Understanding the "modes" is as fundamental as understanding the difference between the major and minor scales; the latter being two of the seven "ecclesiastical" modes by another name, Ionian and Aeolian. Adding to the this is that in the music we're discussing there are "gapped scales", some with one and some with two gaps, and some are "double tonic" with and without gaps. I'm no "musicologist" either but it seems to me that Cynthia Cathgart "hit the nail on the head" when she said understanding the above is required in applying chords/harmony.
Alexander Mac Donald
I used to think that modal composition was primarily found in "celtic" music. However since I started exploring other traditional genres of music, I'm finding modes to be very common in everything except Western European Art music.. American country music spends alot of time in the "Major" pentatonic and dorian modes.
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