Modern Modes

A crash course on the modern modes.
I like modes. They cause trouble. Melodies using modes don't and can't work exactly the same as major or minor tunes and have been known to throw experienced musicians for a loop. They are used in traditional tunes, troubadour music, Renaissance and older music and by many current composers. This post is the first in a series about the modes.

Modes are just scales with different patterns of half and whole steps. The names of the modern modes come from the Ancient Greek modes but be warned, the scales are completely unrelated to Ancient Greek music. Once you know the pattern of whole and half steps a mode uses, you can play a mode starting on any note.
The following is a cheat sheet for working out the modes based on major or minor scale patterns. I'm going to start on C and work my way up the keyboard. That is the traditional way to work through scales in the music world. Musicians are just odd that way.

Ionian is the same as the major scale or the same as playing all the white keys from C to C. (All major scales are Ionian scales, just starting on different notes than C.)
Dorian is the same as a minor scale with a raised 6th step or the same as playing the white keys from D to D. (The key for D minor has a B flat and since B is the 6th step of the scale, we play B natural)
Phrygian is the same as a minor scale with a lowered 2nd step or the white keys from E to E. (E minor has an F sharp but since F is the 2nd step of the scale we play F natural)
Lydian is the same as a major scale with a raised 4th step or the white keys from F to F. (F major has a B flat but B is the 4th step of the scale so we play B natural)
Mixolydian is the same as a major scale with a lowered 7th step or the white keys from G to G. (G major has an F sharp but since F is the 7th step of the scale we play F natural)
Aeolian is the same as a natural minor scale or the white keys from A to A. (A minor has no sharps or flats)
Locrian is the same as a minor scale with a lowered 2nd step and a lowered 5th step or the white keys from B to B. (B minor has a C sharp and an F sharp but since C is the 2nd step and F is the 5th, both are natural)

Just like major and minor, all the scale patterns can start on any note. The notes I gave are just examples that can be picked out on a keyboard easily so you can hear what they sound like. The trick to using modes is that you may have to lead up to the final cadence or start the melody differently to keep the tonic (first and last) note sounding final. So all that voice leading music majors study in music theory starts breaking down in places. But not completely which is why people get so confused. (Some people like using modes the same way they would use major and minor and just letting them sound "unfinished" when they stop on the tonic notes but I think that is missing the point of having a different scale at work.)
You may have noticed that our major and minor scales can be found within the modes. This is where those two scales came from but they are now considered a different system than the modes. Some music books say that musicians in the Renaissance and Middle Ages used something called musica ficta to adjust the modes to something more like a major or minor scale. While that did happen (it is part of how we got to using mostly major and minor) it is a serious oversimplification of both musica ficta and the modes. Sometimes music was written to take advantage of the different intervals in the modes and sometimes modes were used because instruments couldn't always play certain notes in tune so they just worked with the notes the instruments could play. And of course the modal sound was more accepted in general. People had been hearing it all their lives; composers knew how to handle the modes and they were used to them.

Each mode was generally considered to have a different mood or color but I find that there is a wide range of moods each mode can handle. The rhythms and melody patterns have just as much to do with the character of a song as the scale it is based on. Still, different modes are especially good at different things partly because they force you to use different melody patterns so as not to lose track of the tonic note. This is one of the things I like to explore with the modes. I'll be talking about each mode in more detail in later posts.
If you are wondering what moods Renaissance theorists gave the modes, the best I can give you is a possible reconstruction based on how the modes were linked to the planets (we're heading into astrology here but it was fairly common for Ren theorists to do just that.) Here's my best guess as to what that would give you;
Dorian for the Sun-bright and happy
Phrygian for Mars-aggressive or enthusiastic
Lydian for Jupiter-expansive and powerful
Mixolydian for Saturn-melancholy or authoritative
Aeolian for the Stars or the Moon-spiritual and joyful or emotional and introspective
Locrian for Mercury-energetic, tricky or unpredictable
Ionian for Venus-loving, seductive and gentle
I based this off of a Renaissance picture called "Music of the Spheres" that was published in 1496 in Francinus Gafurius's Practica musice (for more on this picture, click here.) Finding historically accurate moods for the modes is a daunting project so be prepared for a lot of research if that is what you want to know!

Have fun with these ideas but don't let them limit you. Our tuning system is not the same as the ones (yes, there were several, all confusing) used in the Renaissance so not only are we less used to the modes but they don't even sound the same today as they once did. And in my experience, anytime someone tries to say a scale represents only one mood, it means they are ignoring how much rhythm, meter, harmony and all the other details of music work together to create the piece.

