Hi all, thanks for checking out my first intellectualmusician.com article. Here is my take on modes, how I learned them and how I use them. I have a few different approaches I use depending on the situation. Caleb Raney also has a recent article covering modes and their application to chords, check it out Modes Demystified.
One way to use modes is as a map of the entire fretboard in a single key. For example, take the key of C major (CDEFGAB). Using each note as a starting point you get the following modes: C Ionian (Major scale), D Dorian, E Phrygian, F Lydian, G Mixolydian, A Aeolian (Minor scale), and B Locrian. You could place the C Major set of notes along the sixth string and play a scale pattern for each mode that way. This gives you interlocking scale patterns that cover the entire fretboard.
There are a number of ways to play each mode, I’ll leave it to you to find the patterns best for you. This can give you a good way to access new sounds to if you’re stuck in one scale pattern. I have also found that I associate certain scale tones as anchors, like the 1st and 5th. By shifting to a new patterns I get different notes under those 1 and 5 spots and I pull my ear farther away from pattern based playing.
Another use of modes is found in modal modulation. In this case, rather than map out one key using each of the major scale notes as a starting place, you’ll keep the same starting note and shift to a new mode. For example, imaging you’re improvising over an A minor (ABCDEFG) vamp. Then the chord vamp changes keys to A major (ABC#DEF#G#). You can generate interesting lines with the contrast between common tones (ABDE) and different tones (C to C#, F to F#, and G to G#).
Joe Satriani is known for doing this, a good example can be found in the bridge of “Satch Boogie.” For a complete comparison of modes I use a number system as follows:
Given that the major scale is that starting point, number its notes 1-2-3-4-5-6-7, the modes can be numbered like this (b=lowered 1/2 step, #=raised 1/2 step):
Ionian (1-2-3-4-5-6-7)
Dorian (1-2-b3-4-5-6-b7)
Phrygian (1-b2-b3-4-5-b6-b7)
Lydian (1-2-3-#4-5-6-7)
Mixolydian (1-2-3-4-5-6-b7)
Aeolian (1-2-b3-4-5-b6-b7)
Locrian (1-b2-b3-4-b5-b6-b7)
Now you have a generic comparison of how each mode sounds different from the others.
A variation of modal modulation can be used to create very interesting sounds over chord changes, especially those in unrelated keys. Say you’re playing over some jazzy chord changes in A major (ABC#DEF#G#), Bmi7-E7-AM7-AM7 and you’re basing your solo on the B Dorian mode, the second mode of A major. Then the changes shift to C major (CDEFGAB) Dmi7-G7-CM7-CM7. These two keys are unrelated and have few notes in common. Rather than shift to D Dorian (the second mode of C), try B Locrian, the seventh mode of C major [visual 3 B Dorian/locrian].
This way you stay centered on B and are in roughly the same range of notes. Putting the focus on common note/different note contrast can be very effective and will also help you avoid the “hopping scale pattern” problem which can sound very repetitive after a few key changes.
A couple mode masters to check out:
more articles by Sean Gill
May 24th, 2007 at 5:18 pm
Good work, and thanks for the plug!