Please Explain Greek Scales And Church Modes To Me In Plain English.

I understand music theory. Decently, at least. I was a trumpeter in my school band for 7 years, and I started composing music and I like to think I have a good enough grip on it. But the problem is I don't know the lingo. I'm able to find good guides on things I basically understand already, but I have a question on modes. Not the modern ones, like Ionian, Locrian, etc.. I understand those. My problem is with these old greek scales and church modes and what not. I look things up and I can't figure out what anyone is talking about. Not because it's complicated stuff, but because thye use words like "diatonic" and "perfect fourth" and "4:3 perfect resonance" or something like that, which I never had to learn. I'm sure they just refer to concepts I'm perfectly familiar with, but I don't know lingo.

Could someone explain these things to me in plain english?

The Greek scales and the church modes have the same names, but they actually refer to different modes and tunings! That complicates things, and you should keep that in mind when reading ancient greek texts which describe the character of the differetn modes.

They are just scales that are built on different arrangements of 1/2 steps and whole steps.  Play a C major scale.  Now play an A minor scale.  They use the exact same piano keys, but they start on different notes.  Now, using the exact same keys on the piano, start on D and play a scale.  You have just played in Dorian mode.  It's the same keys/notes as a C major scale, and the same keys/notes as an A minor scale, but because you start on the note "D" the order of half steps and whole steps changes.  When you start building chords for a song in Dorian, that means the relationship between the notes in each chord is going to be different than it would using a major or minor scale.  Try playing a D major scale, and then a standard chord progression with some I, V, and IV chords.  Then play a Dorian scale starting on D and the same standard chord progression, (but now with no sharps or flats, because D Dorian doesn't have any).  Now repeat the exercise but with a D minor scale.  That will teach your ears what the things you are reading is trying to explain.  Other than that, google any terms you don't understand, write the definitions down on flashcards and keep re-reading, referencing your flashcards as necessary until it starts to make sense.  Draw things out on sheet music paper if you need to to keep it all straight in your head.  (:

I understand music theory. Decently, at least. I was a trumpeter in my school band for 7 years, and I started composing music and I like to think I have a good enough grip on it. But the problem is I don't know the lingo. I'm able to find good guides on things I basically understand already, but I have a question on modes. Not the modern ones, like Ionian, Locrian, etc.. I understand those. My problem is with these old greek scales and church modes and what not. I look things up and I can't figure out what anyone is talking about. Not because it's complicated stuff, but because thye use words like "diatonic" and "perfect fourth" and "4:3 perfect resonance" or something like that, which I never had to learn. I'm sure they just refer to concepts I'm perfectly familiar with, but I don't know lingo.

 

Could someone explain these things to me in plain english?

"Diatonic" means using only notes from the scale being worked with. In C major, the notes of C major. A perfect fourth is the span of five semitones, for example from the fifth scale degree in the major scale to the tonic. A perfect 4:3 resonance is a perfect fourth interval of approximately 498 cents and relates to the Pythagoras tuning which has eleven just fifths and (inverted) fourths and one hideously discordant fifth/fourth known as the wolf interval. In twelve-tone equal temperament all fifths are almost two cents flat and all fourths sharp by the same amount which causes them to beat slightly.

Imagine a little harp, with 10 strings, tuned in C major, so you only have C,D,E,F,G,A,B and nothing of Sharps/Flats, now, if you treat the note C as root of your scare, you're playing in C major, let's say you want to change the "happy" feeling for a "Sad" one, you just move your root to A and now you're in A minor... but that's all you can do ? No, if you move the root to the other notes, you get other kind of "feelings" or scales,

C D E F G A B = Ionian (aka "major")

    D E F G A B C = Dorian

        E F G A B C D = Phrygian

            F G A B C D E = Lydian

               G A B C D E F = Mixolydian

                   A B C D E F G = Aeolian (aka "minor")

                      B C D E F G A = Locrian

That's how you maximize the use of you're little harp for playing different feelings in your "songs".

Now, for a more modern usage, if you copy the scale structure to different roots, let's say Locrian but not beginning in B but in C, you get a scale like this: C Db Eb F Gb Ab Bb and that's still Locrian, is just "C Locrian", in case you don't know how does this actually sounds, or that it may not have a really useful aspect, listen Orff's "Trionfo di Afrodite" which is almost entirely written in this mode.