When the seven key pitches are arranged in ascending order, what patterns emerge?

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Think of the seven pitches as a diatonic set—the notes you get from a major scale. If you start on different notes of that same set as the tonal center, you hear different modes. When the tonic is the first note, the pattern sounds like a major scale. If the tonic is the second, third, or sixth note, the same seven pitches give you minor-patterns (Dorian, Phrygian, and Aeolian), each with its own characteristic minor feel. So, from that ascending arrangement, you can hear four distinct tonal patterns: one major and three different minor patterns. The other modes on the remaining degrees introduce different colors (and a diminished option on one degree), which isn’t counted in the simple major/minor tally described. That’s why the best description is four patterns: a major, and three different minors.