DICTIONARY OF MUSIC - El Atril

Enharmonic
ditoiie
Chromatic
Toyic
I
GREEK MUSIC GEEEK MUSIC 225
Hypopheygian.
tone J tone ^ tone ditone J tone J tone
1^ tone! tone J tene J-
tone I
Enharmonic
tone
tone 1} tone i tone A tone
i tone tone tone ^ tone tone
Hypodoriax.
tone J tone J tone ditone J tone ^ tone ditone
Chromatic
Toyic
tone i tone ^ tone lA tone ^ tone ^ tone 1^ tone
TONIC
i tone tone tone i tone tone tone
I tone
(b) Pitch of the Modes.— It is a law of Greek
music (see Aristotle, Problems, xix. 20)—and
indeed in the absence of harmony a natural
necessity—that the Mese or Tonic must be the
predominating or constantly recurring note in
every melody. Therefore every mode will take
its pitch-character from the position the Mese
or Tonic occupies in it. Thus the Mixolydian
is intrinsically high-pitched because, since its
tonic lies near its upper extremity, in any
melody written in that mode the upper notes
will be predominant. Hence we understand
Aristotle's statement (Politics, v. (viii.) 7. 1342
b 20) that certain low-pitched modes suit the
failing voices of old men— they would not
have to use their higher notes so much as their
lower.
From this intrinsic pitch-character arises the
relative determination of the pitch of the modes.
Since e.g. the Lydian ilese or Tonic (diatonic)
is a tone and a half from the top, and four and
a half tones from the bottom of the Lydian
mode, while the Dorian Tonic is three and a
half tones from the top, and two tones and a
half from the bottom, of the Dorian mode, it
follows that the Lydian mode is two tones
higher than the Dorian.
The follo«'ing table illustrates the pitch
relations of the modes, but it is to be observed
that the particular limits of pitch :
^ here assumed are arbitrary. '.
5^
The Seven' Modes (in the Diatonic Genus)
kepresented in their relations of fitch.
Mixolydian.
^^-^EE0=^ =g^^=^|5=^
EgEEi^^E^ZEe_= =?=
pl=S=2=2: --^eIe
Dorian. TONIC
z3^g^S^^_E^=:^&=
5="f=^|2=
HYPOPaP.VOIAN.
TON IC
Eg^g-^^j^^^^^g
HVPODORIAN.
^=g^^g^y^^ =5=SS^ ^^^ ;^ gr
From this table it appears that the Hypodorian
with its tonic F is the lowest of the modes,
and the Hypoplirygian, Hypolydian, Dorian,
Phrygian, Lydian, and Mixolydian follow at
intervals respectively of a tone, a tone, a semitone,
a tone, a tone, a semitone.
D. Keys.—Developed Art called for a more
ample scale than the octachord. This was obtained
by the addition of tetrachords above and
below, so as to form the following type :
H^-pat6n
DiAZECG- HyPER-
MENON BOLAEON
The several tetrachords in it were called respec-
tively Hypati^in, or ' of the highest ' strings, i.e.
lowestnotes. Meson or ' of the middle, 'Diazeugmenon
or ' of the disjunct,' Hyperbolaeon or ' of the
extreme. ' In this scale was further incorporated
a tetrachord united by conjunction to the tetrachord
Meson at its upper extremity, and called
Synemmenon or ' of the conjunct,' and the resulting
scheme was known as the complete scale
{a-va-Trifia. rfteioi-). The important result of
this extension was that the modes (as given in
0), being all extended to the same type, their
independence of form was thereby cancelled ;
the modes became mere kej's [tovol). The subsequent
addition of eight keys with their tonics
in the spaces left vacant by the tonics of the
seven already existing yielded the following
complex of scales (see Alypius, ed. Meibom) :