Origins of the Modes of Major Scales

Modes are simply the name given to the pattern of intervals between each note in an octave. Modes and Scales can be traced back to Greek origins, where different tribes evolved different scales. Each scale started on a different note and descended by characteristic intervals. In the middle ages, the church adopted these scales, made them ascending from a tonic note and renamed them modes. They were the tonal basis of Gregorian Chant and are the origins of western music theory. They are in no way related to the Greek modes except that the names. All of the church modes consist of the…