INTRODUCTION TO SCALE MODES FOR GUITARISTS

Started by Elantric, January 29, 2015, 10:15:44 AM

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Elantric

http://www.roland.co.uk/blog/introduction-to-modes-for-guitarists/

INTRODUCTION TO MODES FOR GUITARISTS


This post was originally published on the Roland Australia Blog

How did the ancient Greeks get to influence today's pop music, and why exactly were the Ionians such an unhappy bunch of people? Welcome to the weird and wonderful world of modes; a series of scales that define the sound of western music. So if you don't know your Lydians from your Phyrgians, or you've mixed up your Mixolydians then check out our guide to modes. Try saying that after one too many...

To state the obvious, all the modes have weird names. Get over it. To make it worse, if you think that you are going to impress people with your newfound big words – think again. Even accomplished musicians start glazing over when you whip out names like 'Phrygian' and 'Ionian' in conversation.

Will learning the modes bring you enlightenment? Possibly not. But they will make you think twice about always using the pentatonic shape when it's your turn to solo.

First, lets go back two steps. What exactly are modes? Why are they shrouded in mystery, and when should you use them?

Since the early 1600's music has essentially been based on two types of scales – major and minor.

The major scale we use today has the following pattern:

Major Scale

The minor scale we use today has the following pattern:

Natural Minor Scale

As you can see, this is exactly the same pattern, but the two scales start and end at a different point. For example, in the key of C, the major scale is C D E F G A B C and the natural minor scale is A B C D E F G A. Over the next few weeks we are going to go through each of the modes in more detail and explain how, why and when to use them. To get the most out of the articles you might need to brush up on some basic chord theory, and there are tons of YouTube videos on this very topic.

For now, to get an overview, lets look at all the modes in the key of C (because it has no sharp or flat notes).

MODES IN KEY OF C
Mode
Notes
Pattern
Mode Structure
Relative Chord

I
Ionian
C D E F G A B C
T, T, ST, T, T, T, ST
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
C or Cmaj7

II
Dorian
D E F G A B C D
T, ST, T, T, T, ST, T
1 2 b3 4 5 6 b7
Dm or Dm7

III
Phrygian
E F G A B C D E
ST, T, T, T, ST, T, T
1 b2 b3 4 5 b6 b7
Em or Em7

IV
Lydian
F G A B C D E F
T, T, T, ST, T, T, ST
1 2 3 #4 5 6 7
F or Fmaj7

V
Mixolydian
G A B C D E F G
T, T, ST, T, T, ST, T
1 2 3 4 5 6 b7
G or G7

VI
Aeolian
A B C D E F G A
T, ST, T, T, ST, T, T
1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7
Am or Am7

V
Locrian
B C D E F G A B
ST, T, T, ST, T, T, T
1 b2 b3 4 b5 b6 b7
Bm7b5

The table above shows all the modes in the key of C. You may have noticed the first mode (Ionian) is exactly the same as our modern day major scale, and the sixth mode (Aeolian) corresponds to our (natural) minor scale.

All the modes contain exactly the same notes, they just start and end to different points. So why bother with a fancy name? Good question! Because the sound of the mode depends on the underlying chords.

By way of example, the table above shows that if we are in the key of C, the second mode is called Dorian and contains the notes D E F G A B C D. If we take the 1st, 3rd, 5th and 7th notes of the Dorian mode (D F A C), we have a Dm7 chord. So, the magic of the Dorian mode happens when you are playing in the key of C, but the D minor chord (or Dm7) is at the heart of the progression.

This will be covered in more depth in later articles. Accompanying each article will include a video example where guitarists Marc Bergeron will play along to a backing track that contains the appropriate chord progression. You will be able to download the same backing track (thanks to our friends at Coffee Break Grooves) and try them out for yourself.

Oh yeah, back to the names? Most people believe they can be traced back to different tribes in ancient Greek society (The Ionians, The Dorians, The Phrygians etc). Each of these communities had their own distinctive music 'feel' and, as you'll hear, some of them were happy (Ionians), some of them were sad (Aeolians) and some of them were a bit out there (Locrians).



Each week we will demystify a mode, explaining why it sounds different, show you some shapes on the fretboard and provide you with a free backing track so you can practice.

Others in the series;

Mixolydian Mode

Dorian Mode

Aeolian Mode

Ionian Mode

Phrygian Mode

Lydian Mode – COMING SOON!

Locrian Mode – COMING SOON!
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chrish