Mode

The Mode or modus is the name given to identify a musical system and the frequency of the Pitches used. Although in western music we are used to musical pitches being constant and tuned to very specific frequencies, many more modes exist in music including a number from the Eastern countries as well as the Greek systems.

The frequencies chosen and the intervals between notes has considerable importance in a spiritual context. Music can be used to record both Spells and Songlines, but if the frequency of notes is wrong or the intervals incorrect, both songlines and spells will not only not work, they will not sound 'right', they will have lost their potency to heal or summon the birds or change the weather!

A correspondence system exists to map modes and intervals to Intelligences for example – see Intelligences and their synonyms.

It is clear from all the observations on this site that celestial music did not use our current musical system, it was far closer to Eastern and Greek or Jewish ancient tuning.

If we take an example, the very early Greek systems, themselves based on Eastern systems were :

• Mixolydian: hypate hypaton–paramese (b–b′)

• Lydian: parhypate hypaton–trite diezeugmenon (c′–c″)

• Phrygian: lichanos hypaton–paranete diezeugmenon (d′–d″)

• Dorian: hypate meson–nete diezeugmenon (e′–e″)

• Hypolydian: parhypate meson–trite hyperbolaion (f′–f″)

• Hypophrygian: lichanos meson–paranete hyperbolaion (g′–g″)

• Common, Locrian, or Hypodorian: mese–nete hyperbolaion or proslambnomenos–mese (a′–a″ or a–a′)

Every mode was associated with an Emotion, as such the link was made between a musical system as a means of evoking or provoking specific Emotions – key to spiritual experience and also type of experience.

The systems also occasionally split the modes by Contrast and Intensity so that the resulting representation was in effect using a matrix mapping Emotion with scales of emotion [see Emotion examples].

The definition was then extended by using the concept of Harmonia - Harmony. The combination of Mode and rhythm or beat rate was known as Harmonium or Harmonium. This ties in with Carnatic music which is also both mode and rhythm.

In The Republic, Plato, for example, explicitly stated that playing music in a particular Harmonia would incline one towards specific behaviors and suggested that soldiers should listen to music in Dorian or Phrygian harmoniai, but avoid music in Lydian, Mixolydian or Ionian harmoniai, for fear of being softened. Plato also believed that a change in the musical modes would cause a wide-scale social revolution.

It is worth noting that numerous spiritually minded cultures and individuals have used modes extensively in their music. For example, Irish [Celtic] traditional music makes extensive usage of the Mixolydian, Dorian, and Aeolian modes. Much Flamenco music is in the Phrygian mode. Zoltán Kodály, Gustav Holst, Manuel de Falla used modal elements as modifications of a diatonic background, while in the music of Debussy and Béla Bartók modality replaced diatonic tonality. Stockhausen played with Modes "If we leave out certain steps of a[n equal-step] scale we get a modal construction".

"Hella Good" by Gwen Stefani composed in the key of G minor and incorporating a rhythm of 115 beats per minute has often been compared to that of Michael Jackson's 1983 single "Billie Jean", which has a tempo of 117 beats per minute and is in the key of F-sharp minor. Both are described as being in the Phrygian mode.

The table below maps emotions with modes............

Observations

For iPad/iPhone users: tap letter twice to get list of items.

• Aristotle - On celestial music
• Charles Burnett – Spiritual medicine, music and healing in Islam – The Maqam
• Engel, C - On ancient pitch and modes
• Engel,C - The Mode Asbein
• Ficino, Marsilio - Commentary on Plato’s Timaeus - And music therapy
• Ibn Hindu - The Key to Medicine and a Guide for Students
• Jackson, Michael - Billie Jean
• Khan, Hazrat Inayat - The Mysticism of Sound and Music - On spells and miracles
• Levi-Strauss, Claude - The Other Face of the Moon
• Oliver Sacks - Musical prodigy
• Pythagoras - Marcilio Ficino describes the musical ratios of Pythagoras
• Saint-Yves d’Alveydre – The Archeometer – Revelation 06
• Veena