs. Ionian Mode

The difference is that modes are purely melodic, while key is part of harmony. They use the same notes, but you wouldn't, say, write a song in C Ionian. You'd write it in C major, and the melody could be in C Ionian.

EDIT: It's a contextual difference. Just like speaking is different from singing only because singing is part of music.

thats a very good analogy. We'll have to use that when the next person asks. It helps people understand better.

Thanks. I was hoping it was clear. Of course, you get it already, so who knows whether it's clear to someone who doesn't. :wink:

Thanks. I was hoping it was clear. Of course, you get it already, so who knows whether it's clear to someone who doesn't. :wink:

Thanks, it's clear and makes complete sense really.

I read somewhere that there IS a difference between the Ionian Mode and a Major key...

Apples and oranges - the mode is a view of a major scale, and a key is a collection of sharps, flats and chords which dictate how something sounds.

The Ionian Mode IS the Major Scale. The difference comes in how you use it. In classical theory, the cadence in the Key of C would be from G7 to C, and the melody would flow from B to C. In a modal cadence, the melody would flow from D to C.

Clickety click for intensely detailed information

Medieval Music Theory

Best,

A :-)

its so much easier to say that modes are a melodic device and affect the melody only, shifting the melodic tonal centre.

stuff like that will only lead to a hell of a lot more questions.