Ionian Set Modal Cadences and Progressions When choosing to compose in the realms of the modes of the Ionian set, care must be taken to remain within the constraints of the current mode. While non-diatonic notes (chromatic approach tones, etc) may be used in the melody or when soloing over the changes, the majority of melody notes (and all of the harmony notes) will always be drawn from the pool of the seven diatonic notes contained in the current mode. Modal compositions and Sections (as opposed to major and “composite minor” tonal works) must clearly define the tonic chord. This is usually done by @stablishing ‘the tonie before moving on to any other chord. It is not always necessary to introduce all seven diatonic notes of a mode into the melody or harmony in order to establish its “mood” (qv. “ModeChords” in the appendices pg 161). It is, however, imperative that the character?stic notes (one or the other of the tritone components, and usually the quality- defining third as well) be explicitly included somewhere in either the melody or harmony to firmly establish the mode's true identity and to avoid ambiguity.Modal chord motions, cadences and progressions tend to be quite simple. Often they use basic triadic structures. While 7th, 9th and even 11th chords and suspensions can also be used for color, as with all functional harmony, the most important factor is root motion. While it is certainly possible to regard modal chords as being either “tonic or non-tonic *, not all non-tonic chords are equal. This chapter is primarily concerned with the relative cadential strengths of the motions from the various non-tonic chords back to their tomic (and these chords’ uses in modal progressions). In major and “composite minor” tonal progressions, the chord with the strongest need to resolve to the tonic is called the“dominant' and is built off the fifth degree of the scale. In modal progressions, the chords that strongly need to resolve to the tonic are sometimes called “#oda/ dominants *, but they are usually not built off the fifth degree. Consequently, the term “cadential chord’ will be used throughout here to avoid any confusion. Below are the general guidelines to determining the degree of a chord’s cadential strength in modal contexts (in order of importance): 1. Proximity of the non-tonic chord’s root to the tonic root a) step-wise cadences In tonal cadences, the most typical cadential motion is circular (approaching the tonic root by ascending or descending fourths or fifths). In modal cadences, however, the most typical and strongest by ascending or descending a whole-step or half-step).