These two 'lists' go in opposite directions.

Here are the connections I made when thinking about these lists:ġ. If the order of sharps (scale degrees) were flats I mean, those right two columns both start on C ionian, but end up on ionians that are a doubly augmentd / doubly diminished prime apart!? So, in short, the order of sharps is not just the order of flats in reverse, but also the order of flats in modes.but why?Ĭontinuing, I added that row to the table, and that just made things worse. This is all perfectly logical, but I had never given serious thought to it until I made this chart for the other article and noticed the order of sharps in scale degrees.

7, 3, 6, 2, 5, 1, and 4 = ionian since an ionian can be thought of as lowering.

7, 3, 6, 2, 5, and 1 = lydian since lydian can be thought of as lowering everything but 4.

What's that? Cb lydian!! Next, if you flatten 7, 3, 6, 2, 5, 1, and 4 you get Cb ionian! and 1? Yup, the pattern continues! Write out a C scale (C D E F G A B) now flat those scale degrees (7, 3, 6, 2, 5, 1) and you get this Cb Db Eb F Gb Ab Bb.

7, 3, 6, 2, and 5 = locrian since a locrian scale has a lowered 7th, 3rd, 6th, 2nd and 5th compared with its parallel major.Ĭool! But.

7, 3, 6, and 2 = phrygian since a phrygian scale has a lowered 7th, 3rd, 6th, and 2nd compared with its parallel major.

7, 3, and 6 = aeolian since an aeolian scale has a lowered 7th, 3rd, and 6th compared with its parallel major.

7 and 3 = dorian since a dorian scale has a lowered 7th and 3rd compared with its parallel major.

7 = mixolydian because mixolydian has a lowered the 7th.

When I see '7,' '7 and 3,' and '7, 3, 6,' etc., particularly in that order, I don't think 'oh, that's the order sharps in scale degrees as applied to the major scales,' I think 'Modes!' Here's why: They don't actually look like they represent sharps, do they? They look like they represent the flats of the modes! Now, if you're like me, then the order of sharps represented in scale degrees stood out to you.

Nothing particularly interesting here, just look it over and keep reading below. It lists 1) the order of sharps in notes, 2) the corresponding major scale, 3) the order of sharps in scale degrees, and 4) the corresponding 'C' scale. Observation: the order of sharps, as scale degrees applied to the major scales, if treated as flats, create the order of flats in modes Either way, I'm pretty sure I took the long route to get there, but I'll explain the path I took, and you tell me what you think. Frankly, I can't tell if this is complicated, or extremely simple.

Order of flats and sharps