What’s on the The Seven Modes poster
A 7-row table: Mode · From · Character.
Each mode starts from a different degree of the major scale. Shown from C's white keys.
- Ionian — C — The major scale
- Dorian — D — Minor with a bright 6th
- Phrygian — E — Minor with a flat 2nd — Spanish
- Lydian — F — Major with a sharp 4th — floating
- Mixolydian — G — Major with a flat 7th — bluesy
- Aeolian — A — The natural minor
- Locrian — B — Diminished, unstable, rare
Order of brightness, brightest first: Lydian, Ionian, Mixolydian, Dorian, Aeolian, Phrygian, Locrian.
Questions about the The Seven Modes poster
- What’s on the The Seven Modes poster?
- A 7-row table: Mode · From · Character. Each mode starts from a different degree of the major scale. Shown from C's white keys. Ionian — C — The major scale; Dorian — D — Minor with a bright 6th; Phrygian — E — Minor with a flat 2nd — Spanish; Lydian — F — Major with a sharp 4th — floating; Mixolydian — G — Major with a flat 7th — bluesy; Aeolian — A — The natural minor; Locrian — B — Diminished, unstable, rare. Order of brightness, brightest first: Lydian, Ionian, Mixolydian, Dorian, Aeolian, Phrygian, Locrian.
- Who is the The Seven Modes poster for?
- The Seven Modes belongs to the Music section rather than to a school year, because music is not something one grade owns. Anyone learning scales & modes can pin it up — a beginner, a student mid-course, or someone revising years later.
- When should you use the The Seven Modes poster?
- Play the white keys from each different starting note. That is every mode, on one keyboard. A wall chart earns its place by being glanceable from where the work is happening, so The Seven Modes belongs on the wall where that music work actually happens, within glancing distance, rather than filed away.
- What other posters go with The Seven Modes?
- The Blues Scale, Chromatic & Whole Tone and Dorian sit alongside The Seven Modes in the Music section. Printed together they make a wall rather than a single sheet, which is how a reference set actually gets used.The Blues ScaleChromatic & Whole ToneDorian
- Is the The Seven Modes poster free to download and print?
- Yes. The Seven Modes downloads as a free PDF with no account, no email and no watermark, like everything else in the Music section. Print as many copies as you like for a home, a classroom, a library or a tutoring group; reselling the file is the only thing the licence rules out.Read the licence
- What size does the The Seven Modes poster print at?
- The Seven Modes is a vector PDF laid out for US Letter, and prints on A4 with Fit to page — the same file, no separate download. Because every mark on it is drawn rather than photographed, it stays sharp enlarged to A3, A2 or A1 at a copy shop. Colour carries emphasis only, so a greyscale print of The Seven Modes loses nothing.Printing guide
Related posters
Charts that sit alongside The Seven Modes on the same wall.
Browse every Music poster, or start from the full catalogue.