The majority of Western classical (in the widest sense of the word) since c.1600 and pop music has been based on the MAJOR or MINOR scales that we have looked at throughout the music course. These consist of a set order of TONES and SEMITONES, eg. a major scale is T-T-S-T-T-T-S, and give this music the MAJOR or MINOR tonality that we can identify quite easily.
MODAL scales simply order the notes of the scale differently. Here are two examples (the SEMITONES are indicated by slurs)
Modal music still has a MAJOR or MINOR or feel to it (the Lydian Mode above sounds kind of MAJOR, for example, because all of its INTERVALS are the same as a MAJOR SCALE except for that between the fourth and fifth notes), but can often seem a bit more like a mixture between the two, and the CADENCES don't sound quite like the ones we have learnt about.
From about 1500, the MAJOR and MINOR scales gradually came to dominate music. PLAINSONG/PLAINCHANT/GREGORIAN CHANT, which originates from before this time is MODAL, as is the majority (but not all) of RENAISSANCE music, and this is where you're most likely to encounter it in your exam. In fact, if you're hearing PLAINSONG or any RENAISSANCE music in a multiple choice question, I would advise you to tick it. Here are some examples:
Beyond classical music, MODAL tonality also features in a lot of FOLK MUSIC from throughout history (tracks 1-5 in the following playlist).
Many classical composers in the early Twentieth Century had a great interest in the FOLK MUSIC of their countries and incorporated folk tunes (tracks 6 & 7) or influences (Tracks 8-10) into their compositions. These compositions often therefore have a MODAL feel to them.
Some JAZZ is also based on MODES and is known as MODAL JAZZ (tracks 11-14).
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