All a Flutter

Ever heard a really bad imitation Scottish accent? With lots of RRR rolling? Ever done one? Then you can flutter tongue.
Flutter tonguing isn't used that often but it turns up more and more as time goes on. It can be found in Jazz, Classical and even Folk music. The rolling of the tongue creates a buzzy, surreal sound that mixes with the clear flute sound in interesting ways. The sound can't be imitated very well by any other technique. And its fun.
(A personal plea; Keep the jokes about this topic clean please! Trust me, we've all heard the dirty jokes before and they get old fast.)

There are two ways to flutter tongue and both relate to rolling Rs. Really, both are extremely fast and repeated tongue strikes that don't stop the note or air stream. This is not a muscle controlled action; the tongue is close enough to the roof of the mouth that the air stream causes it to vibrate like a reed on a clarinet and this creates the buzzing or rolled R sound.
The preferred technique (for flute) uses the tip of the tongue. Put the tongue behind your front teeth and let it "bounce" off the roof of your mouth as you exhale, like a rolled R without vocalizing. (This is the same spot you place your tongue for a regular single tongued note-the "ta" or "da" tongue.) It is sort of like turning your tongue into a mini jack-hammer. The trick is learning to maintain your embouchure while doing this.
The other method uses the back of the tongue or the uvula R roll, the way Rs are rolled in French. Its not that different from the other one, just further back in the mouth. This is the spot you use for the "ka" or "ga" sound when double tonguing. Just faster. For the record, flutter tonguing is "easiest" for flute and brass instruments but the reed instruments can flutter too (yes, even oboes though that may count as cruel and unusual punishment.) It is however much easier for reed players to use the second method of flutter tonguing!
If you can't do one, try the other. The first method tends to be more obvious sounding and the second one has a softer buzz but either one works. If you can do both, you end up with a choice of sounds for flutter tonguing. Always a plus.
Once you get the hang of it, its actually kind of entertaining to do although having to switch it on and off at just the right moment can take some practice. Often, flutter tonguing is used on one or two notes though they may be long held notes that make your mouth feel odd after awhile. Sometimes the flutter is meant to last over several notes or used with faster passages. With luck, it will be clearly marked when to start and stop.

So how is this marked in music? Unfortunately, its not very consistent. Part of the reason is that, just like all terms in music, different languages use different words. Flatterzunge, frullato, coupe de lange roule, tremolo dental, vibrata linguale are just some of the different names used for flutter tonguing.
Most flute players agree that it SHOULD be marked with a fl, flt, flz or fltz and sometimes frull. or flutter above the note followed by a squiggly line (a trill mark) to show how long to flutter.

This is clear, noticeable and informative so of course many composers don't use it.
The next most recognized marking is to write fl or flutter above the note with diagonal lines slashing the stem of the note (a string tremolo mark.) This works but it can be confused with subdivision markings especially since composers often leave out the the fl and only use the slashes or write flutter once and never again even when the fluttered notes are mixed with regular notes. I recently played a piece that used this mark for flutter tonguing right after using subdivision marks for actual subdivisions and then proceeded to switch back and forth from subdivisions to flutter tonguing for two lines. It took me 4 times through the piece to figure out what was happening where.
Some composers simply write FL or flutter above the note with no other marking and leave you to guess how long you have to keep your tongue buzzing. Quite frustrating.
And some composers switch between all these marks just to make sure the flute section is paying attention. These are the composers I want to track down and send to remedial composition classes!
Finally, other composers make up their own marking I guess because they couldn't be bothered to look it up. As long as they explain their invented mark clearly and they use the same mark for the whole piece, I don't mind this. Consistency makes up for a lot!

Muses, Modes and the Music of the Spheres

This will be a rather odd (and long-ish) post about a picture called "Music of the Spheres" that was published in 1496 in Francinus Gafurius's Practica musice. This picture gives us some interesting insights into how the people of the Renaissance super-imposed Greek myth onto music theory. My views on the musical elements, mythological ideas and metaphysical ideas that can be seen in this picture are influenced by (but not the same as) Joseph Campbell's essay "The Muses Nine" (can be found in The Mythic Dimension: Selected Essays 1959-1987) which I encourage you to read. (Even though he got the names of the two modes that are the same wrong-he was a mythology expert, not a musician.)

