Modal RunsA Ionian on Guitar
Ionian is the plain major scale — the resolved, "everything is fine" sound that most Western music treats as home. The notes of A Ionian are A, B, C#, D, E, F#, G#. Its characteristic note is G# — the major 7th — the one note that gives this major-type scale its colour.
It is the sound of nursery rhymes, pop choruses, and triumphant film endings. Every other mode on this site is this same set of notes with a different note treated as home, which is why learning Ionian well makes the other six come almost for free.
A Ionian across the whole neck
Over the drone, listen for how the major 7th leans hungrily into the root — that pull is what "resolved" actually means.
Formula and intervals
R - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 — 7 notes. The natural 3rd makes it a major-family scale.
Chords in A Ionian
These are the diatonic chords — the harmony built from only the notes above. Vamping between any of them keeps you inside the mode.
| Degree | Chord | Quality |
|---|---|---|
| I | A | Major |
| ii | Bm | Minor |
| iii | C#m | Minor |
| IV | D | Major |
| V | E | Major |
| vi | F#m | Minor |
| vii° | G#dim | Diminished |
Same notes, different home
Every mode on this site is built from a major scale. A Ionian is the major scale of A itself — the other six modes below reuse its exact notes with a different home.
Other modes on A
Keep the same root and swap the scale — the fastest way to hear what each mode actually does.