Modes
Compare every mode on the same twelve positions. The useful question is not “what are the note names?” but “which offsets differ from my current territory?”
0 2 3 5 7 8 100 2 3 5 7 9 100 1 3 5 7 8 100 2 3 5 7 8 110 2 4 5 7 9 110 2 4 5 7 9 10| Mode | Signature change | Gesture | Fast use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minor | ♭3 · ♭6 · ♭7 | 0 3 7 10 | Techno / dark algorave |
| Dorian | 8 → 9 | 0 9 10 9 | Hypnotic / dub / Detroit |
| Phrygian | 2 → 1 | 0 1 0 7 | Industrial / acid |
| Harmonic minor | 10 → 11 | 8 11 12 | Dramatic / cinematic |
| Mixolydian | 11 → 10 | 0 7 10 | Cyclic major without leading tone |
Signature gestures
0 → 9 → 10 → 90 → 1 → 0 → 78 → 11 → 12keep the root; mutate one degreeMinor → Dorian is often just 8 → 9. Minor → Phrygian is 2 → 1.Extended modal library
The rows below are practical 12-TET projections. A maqam or makam also contains microtonal intonation, characteristic fragments and melodic direction; a raga also specifies ascent, descent, important tones, phrases and time. Use these sets as entry points—not as complete descriptions of a tradition.
Arabic maqam & Turkish makam4 keyboard projections + 2 microtonal reminders
0 1 4 5 7 8 10A 12-TET projection, not a full maqam practice.
0 1 4 5 7 8 10A 12-TET projection, not a full makam practice.
0 1 4 5 7 8 11A keyboard projection; intonation, seyir and characteristic phrases are not encoded.
0 1 3 5 7 8 10A 12-TET pitch map, not a complete maqam or makam description.
0 · 2 · ≈3½ · 5 · 7 · 9 · ≈10½neutral thirds and sevenths cannot be shown faithfully on a 12-key grid0 · ≈1½ · 3 · 5the second degree is tradition-, context- and direction-dependentIndian raga pitch inventories5 useful note sets; phrase grammar still matters
0 1 4 5 7 8 11A 12-TET pitch inventory, not a complete raga grammar.
0 1 3 6 7 8 11A 12-TET pitch inventory; ascent, descent, intonation and phrase grammar remain unspecified.
0 2 3 5 7 9 10A 12-TET pitch inventory, not a complete raga grammar.
0 2 4 6 7 9 11A 12-TET pitch inventory; characteristic movement and hierarchy are not encoded.
0 2 4 7 9A 12-TET pitch inventory, not a complete raga grammar.
Chinese pentatonic modesfive rotations of Gong · Shang · Jue · Zhi · Yu
0 2 4 7 9One tempered pentatonic frame among several Chinese traditions.
0 2 5 7 10A root-relative tempered rotation, not a complete account of Chinese modal practice.
0 3 5 8 10A root-relative tempered rotation, not a complete account of Chinese modal practice.
0 2 5 7 9A root-relative tempered rotation, not a complete account of Chinese modal practice.
0 3 5 7 10A root-relative tempered rotation, not a complete account of Chinese modal practice.
Japanese pitch collections4 practical mappings; names vary by tuning and source
0 2 5 7 9A practical 12-TET mapping; tuning, rotation and naming vary by source.
0 1 5 7 8A tempered pitch-set view, not a complete Japanese performance practice.
0 1 5 6 10A scale-like 12-TET abstraction of a tuning name; rotations and spellings vary.
0 2 3 7 8A common livecoding mapping of a tuning name; sources rotate and spell it differently.
“Hirajoshi” and “Iwato” historically refer to tunings as well as scale-like abstractions. Different sources rotate or spell the same interval cycle differently.
Fast gestures from the extended library
0 → 1 → 4 → 50 → 1 → 4 → 5 → 8 → 7 → 4 → 1 → 00 → 2 → 4 → 7 → 9 → 7 → 4 → 20 → 1 → 5 → 7 → 8 → 7 → 5 → 1Reference orientation: MaqamWorld · Turkish Music Portal · Knowledge Traditions & Practices of India · Chinese pentatonic modes · Koto scales and tuning.