"Music of the Spheres" from Francinus Gafurius's Practica musice published in 1496-public domain.
(This picture uses a pre-Copernican order for the planets and is geocentric.) 

What is shown in this picure

-The Latin scroll at the top reads "The Apollonian mind moves the Muses everywhere." 
-Apollo is seated at the top playing a large lute. The little flying monkeys in the corners (I know they are supposed to be angels or cupids but they look like flying monkeys to me) are playing a smaller lute and a viola da gamba. Both lutes and viola da gambas were often used instead of lyres in the Renaissance pictures of mythological characters.

-Three Graces dance next to Apollo.
    1 Euphrosyne "Mirth, Good Cheer"
    2 Aglaia "Splendor, Beauty"
    3 Thalia "Blooming, Abundance"

-Nine Muses are matched up with the nine planetary spheres and the modes/scales. In between each planet is the word tonus (whole-step) or semitonium (half-step) to show the distance between each note. To hear the different modes/scales, you can follow the whole and half steps starting on any note. Or, on a piano, play only the white key between the notes in the parenthesis below.
    1 Urania “Heavenly one”---Stars---Hypermixolydian (A to A; Aeolian or minor) 
    2 Polyhymnia “Many hymns”---Saturn---Mixolydian (G to G)
    3 Euterpe “Giver of joy”---Jupiter---Lydian (F to F)
    4 Erato “Awakener of desire”---Mars---Phrygian (E to E)
    5 Melpomene “The singer”---Sun---Dorian (D to D)
    6 Terpsicore “Enjoys dance”---Venus---Hypolydian (C to C; Ionian or major) 
    7 Caliope “Beautiful voice”---Mercury---Hypophrygian (B to B; Locrian) 
    8 Clio “Giver of fame”---Moon---Hypodorian (A to A; Aeolian or minor) 
    9 Thalia “Festive, blooming”---Earth---no note or mode
    (Note: These are not the current standard spellings for the names of the Muses.)

-The Greek words next to each Muse (Mese, Lychanosme, Meson etc.) are names for notes that mostly indicate the order of notes in a scale. They basically mean 1st, 2nd, 3rd and so on.
-A Three Headed Serpent in the center connects the Grace Thalia (top) to the Muse Thalia (bottom.) There really was both a Grace and a Muse named Thalia in some of the less well known Greek myths. A number of names get reused in Greek myths.
-The Elements-Fire (ignis) Air (aer), and Water (aqua) surround the Earth (terra) and the Muse Thalia.

I have yet to find any explanation of the vase of plants next to Apollo. I say it represents the blossoming of the earth creating spirit. 

Musical Ideas I See in this Picture

As a group, the Graces create the movement and speed of the sound waves; pitch.

The Grace Thalia shapes the type of sound being heard; timbre. I would tentatively give volume and rhythm to the other two Graces.

The Muses are the organization of the different vibrations/pitches; the notes and scales.

Since Muse Thalia (within the Earth) is not given a note or scale, she becomes not only the substance used to create music (air, wood, reed, string, metal) but also the sounding board or the part of the instrument/voice that reverberates and amplifies the sounds just as she amplifies our connection to spirit.

The whole-steps (tonus) and half-steps (semitonium) between each planet form an ascending minor scale from bottom to top though different scales are formed by starting on different notes/planets. The name of a Greek scale or mode is assigned to each Muse and planet. Hypermixolydian and Hypodorian are functionally the same scale pattern according to the picture. (Not, as Campbell says, Hypermixolydian and Dorian.)

A bit of trivia; the picture itself does not actually use Ancient Greek scales. Renaissance authors didn’t know how the Greek scales really worked and assigned the Greek names to their own scales somewhat randomly. (The Greek scales started on different notes, used different intervals between scale steps and often placed the tonic in the middle of the scale.) However, these ARE the scale patterns and mode names as they are paired off today. They just have nothing to do with the older Greek scales, aside from their names.

More Detail and Mythological Ideas

Apollo as the God of harmony helps people live in harmony with the world and spirit. Harmony can be created between different tones, different beings and different realities. In Greek myth, he was sometimes considered the leader of the Muses (after ousting Artemis.) 
The Graces are the first divisions, reflections or reverberations of spirit. They expand the possible ways of perceiving the divine mask, making it easier to approach. In myth, the Graces lived and traveled with the Muses. The Graces were sometimes considered a triad version of Aphrodite, who had ties to the Muses as well. There are several different sets of names for the Graces so don't worry too much if you haven't heard of this set before. Euphrosyne "Mirth, Festivity, Good Cheer" faces away from Apollo representing spirit moving out into the world. Aglaia "Splendor, Beauty, Triumph, Adornment" faces Apollo representing how the world feeds and seeks spirit. Thalia "Blooming, Abundance" faces the viewer creating a full circle.

