Note: This isn’t going to be an instructional piece… just a sharing piece… mostly…
I’ve been playing guitar for over 35 years, but it hasn’t been until the last couple of years – actually the last few months – that I’ve really started focusing on scales and modal theory. Chord theory I had down cold, but I really didn’t focus on the scales part of the equation. I figured that if I could get some lead patterns and tricks down, I’d be in pretty good shape; and for awhile, that worked just fine.
But then I realized that in many of my recordings, I was using the same patterns and tricks, albeit in different keys and in different combinations, but the same stuff nonetheless. This prompted me to rethink how I approached playing solos, so I started out by learning major and minor scale patterns. I got a couple of books to help me along, and I proceeded to practice them.
But in the back of my mind was this idea of modes. I’d heard them bandied about for years, and pretty much ignored them partially out of the thought that as a rhythm player, they weren’t too important; though that really masked an innate fear that modes were WAY beyond my ability to grasp. But during this past weekend’s study/practice session, I realized that modes are not difficult at all! The names of the modes just scared the livin’ crap out of me! 🙂
Think about it: The mode names are all in Greek: Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, and Locrian. From my previous life as a bio-sciences major, terminology in Greek or Latin would evoke feelings of anxiety similar to, “Oh shit! More frickin’ terms to memorize just to regurgitate later on.” 🙂 Such was the case when faced with modes.
I now feel a little foolish about my anxiety with modes. Once you understand what they represent, they’re totally easy to play!
Here’s my explanation in a nutshell, just in case you too have the same anxiety about modes as I did:
- Modes are simply starting points within the scale of a particular key.
- For instance, if you’re playing in the key of C and want to play in the Mixolydian mode, you’d start and end on the 5th degree of the C scale which is G.
- Now don’t get confused here: You don’t play a G scale. You merely start at G, and play the notes of the C scale, so: G A B C D E F G
So what’s the big deal? Lots of players don’t give a whit about this stuff. For me as a teacher, this stuff is pretty important. But from a player’s standpoint, it gives you a much deeper understanding of the fretboard, and also, playing in a mode gives you a different tonal center to play from, which actually has an effect on how a solo sounds and feels.
I found that a great example of this is to play the Lydian mode. The Lydian mode starts on the 4th degree of a scale. Going back to the C scale, this means that the Lydian will be F. If you’re familiar with chord theory, a chord with an added 4th is notated as Csus4. The sound of this particular chord connotes a feeling that the chord must be resolved – it’s not something you’d finish with; you’d typically use a “sus4” chord before either the major root chord or minor root chord. In our case of a C chord, we’d do something like: Csus4 – C. In playing in the Lydian mode, you’ll evoke a sense that you have to resolve your scale somehow. After all, starting and ending on the 4th creates a feeling that your phrase is unfinished. The point of all this is that where you start will have a huge effect on the general coloring of what you’re playing.
Note that this discussion only brushes the surface of modal theory. For a much deeper discussion, check out Guitar Noise or this excellent article that I found on Modes of the Major Scale.
Guitar Gear 
“Epiphany in Modal Scale Theory” – Hopefully this will help with my studies.
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.
Dropped as in literally or dropped as in didn’t play for a while? I’ve done both and vowed never to do either again!
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.
this is an epiphany of misinformation, if anything ….
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
Thanks for the insight, Wesman. I admit I’m still new to this, but I did state (I guess in very poorly worded form) that you’re playing the notes of C starting at G. In that case it would be G Mixolydian, not C Mixolydian. C is the Ionian. And thanks again for the correction on the suspended chords – right on again.
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
hi mr goofy
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.
Wesman, this is exactly why I love doing this blog because I know that I always have so much to learn! So no, I didn’t at all think you were harsh. In fact, I appreciate the brutal honesty. I think people spend way too much time beating around the bush trying to be politically correct, and almost always fail to get their point across. I, for one, prefer it when someone plainly says, “You’re wrong,” then explains why I am. I learn better that way.
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’ve dropped my guitar in both senses of the word… one I’ve vowed never to do again… the other I can’t seem to help sometimes…
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…
Now that would be an interesting tatoo, for sure! What a quick reference! Just find out what key the song is in, then look at the circle of fifths on your forearm! HA!
[…] author (goofydawg) writes reviews of gear and whatnot – yesterday, he posted an article on theory that had some inaccurate stuff and since I’m an incessant know-it-all, I […]
I’ve had some background in theory….most of it forgotten for lack of use thereof. I like to concentrate my valuable practice time on what will be most usefull for playing live. With major and minor pentatonic scales with a little dorian thrown in there for the Santana-like stuff, you can just about cover 98% of rock, pop, and country. I’ve found learning the patterns in different positions more useful for me for playing live than learning scales and modes. (But thats just my opinion, of course) I respect the players with a vast knowlege of the neck.
I’ve had the same view for years, Tweed, and it has served me well to a point. My train of thought though was, “Okay, I’ve finished this set of patterns, now where can I go?”
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 here ya dawg – Its nice to find something to help you break through those plateaus and revitalize your approach to your instrument. For the last year or so I’ve been woodsheding my country riffage by learning some Travis picking and the like. It seems a lot of country pickers throw out the rule book all together with a completely different approach by improvising -by soloing around particular chords. Scales be damned. I’ve stolen some pretty cool stuff from John Jorgenson and a few others.
I’ve been listening to country as of late. Surprised the hell out of my wife who loves country! 🙂 Damn! Some of those guys are nothing short of awesome. Look at Brad Paisley! That boy can cook! I’ve also really started to appreciate the subtleties some of those guys bring to the guitar. My buddy just turned me on to Keith Urban, and I dig his acoustic licks – yeah, I know, he’s an Aussie. I’ve been concentrating on electric almost exclusively for the last couple of years and forgot that there was so much you can do with an acoustic.
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.
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