Ionian Mode
Ionian is the major scale under an older name. There is no difference in the notes, the mood or the chords. The name exists because the other six modes need something to be measured against, and this is it.
- 7 notes
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
- none, this is the benchmark
which styles use it
- Pop
- Rock & folk
- Country
- Gospel
How it is built
Whole, whole, half, whole, whole, whole, half. Play the white keys from C to C and you have it. Every other mode on this site is described as this pattern with one or two notes moved.
Bright and settled, and so familiar that most listeners hear it as the absence of a mood rather than a mood of its own.
Where to use it
Everywhere, which is why the modal name is rarely used in practice. You call it Ionian when you are comparing modes and major the rest of the time.
The chords that go with it
The seven diatonic chords in their standard order: major, minor, minor, major, major, minor, diminished. The strong pull from the fifth back to the first is what makes this a key rather than a mode in the modal sense.
What it gets confused with
With nothing, but it is worth knowing that music in Ionian is normally just called major. If someone insists on the modal name, they are usually making a point about the other six.