Brian - while 100EFS may favour modal tunes, in EFS Some Conclusions, Sharp does give his opinion that:

The majority of our English folk-tunes, say two thirds, are in the major or ionian mode. The remaining third is fairly evenly divided between the mixolydian, dorian and aeolian modes, with, perhaps, a preponderance in favour of the mixolydian. These figures have been compiled from an examination of my own collection ; but, I believe, they accord approximately with the experiences of other collectors.


In Karpeles' Cecil Sharp's Collection of EFS, she gives the numbers for her selection as:

Major 619 (53%), Mix 139(12%), Others with maj3 168 (14%)
With minor: 3rd Dor 105(9%), Ael 57(5%), Others 29(2%)
Others 58(5%)

(Total 1175, wrongly given as 1165 in intro. Percentages rounded).

So even she doesn't get a distribution according with the figures from Conclusions.


I don't know whether Sharp's figures in Conclusions were just what he felt, or if he did a rigorous count. Or even if anyone has done a rigourous count!

Mick