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the seven modes

48 s · each mode played from C, announced

the seven modes 48 s · each mode played from C, announced
0:00 / 0:47
↓ wav ↓ midi

Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, Locrian — the same ascending degrees 1–8 read through each of the seven diatonic scales, so the modal colors sit side by side. A voice names each one.

↓ Download MP3 ↓ WAV (lossless)

One line, seven colors

Each mode plays the exact same matrix — the degrees 1 through 8, ascending:

pitch: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

The only thing that changes from one mode to the next is the scale it’s read against:

# the same matrix, seven different projections
scale: ionian       # the major scale
scale: dorian
scale: phrygian
scale: lydian
scale: mixolydian
scale: aeolian      # natural minor
scale: locrian

One ascending line, seven scales, seven distinct colors — Lydian’s bright raised fourth, Phrygian’s dark flat second, Locrian’s unsettled fifth. What you hear is entirely a function of the projection; the data never moved.