A concept such as gamma in music has appeared relatively recently. But did people compose works from time immemorial, somehow recording them and passing them from generation to generation? Our ancestors used frets. These are special musical structures that, like tonality, could set the character and technical data of a play, but differed in their structure. Now we will consider the Ionian mode, its features and history.
What it is?
Some musicians are a little scared by such a concept as the Ionian fret, however, like all other frets in the solfeggio framework. But relatively specifically to this musical structure, there is nothing mysterious and requiring careful study: this fret is an exact copy of the major scale. That is, it consists of seven notes, covers an entire octave and has a structure typical of a major: tone, tone, semitone, three tones and semitone. According to this scheme, it can be built not only from “to” to “to”, but also from any other note - “re”, “fa”, “la”, etc. It is only important to observe the structure and sequence of midtones, and you can get the very sound of an ionic fret. The music based on it is all well-known classical, jazz or any other works written in major.
The main difference from major
Why, then, you ask, are we used to calling this gamma precisely the major, and not the Ionian mode? The whole point here lies in the different types of these two scales, in their properties and features. Well, let's start with the major. This is a generalized name that always requires the presence of a “musical” prefix - in C major, B major, F major, etc. That is, we have a gamut that is tonal in structure - with obvious support for the first step. In addition to the first stage, the third and fifth are considered the main ones in the gamut - this is the very triad that is the hallmark of any major. But at the same time, the remaining steps can increase or decrease. As a result, you can play harmonic, melodic, twice harmonic or twice melodic major. In this case, the scale will have different sequences of midtones.
What do we know about frets? For them there is no such thing as a tonic - they are modal. That is, like a swing, they can move up or down the stave, but at the same time remain integral. They retain the scale - a sequence of tones-halftones. Therefore, the lad will always sound the same, the only difference is whether it will be high or low.
Origin and Beginning of Existence
The history of the name of the Ionian fret is very interesting. Now we call it that, relying on the ancient Greek settlement, which lived on the shores of the Ionian Sea and bore the corresponding name. It was they who invented this simple and ingenious gamut (then it was also called simply fret), which subsequently became an unbreakable basis for writing all the works that we can now be satisfied with. But in Ancient Greece itself, the now famous gamma in C major was called the Lydian fret. Nowadays, we call this term a different musical notation - it is also a natural major, but its IV level is increased (that is, just pressing the white keys from “fa” to “fa” one by one, without flats or sharps). But due to the fact that earlier frets were perceived rather as not as an integral structure, but as tetrachords, that is, partially (in four steps), people often interchanged the "top" and "bottom" of the gamma. So the transfer of the top four notes of the modern Lydian fret to its lower part contributed to the formation of a new one - the Ionian fret.
About the ancient Greeks and their musical culture
Everyone who is even briefly familiar with the solfeggio course knows that every ancient Greek mode - Ionian, Dorian, Mixolidian, etc. - is diatonic. That is, each consists of its own unique sequence of tones and midtones and has seven steps. This became the basis of modern musical literacy, which has not practically changed, but even simplified to our days. The Greeks, who lived long before the start of a new era, were very sensitive to frets. People from each individual region could boast of their unique gamut, on the basis of which ancient works were written. But the top of the society singled out from the many modes the most melodious, and such as Dorian, Aeolian and Ionian entered their ranks. Music based on such a diatonic sequence was performed at the most important events and was considered noble and refined.
Was everything only in major?
Not at all. The notes of the Ionian fret were the basis for building a really fun (as was noted by the ancient Greeks) and perky scale. On the basis of this scale solemn motives were composed, funny tunes for dinner parties and holidays. But far more mysterious and even dramatic were the two second most popular frets - the Aeolian and Dorian. The first is an exact copy of the current natural minor - that is, without sharps and flats from "la" to "la". The second was presented in the form of a minor with an increased VI level. The easiest way to imagine it is by removing the “B flat” from the natural minor and replacing it with the usual “B”. Often, two minor frets were used as the basis for writing music for performances, in the evenings of mourning, and simply for creating mysterious and melodic motifs.
Medieval confusion
Such a name as Boethius is the center not only for musicians, but also for philosophers, theologians and other representatives of the so-called metaphysical segment. He deeply studied both science and philosophy with art, while uniting all these industries. For the first time, it was Boethius who documented all the frets existing at the time of his life, invented by the ancient people. Thus, he left behind him the greatest cultural heritage, which became the basis for the development of the medieval epic and church hymns. But the musicians of this gloomy era, having discovered the achievements of Boethius, interpreted the ancient Greek octave a little incorrectly, and as a result called all the scales not by their proper names. The notorious Ionian received a new name - hypolidian, and it was often used in church culture. They “edited” the lead and returned its true name only in the era of enlightenment, when tonic scales almost completely replaced the concept of lead from solfeggio.
Nowadays
Since the modal modes of the ancient Greeks did not rely on tonic, they did not need a clear designation of each sound. Dots marked tones and midtones that went up or down. It turns out that each singer or musician chose the pitch of the melody for himself - depending on the timbre of the voice or device arrangement. In a language that is more understandable to a modern musician, it is the same that you could freely play a piece written in D major, in C major, A major, G sharp major and any other major. The appearance of tonic is most associated with keyboards - first harpsichord and organ, then piano. There is already a clear octave, so there is a need to rely on the first sound.
But still, all these modes are relevant for folk instruments. Very often, the Ionian fret is played on the guitar - it’s easy to play the modal major scale from any note of your choice, also on the harp, occasionally on stringed bowed instruments.
Conclusion
Frets are the foundation on which our modern music was built. The ancient Greeks achieved tremendous success in this field of art, they created a unique system that allowed not only playing tunes and forgetting them, but also structuring the music, making it recognizable and stylized. And the Ionian fret in music is a prototype of our major, which has an identical sound, but slightly different properties.