OK (:lol:)

Here's pretty much a copy of the book I started. It's not finished, and there's quite a lot of duplication of previous Theory Thread posts, but those parts are a good revision item anyway...

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Modes. Most guitarists have heard of them, and yet so many misunderstand how and when to use them. I'm going to try and shed some light…

The most common misconception goes something like this:
If I'm playing a song in G Major, but the chord I'm playing over is Am then I'm playing in A Dorian, right?
Well, yes, and no!

Another goes like this:
C Ionian = D Dorian = E Phrygian = F Lydian = G Mixolydian = A Aeolian = B Locrian. Right?
Absolutely not!

Let's go back and do some fundamentals….

You should hopefully know that the guitar uses 12 chromatic notes to split the octave. There is a sharp/flat between all notes except B & C and E & F. A gap of one note is called a semitone (or half-step) and a gap of two notes is called a tone (or whole-step).

Starting on C we get this:

C
C#/Db
D
D#/Eb
E
F
F#/Gb
G
G#/Ab
A
A#/Bb
B
C


All major scales are constructed by using a formula of tones and semitones, with the starting note being the root of the scale.

The major scale formula is T T S T T T S

To construct a C major scale, we start with C and then use the formula:

C
D <- jump up one tone
E <- jump up one tone
F <- jump up one semitone
G <- jump up one tone
A <- jump up one tone
B <- jump up one tone
C <- jump up one semitone

Similarly for a G major scale we change the starting note to G, and use the same formula:


G
A <- jump up one tone
B <- jump up one tone
C <- jump up one semitone
D <- jump up one tone
E <- jump up one tone
F# <- jump up one tone
G <- jump up one semitone

Easy, eh?

OK, let's explore the common way that major scale modes are introduced, and I'll explain why I think that this way isn't necessarily the best introduction you could have.

The seven “church modes” (I'm not going to go into the ins and outs of their history) basically create six “new” scales out of a major scale by altering the way it's looked at.

For your bog standard major scale the mode name is Ionian. So you play from G to G in the key of G major and you're automatically playing in the G Ionian mode. Cool! You're modal!

What, then, if you stuck in the key of G major, but started and ended on the second degree of the scale, the A note? Well the mode name is Dorian so you're playing in the A Dorian mode. Cooler! You didn't have to learn anything at all!

Following on the remaining five degrees of the scale have their own names too. Here's the complete table:

You might be thinking at this point “OK, but how do I use this information? If I stay in the same key for an entire song there might be sexy names for what I'm playing, but really I haven't done anything”.

You'd be right. This is where my approach to modes differs from many other teachers.

Think of why there might be a need to make seven scales out of one. Why aren't they all the same?

What makes them special? Is my parking permit valid on weekends?

Well cast your mind back to the magic major scale formula a page or two ago. Remember? TTSTTTS? Good.

What I did many moons ago was to compare the intervallic structure of each mode.

In other words, write down each mode's Tone and Semitone formula to see how and where they were different to the major scale. Here's the result:

So now we can see that each mode has a different scale formula. Great. Fine. Wonderful. Now what?

OK, let's forget all that stuff about A Dorian being the same as G Ionian, and let's treat each mode as a scale in its own right.

We've just seen that each mode is constructed differently from the others, and we can see the differences between each mode and the major scale.

Why not get our guitars out and learn how different they sound to each other? After all music is about sounds and not looks, isn't it (Britney please don't answer that question)?

I would first of all like to say that some kind of backing is essential when doing the following exercises. It can be a synth playing a long sustained note, a bassist getting bored playing one note for ever, a cassette of yourself doing the same, another guitarist, a computer program playing it for you, etc but the easiest and cheapest way, and what I personally do (not that I'm cheap... err wait, forget that), is
use an open string as a backing. You don't need full orchestral scores or a nine-piece backing band to do these exercises. All you need is one constant reference note available at all times.
Because it's the simplest method, I'll base the exercises on the open string method, and because I don't have a seven string guitar and I don't usually drop tune, I'll use E as the reference point.

First of all we need to know which notes make up the modes we're going to play. The root is E, as described, so we now need to write out the seven modes with E as the root. To save your head-scratching I've listed them below:

But bear in mind, that all I did was use the Mode : Formula table above and applied each tone-semitone formula to an E root.

Now we can have some fun! All you need to do is keep the bottom E string ringing out while you improvise over the top of it in each mode. I'd say try each one for ten or fifteen minutes initially. (You do know all the notes on the neck, don't you?)

