Beginner/Intermediate Mode Lesson

by Guitarslinger124 (Mar 06, 2010)

A Quick Glance at Modes





Hey there folks, here is a little insight on modes for beginner to intermediate level players.


An interval is the distance between any of those notes. There are two basic intervals, "whole step" and "half step". A whole step is the equivalent of two frets on the fretboard, a half step, one fret.




There are seven modes in every major key. Take C major. Each note in that key is the root note for a mode in that key.

The modes in any major key, in order, are Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian and Locrian. Now, sticking with C Major, you have C Ionian (also known as the C major) as the first mode in the key. Now you go from there:



C Ionain (a.k.a. C Major Scale)
D Dorian
E Phrygian
D Lydian
G Mixolydian
A Aeolian (a.k.a. A Natural Minor Scale)
B Locrian


You ask, what determines the order of the modes or what determines which note in a key will be the root note of a mode? The answer is simple. Each note in a key corrosponds with a degree.
Degress are the numbered order of the notes in a key/scale. So, take C major:


C - 1st degree
D - 2nd degree
E - 3rd degree
F - 4th degree
G - 5th degree
A - 6th degree
B - 7th degree



All the modes in a major key will have the same notes. The notes will always go in order of the Alphabet. Each mode will start with the root note of that mode, i.e. D Dorian will start with D and not C even though it is in the key of C major.




C Ionian C D E F G A B
D Dorian D E F G A B C
E Phrygian E F G A B C D
F Lydian F G A B C D E
G Mixolydian G A B C D E F
A Aeolian A B C D E F G
B Locrian B C D E F G A



All of the above modes are in the key of C major, thus, they all contain the same notes.

Learning how to play the modes is easy. Learning how to comprehend the modes is a little harder. I've sorted out the intverals for each mode so you can go ahead and build your own.





W= whole step H= Half step

(Numbers will refer to the degrees in each scale)

Ionian W W H W W W H
/ \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1



Dorian W H W W W H W
/ \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1



Phrygian

H W W W H W W
/ \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1



Lydian

W W W H W W H
/ \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1



Mixolydian

W W H W W H W
/ \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1



Aeolian

W H W W H W W
/ \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1



Locrian

H W W H W W W
/ \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1



And... Just to show you what the hell all of the above is, here is an example:




Key of G Major

G Ionian Scale

(Remember, the numbers refer to the degree in the scale)

W W H W W W H
/ \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \
G A B C D E F# G
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1




Go ahead a practice building your own scales now. Remember, while it might be easier just to memorize the patterns or pictures of every mode, it is very good practice and a helpful learning aid to memorize the intervals for every mode as well.

Hope this was of some help to you.

Rock on!