Why from all 7 modes Major and Minor prevailed?

 

You don't play an instrument, do you?

 

i actually do, i never asked theoretical questions like this myself thats why i don't know

 

I am interested to know why as well , hopefully someone can explain

 

Last edited: Aug 24, 2020

In Western music, that's how the culture is. In other parts of the world, this is not true all the time.

https://music.stackexchange.com/a/6407/57881

 

Last edited: Aug 24, 2020

Because these are the 'beginner' scales - in the Western world.
Small hint, there are more scales - even in the Western world.

 

all modes have a Whole Half pattern so i don't think its much more difficult to use one over another?
you just need to remember the pattern
i'm still trying to understand

 

OK, This is quite Simple. The Piano's Particular Design Means C Major are all White Keys and A Minor is all white Keys. The Piano's Design also caused Music Notaion and Music theory to be unintuitive because the black keys being called accidentals is completely unintuitive, as well as the use of sharps and flats. Please note the guitar, the other composers instrument has no black keys. Music notation was designed around the Piano, and so is unintuitive to guitar players, However Music theory is more accesible to Guitar Players because they learn the concept of sharps and Flats, and not Piano Dogma.

 

b locrian , d dorian , e phrygian , f lydian , g mixolydian , they are all white keys

 

History is to blame. But more than a century and lot of musicians has changed that.

 

Last edited: Aug 25, 2020

this is actually good to listen to once i guess, just goes over the modes in order to hear how they sound like, some do sound a bit more weird than others i guess. major does sound the most natural. The others feel like you're missing a step somewhere along the way.

 

They are all just C Major. As is A Minor. Modes are still in the major key. The arrangement of the keys on the piano caused Cmajor and A minor to become the dominant songwriting modes, because they are only white keys, and a novice can compose songs easily in those keys on Piano with hardly any training whatsoever. Spewing out Greek Modal names means nothing. Their modal position is what is important for aspiring musicians to learn, ie. 2nd Mode, 3rd Mode etc. Wow! Modes of the C Major are all white keys too, How enlightening. Bravo! means nothing, we are discussing how the major and minor mode became the most popular for western music. What is your theory Modal Man?

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mode_(music)

 

Why are you so agg?
Tone it down a bit to a humble d dorian vibe!

 

Major and minor are the most definite modes by their quality. All main chords (tonic, dominant, subdominant) in major are major, in minor they are minor. In this cases quality is the most established and definite. "Marry and joyful" or "sad", you know it. In other modes main chords are mixed, they are major AND minor, it makes music more ambiguous, incertain and vague.

P. S. May be, I am a bit wrong in my terminology but the principle is important.

 

Major and minor provide the most obvious CONTRAST.

 

I know the answer but it won't help you in your workflow so let it be unknown.

 

Are you suggesting the piano came first and musical scales followed?
Boethian notation dates from the 6th century while the piano is an 18th century invention.
....and I had no idea that the guitar has no black keys!! Yet somehow I can play an F#....

 

Last edited by a moderator: Aug 25, 2020

The OP's question is actually OK. (but ambiguous - several interpretations of the question are possible)

It's definitely OK to ask a 'simple sounding' question and naively hope for a quick 'sound byte' answer
but the world won't (can't) always oblige. Really interesting stuff just doesn't work that way.

Answers like the one from @metaller are the winners here because they provide links to nice 'starter level' articles.
But in this area even 'starter level' answers can get technical very quickly.
The discussion in @metaller's link ends with this comment "There are entire books on functional harmony, modes, etc.,..."

So, take the hint, just accept that some real education is the way forward here. Music theory is rich and deep.
Without that education, the questions won't really make sense and many or most of the answers will be superficial or ridiculous.

Meanwhile, do remember that thousands of talented musicians are creatively using this stuff every day without needing
to know anything at all about the abstractions and wonderful theories that attempt to describe and explain their art.

 

Last edited: Aug 25, 2020