Modal RunsBb Ionian (A# 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 Bb Ionian are Bb, C, D, Eb, F, G, A. Its characteristic note is A — 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.
Bb 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 Bb 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 | Bb | Major |
| ii | Cm | Minor |
| iii | Dm | Minor |
| IV | Eb | Major |
| V | F | Major |
| vi | Gm | Minor |
| vii° | Adim | Diminished |
Same notes, different home
Every mode on this site is built from a major scale. Bb Ionian is the major scale of Bb itself — the other six modes below reuse its exact notes with a different home.
Other modes on Bb
Keep the same root and swap the scale — the fastest way to hear what each mode actually does.