Definition

Noun: 1. A type of musical scale: Any one of the eight scales used as the melodic basis for Gregorian chant, the official liturgical chant of the Roman Catholic Church, until around 1600. These modes are historically derived from ancient Greek musical theory but were adapted and systematized in medieval Europe.

Usage

The term is used specifically in the context of medieval music history, music theory, and the study of liturgical music. * Musicologists study the Gregorian mode to understand the structure of early sacred music. * The chant was composed in the third Gregorian mode. * Understanding the Gregorian modes is essential for performing this repertoire authentically.

Advanced Usage

• The system of eight Gregorian modes (also called church modes or ecclesiastical modes) includes four authentic modes (Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian) and four plagal modes (Hypodorian, Hypophrygian, Hypolydian, Hypomixolydian), each defined by a specific pattern of whole and half steps and a final note (finalis).
• The concept of Gregorian modes was foundational to Western music theory before the widespread adoption of the major-minor key system.

Variants and Related Words

• Church mode (noun): A synonym for Gregorian mode.
• Ecclesiastical mode (noun): A synonym for Gregorian mode.
• Mode (noun): In music, a type of scale. The Gregorian modes are a specific set of modes.
• Gregorian chant (noun): The monophonic, unaccompanied sacred song of the Roman Catholic Church, which uses the Gregorian modes.

Synonyms

• Church mode
• Ecclesiastical mode

Different Meanings

• The word "mode" alone has many other meanings (e.g., a way of operating, a statistical value, a fashion style). "Gregorian mode" is a specific technical term within musicology.

Noun

1. any of a system of modes used in Gregorian chants up until 1600; derived historically from the Greek mode