Explain Medieval music structure some more

Cafe Society
1

In This thread, the question was raised on why certain medieval music sounds the “same”: the answer is apparently that medieval music was based on different “modes”, neither major nor minor. However, researching this, the modes don’t seem to be that different from each other:

This raises the question: what is the practical difference between these modes? Especially with the additional info that

I still don’t get why you need 12 modes to distinguish what you could do by simply transposing notes, assuming an equi-tonal system (100 cents/semitone.)

So was the difference between the modes that medieval tuners did not use an equal tuning, so the dimished or augmented notes in their tuning, combined with the mode, would influence the progression of the octave?

Or was it primarily that each mode provided a rubric from which to base a melody (i.e. ending or starting a phrase on a certain note in the mode?)

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The difference between these notes is where the tonic lies. The tonic is where your melody is centered. All chord progressions tend to resolve to the I chord and more often than not the melody ends up here(plenty of exceptions to this, but let’s keep it simple.) Also, the difference is the relationship between the notes.

I would argue that all the modes have a major or minor tonality based on whether the third degree of the scale is two whole steps or a whole and half step aways.

To wit:

Mode I (Ionian mode. Also known as the ‘Major Scale.’)
C D E F G A B C—melodies generally ends on C. Chord progressions eventually resolve to the I chord, in this case, C major (take the first, third, and fifth degrees of the scale). The I chord is major because the distance between C and E is a major third (two whole steps.)

Mode II (Dorian mode)
D E F G A B C D—this is a minor mode, as the distance between the first and third intervals is a minor third, two and a half steps. It’s simply the natural minor with a raised sixth. Harmonies resolve to Dm, and melodies tend to end on D. To hear an example of Dorian mode in action, listen to “Eleanor Rigby.” It’s not too uncommon in modern use.

Mode III (Phrygian mode)

E F G A B C D E—once again, a minor mode. This one sounds particularly exotic because of the minor second between E and F. In fact, that’s the only difference between it and the natural minor scale. It gives this mode almost a middle Eastern feel to it. You can find this mode a lot in heavy metal music. For example, Megadeth’s “Killing Road” is in Phrygian.

Mode IV (Lydian mode)

F G A B C D E F—a major mode. This is simply the major scale with a raised fourth. Some people say it’s the happiest or brightest of all modes. The raised fourth makes it a particularly easy mode to solo in, as you don’t have to worry about tricky harmonic and melodic resolution issues that a perfect fourth brings. Examples of the Lydian are “The Simpsons” intro song and “Maniac” from Flashdance. (In “Just a small town girl on a Saturday night,” the words “small town girl” all hit the raised fourth.)

Mode V (Mixolydian mode)
G A B C D E F G—major mode. The major scale with a dominant (flatted) seventh. This one is used all over the place. “She Said She Said” by the Beatles uses it. So is “Norweigian Wood.” “A Hard Days’ Night” is in Mixolydian until the “I find the things that you do” break. Plenty of blues and folk songs wander in and out of it. It’s pretty common.

Mode VI (Aeolian mode)
A B C D E F G A—minor mode. In fact, it’s the natural minor (aka relative minor) scale.

Mode VII (Locrian mode)
B C D E F G A B—minor mode. Actually, this one is a bit of a mess. In relation to the natural minor, it’s got a flatted second degree, a minor third, and a diminished (flatted) fifth degree. The diminished fifth makes it particularly difficult (if not impossible) to write a suitable melody around it. The only use I know for this mode is in jazz improvisation over diminished chords.

That’s the basic rundown. While the notes of all the modes are the same, the starting and ending points of melodies and the “tonal center” are different depending on the mode. If you have access to a musical instrument, one way to hear the difference between the modes is to take a familiar melody (say “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”) and to play it in different modes. For example, the scale degrees of Twinkle Twinkle little star are: 1-1-5-5-6-6-5—4-4-3-3-2-2-1. In C major, this translates to C-C-G-G-A-A-G—F-F-E-E-D-D-C. You hear how the tonal center is C, and how the melody wants to go there?

Now try it one mode up, with D as your 1. You get: D-D-A-A-B-B-A-G-G-F-F-E-E-D. Different feel, eh? Now work up the scale. Start the melody on E (Phrygian), then F (Lydian) and so on. The only problem is you don’t have a seventh in this particular melody, so you won’t be able to hear the difference between this in Mixolydian and Ionian.

At first, some may sound a bit odd to you, since you’re not used to hearing this familiar melody in a different mode, but you should be able to hear how each melody wants to resolve to its first degree, it’s tonal center. “Mary Had A Little Lamb” in D Dorian wants to end on “D,” not “C.”

I hope this is somewhat understandable, as this topic can be a little bit difficult to explain without functional audio examples. If you have any Qs, ask away.

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It’s true that the modes, as described there, don’t sound very different from one another. Where the big differences emerge is with harmony - when you want to combine two, three, even dozens of lines, so they all fit together and sound ‘good’. Harmony has another function, in that it helps build phrases, guiding the ear away from the ‘home note’ (the starting note of the scale), and leading it back again at the end of the phrase - or towards a new home note. The combinations of notes that can be played alongside the various pitches of each mode are different, making the sounds more unique than with the scales alone.

The point in your second quote is actually quite separate, although often confusingly bundled in. What they mean is that there was no perception that, for example, the note D had any particular pitch. It was solely one step up from C. You could pick any pitch to start on. The reason this gets dragged into the issue of modes is that when we look at modern editions of medieval polyphony, we can get distracted by our modern conventions: we will see a piece in the Dorian mode on D, and another in Myxolydian on G, and automatically think of the latter as being higher-pitched. When in fact medieval musicians would not see ‘higher notes’ in that way. It was purely a method to allow the different soundworlds of the different modes to be used - both pieces would actually probably be played at similar pitches.

(BTW, they certainly didn’t use anything close to an even-tempered scale - the questions of historical tuning systems is a whole 'nother question :wink: )

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Going over my reply, I now can’t read this line without imagining Nigel Tufnel saying it.

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There’s a single melody by Hildegard von Bingen which centres around B - and it sounds very odd given the context.

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Would you be able to look up what he wrote in B Locrian? I’ve asked around literally for years (for explanations such as these) and I’ve had the most difficult time finding any music based on the Locrian mode. I figured somebody somewhere out there must have done it, but my research has always been futile. You can finally be the answer. :slight_smile:

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I couldn’t possibly remember, and I’ve got no sources to hand. I just remember my professor being rather excited when he noticed it! However, my rather hazy memory reminds me that a big problem with Locrian polyphony is that it violates many of the principles of the hexachord system. No cites, though :wink:

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Well, when your I chord is diminished, and your V chord starts on a flatted fifth, you’ve got some really difficult harmonic issues to overcome. :wink: F major doesn’t exactly resolve to B diminished.