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The Ionian Mode on Guitar

Happy, bright, resolved

At a Glance

Formula: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Degree: I of the major scale — play a major scale starting from its 1st note and you are playing Ionian.

Character: Happy, bright, resolved

Heard in: Major key melodies, pop, folk, classical

Examples: Happy Birthday, Let It Be, most pop songs

Ionian in All 12 Keys

Each page shows the full fretboard, the five CAGED shapes, the diatonic 7th chords and the pentatonic subset. The parent major scale is listed beside each key — that is the scale you are really playing, just starting somewhere else.

C IonianC major C♯ IonianC♯ major D IonianD major D♯ IonianD♯ major E IonianE major F IonianF major F♯ IonianF♯ major G IonianG major G♯ IonianG♯ major A IonianA major A♯ IonianA♯ major B IonianB major

The Other Six Modes

All seven modes share the same seven notes when they share a parent scale. What changes is which note feels like home.

DorianII PhrygianIII LydianIV MixolydianV AeolianVI LocrianVII

Keep Going

How the modes workGUIDE The CAGED systemGUIDE Analyze a chord progressionTOOL Guitar Mode Finder for iPhoneAPP