B Ionian

What is B Ionian?

B Ionian is the seven notes B C# D# E F# G# A# — the notes of B major started from its 1st degree, B. Same seven notes as the parent, but with B as home, so the intervals and the sound are different.

B Ionian vs B major

They are the same seven notes in the same order. “Ionian” is the mode name for the major scale — it says which chord you treat as home, not that any note changed.

Chords in B Ionian

Stack the mode in thirds and each degree becomes a chord. The home chord is B; the rest are the chords of B major, since the notes are the same — what changes is which one the music rests on. Vamp between B and E and the mode is unmistakable.

All the chords in B major, with shapes and numerals →

B Ionian on the guitar neck

Because B Ionian is B major from its 1st note, its natural fingering is position 1 of the seven three-notes-per-string shapes of B major — the shape whose lowest note is B. Learn that shape with B as home — start and end on it, over a drone on B or the vamp above — and you have the mode under your fingers. The other six positions are the fingerings for the other six modes of the same key.

• The seven positions of B major — the Ionian shape is position 1 →
• See every B Ionian note across the whole neck →

How to practice B Ionian on guitar

1. Loop position 1 of B major at 60 BPM, starting and ending on B so your ear hears B as home rather than B.
2. Hold a B chord (or record one) and play the shape over it. Listen for the chord tones landing on the beat.
3. Hear it harmonized in 3rds on the Fretboard: press Play and every note sounds with its partner while the neck lights up.