I don’t think I’ll ever do country music, but that doesn’t mean I can’t learn from it, and growth is what it’s all about in playing an instrument.

Personally, I don’t think I’ll ever have the time to completely master all the intricacies of modal theory – there appear to be a lot. But if I could get some grounding in it, which I’m willing to spend the time on, I can hopeful expand what I’m doing live.

I’m new to this whole modal thing myself, too. I took a few theory classes in college, but admittedly, I was stoned (or beyond) for a full 100% of them; makes for a fun 75 minutes, but not a very educational period of time.

So now I’m trying to learn it all again, and actually LEARN it this time around. It won’t be easy by any means, but at least I’m in good company.

During one of those theory classes, my professor mentioned that should someone get the circle of 5ths tattooed on their forearm, he could not technically prevent them from using it on the test. Nowadays, I find myself considering doing just that on my left forearm so I could see it while I’m playing…

Admittedly, I’m a real late bloomer on this stuff, and have pretty much done everything by feel to this point. I’ve felt it was important to at least bring some intellectual thought to what I’ve only been doing viscerally.

In addition, I’ve also felt it was important because I’ve been in a bit of rut, and have wanted to expand my horizons but really didn’t know how to approach where I’d like to take my technique until I started learning about modes.

By the way, this latest bit you’ve shared here is IMMENSELY helpful, and really inspiring. I can’t wait to try it out! And thanks again for your frankness and honesty!!!

I wrote that post just before leaving work and, after mulling it over on the train, I feared I may have come across as more of an ass than I had intended – if you were offended, I’m sorry

Apologies aside, I also thought up a GREAT way to demonstrate this to you and your readers which I’ll include here…

First, a note on the terminology…

Scale and mode can be used interchangeably. The “key” of a song is (typically) defined by the scale that determines the harmonic center (C, G, F#, etc) and tonality (major, minor, etc)

If you have the capability to record yourself, try this exercise: Record yourself playing a 12-bar blues in the key of C. Use all open major chords. Don’t use 7th chords or any other bluesy-type tricks here. Just do the basic strumming using C F and G.

Now, play this back and play a solo over it in the key of C. Again, don’t focus on fancy licks. Just try to play something melodic and, most importantly, STAY IN THE KEY.

Now, play just the rhythm track again, but this time play a solo in the key of F. Try it with a bunch of different keys until you get bored and notice how the non-key tones (Bb in the case of F, F# if you are soloing in G, etc) affect the “flavor” of your melody.

THAT gets you to the heart of “modal” playing. Your harmonic context (the key) is still C major (or Ionian) but you’re coloring outside the lines there in ways that add, well, color to your melody.

Another thing to do here would be to play another solo/melody/lead using the pentatonic blues scale. In the key of C that would be C Eb F G A Bb C. The blues scale is just another mode. Though, since it is relatively new, it doesn’t have a fancy latin name.

Now, consider a deeper example that touches on how the “mode” interacts with the chord progression.

What we “regular” guitarist (rock/blues types) think of as a 7th chord is usually the dominant 7th. In the case of C7, it would be C E G Bb. Note that Bb is NOT in the key of C! The chord C7 appears naturally in only one key which is F major. The other major chords (F and Bb) would be major 7th chords in that key (Fmaj7 -> F A C E and Bbmaj7 is Bb D F A).

Now, do a new rhythm track where you play your 12-bar blues using all dominant 7th chords: C7, F7 (F A C Eb) and G7 (G B D F).

Now, these three chords NEVER appear naturally in the same key. So what is really happening is when you play the C7 the “key” is going to be F. When you play the F7, your key is going to be Bb and when the G7 plays, your key is actually C! The overall harmonic context will still be C though every chord will contain an embellishment.

This can be fun. Now, when you solo over this, try using the keys of F, Bb and C over their respective chords. Now you’re changing your scale on every chord which can really expand the number of notes at your disposal.

I hope that helps. Good luck!
-w

ps In your reply, you mentioned that playing the notes of the C scale starting on G would be G mixolydian. This is true. However, you started that section by talking about playing in the key of C. So, if your harmonic context is in C and you are playing in G mixolydian, well, you haven’t really done anything. You’re still playing the same notes over the same harmonic context. It would be the same if you said to play A Aoelian over a chord progress in C.

The key here is to play your rhythm track in one key (C Major for example) and the lead in a related mode (C Lydian not G Lydian). I think that’s the subtle (but important) detail that I didn’t see in your original post.

I’m still learning to speak this stuff – it’s still a bit cerebral right now, so I do apologize if I’m not being entirely clear!

GD

if you were playing in “the key of C” (as you say in #2 above), you don’t just start on G – all you are doing in that example is playing in the key of C – your tonal center is G, but it’s still the key of C

C Ionian/Major is enharmonic with G Mixolydian – the only difference is the tonal center

the key of C Mixolydian is C D E F G A Bb C (which is enharmonic with F Major)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mixolidian

scales ARE modes. The major scale is the ionian mode and the minor scale (as most guitarists know it – ie, ignoring the subtleties of the harmonic, melodic and natural derivations) is the aeolian mode

playing in modes and playing scales are not different – a mode is simply a sequence of intervals – the common modes (major and minor) have common names for common people that don’t know the latin names

also, a sus4 chord is NOT an “added 4th” (as you state above) – it is when the 3rd is replaced by the 4th – in the same way, a sus2 is when the 3rd is replaced by the 2

Dsus4 is NOT D F# G A – it’s D G A
Dsus2 is D E A – it is NOT D E F# A

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sus4#Suspended_chords

readers: I’d recommend looking elsewhere for theory advice

One of the things that helps me most with modes is playing a major scale, take G Major (Ionian) for instance starting on the 3rd fret of the bottom E, then play A Dorian starting on the 5th fret, then B Phrygian on the 7th etc. so that you are basically playing the G Major scale in every position up the neck. Helps you visualise.

I am hoping that the 2009 year, will be a banner year for me and my guitar lessons. I dropped the guitar once, I vowed to never to do it again.