See if each mode has a “personality” to it, or if it makes you feel a certain way.

The first few times you try this I would recommend that you limit your improvising to only one string at a time. The point of this exercise is not how fast you can play, what patterns you know, etc. The point is to get yourself acquainted with the sound and feel of each mode.

By limiting yourself to just one string at a time you'll be better able to take in each mode's personality, rather that blistering up and down three-notes-per-string patterns, putting both hands on the neck, stomping on effects, concentrating on your chops rather than the exercise you're actually doing.

I strongly suggest you make notes on each mode! The idea is to absorb the feel of each mode, remember it, and then call upon it whenever you need to. You could give each mode a pet name, or just write some descriptive words that'll jog your memory when you come back to your notes.

"Call upon it whenever you need to"? Yes. I'm going to show you how you can use your own choice of mode, and when.

Scenario 1

Let's say you're planning a solo over some basic rock chords (triads). We'll use the key of Am (it's as good as any other!), and there are three chords repeated in a four bar pattern; one chord for each bar:

| Am | G | F | G | and repeat

OK first (until you improve you're going to need that trusty paper & pen again) write out the notes in the chords you're going to be playing over. This example shouldn't be too difficult seeing as there're only three notes in each chord ;-)

Am = A C & E
G = G B & D
F = F A & C

Then we need to find out which modes have those notes in them. At this stage it helps to treat each chord as a potential key change (you'll see why later).

So, which mode(s) contain the notes A C & E? Let's go through each mode in order to weed out the ones that don't fit.

So we have a choice of using Dorian, Phrygian or Aeolian over our Am chord. Let's do the same thing with the G & F chords.

Here's the summary:

For Am we can use A Dorian, A Phrygian, and/or A Aeolian or any combination
For G we can use G Ionian, A Lydian and/or G Mixolydian or any combination
For F we can use F Ionian, F Lydian and/or F Mixolydian or any combination

Now you know which modes work over the chords, it's entirely up to you which you use, and where and when.

You might, for example, go for an option that uses the same notes over all three chords (A Aeolian to G Mixolydian to F Lydian - using A B C D E F G A to G A B C D E F G to F G A B C D E F). A little bit "safe", though, don't you think?

Or you might want to radically change note selection for each chord (say A Dorian, adding an F#, to G Lydian, adding a C# instead of the C natural, to maybe F Mixolydian, naturalising those two sharp notes and also introducing two new flattened notes which were previously natural – Eb & Bb) .

Maybe even change which modes you use for each four bar repeat of the chord progression.

Or perhaps go back to those notes you made about how the modes sound, how they feel, etc and decide "OK I want this sound/feel for this part of the solo" and use the appropriate mode, as long as it's one of the ones available, of course!

The other option, if it's available to you, is to set up a backing (get the band to play it, if they're patient enough! or maybe record the chord progression into a cassette / computer / minidisc / DAT / whatever) and try any and all combinations over it, making notes when particular modes feel right for the track, until you're happy.

Seeing as this example was based in Am you might otherwise have stayed purely in that key (safe and predictable, some might say boring), but isn't it nice to be able to play new notes that still fit and do it because you know what you're doing? I think so :-)

Scenario 2

Let's say you've been reviewing your initial findings about the modes and you want to write a piece / solo / song / jingle / serenade that uses two modes that fit your mood today.

Let's say you want to use two different chords, each accompanying one of the two modes. You've chosen the Aeolian mode and the Dorian mode. Let's pick D as a key.

What you're perhaps wondering is "which chords can I play underneath these modes?" and maybe even "are certain chords 'better' than others for certain modes?". Get your paper & pen out again...

First write the notes in the modes you chose:

D Aeolian = D E F G A Bb C D
D Dorian = D E F G A B C D

So you're going to be switching between a B flat and a B natural each time you change mode & chord. It might be a good idea to make sure there's a B (or Bb, depending which mode you're in) in the chord underneath the mode. That way not only are you writing your melody / solo in that mode, but the accompaniment is also helping you to emphasise that changing B note.

For basic triads you're going to have the same chord for each mode – D F & A = D minor. From D to B it's six scale degrees, so how about replacing the 5th (A) with the 6th? Then you'll have D F & Bb for D Aeolian and D F & B for D Dorian.

The choice is yours where on the neck you make your chords, but I feel it's very important to make up your own, rather than reaching for a chord book or going online for fingerings.

I came up with these chords for the first two:

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and that's as far as I got! :D

comments in the usual area please...