The serpent descends through the planetary spheres and four elements (Campbell compares it to the Kundalini spirit descending the spinal column) and its three heads are in the earth with the Muse Thalia, connecting spirit with the physical world by linking the two Thalias. Three headed beings turn up in myth a great deal and often represent balancing our right and left energies (creative and analytical, spirit and body). This serpent helps us connect with or wake the Muse spirit within the earth and ourselves. 

The elements, earth, water, air and fire not only make up the world but are different forms of spirit within the world. The more aware we become of the various forms of spirit in the world around us, the more we experience the inspiration of the Muses. 

The Muses and the planets are the expansion of consciousness through the planetary spheres and different harmonies. Getting to know the Muses and their planetary spheres can be seen as the growing awareness that spirit exists in everything. And since all art, music and learning has its Muse, any art, learning or inspiration is a possible path to spirit.

Chakras and the Tree of Life

Campbell links the Muses to the chakras in his essay although he assigns three Muses to the heart chakra to make the numbers work. He describes encountering the different Muses as moving awareness up through the chakras in the body continuing the Kundalini idea.
Crown chakra----Urania/Stars
Brow chakra------Polyhymnia/Saturn
Throat chakra----Euterpe/Jupiter

                             Erato/Mars---Upper Heart, closer to spirit

Heart chakra-----Melpomene/Sun---Center Heart, balances earth and spirit
                             Terpsicore/Venus---Lower Heart, closer to earth
3^rd chakra---------Caliope/Mercury

2^nd chakra---------Clio/Moon

Root chakra------Thalia/Earth

Here is an alternative method of linking the Muses to the chakras that I came up with and think is less confusing. It uses two external chakras that are only present in some chakra systems (there are many.) Again, this is to make the numbers work.

External chakra above our heads----Urania/Stars

Crown chakra----------------------------------Polyhymnia/Saturn

Brow chakra------------------------------------Euterpe/Jupiter

Throat chakra----------------------------------EratoMars

Heart chakra------------------------------------Melpomene/Sun

3^rd chakra----------------------------------------Terpsicore/Venus

2^nd chakra---------------------------------------Caliope/Mercury

Root chakra-------------------------------------Clio/Moon

External chakra below the ground---Thalia/Earth 

This picture can also be used to place the Muses in the Tree of Life pattern. I don't know why Campbell didn't discuss this since the numbers match up better than with the chakras.

1 Kefer Crown/Source------------Apollo 
2 Chokmah Wisdom---------------Urania/Ourania

3 Binah Understanding-----------Polyhymnia

4 Chesed Love------------------------Euterpe

5 Gebunrah Strength--------------Erato

6 Tiphareth Beauty-----------------Melpomene

7 Netzach Victory-------------------Terpsicore/Terpshicore

8 Hod Glory----------------------------Caliope/Kalliope

9 Yesod Foundation----------------Clio/Klieo

10 Malkuth World/Universe-----Thalia

I think Mnemosyne “memory” would works just as well for the first station as Apollo since she is the mother of the Muses.

With that in mind, Lethe “forgetfulness” is a good choice for the 11^th station, Daath, that is both there and not. 
If you would rather stick with images from the original picture, the serpent would be my next pick for the 11th station. It would also be possible to put the Graces here as a group. (For a short, clear and sane intro to the Tree of Life, I suggest Math for Mystic by Renna Shesso-she discusses it in one chapter.)

Qabalah Tree of Life and Muses

Keep in mind that this order of the Muses was created in the Renaissance and has no relation to anything in Greek mythology. You are in fact free to move them around anyway you want.

Summing Up

Connection to spirit comes from perceiving that the spirit is a part of the physical world and understanding that the physical itself creates the spirit. To deny the physical, the body, as holy in hopes of increasing spirit or connecting with divine is similar to looking at a water glass without drinking it when we are thirsty. Drinking the water is much simpler and far more effective. Not to mention more comfortable.
The Muses bring inspiration of all kinds into our lives and harmony to spirit and matter throughout the universe.

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