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On-Line Guitar Lessons : Modes of the Major Scale

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Modes of the Major Scale

by Christopher Sung

Pages: 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8

What is a Mode?
As you start to develop playing single note lines, scales of often used as a guide for what notes will sound good over a particular chord. In practice, scales belong to a particular key (i.e. a C major scale or an Eb melodic minor scale). So, for a C major scale, you can play the notes:

C · D · E · F · G · A · B · C

This collection of notes, played in this fashion, is a mode of the C major scale and is called Ionian. However, you don't necessarily have to play the notes from C to C. You could play them from D to D. In this case, the notes to play are:

D · E · F · G · A · B · C · D

In this case, this scale is still comprised of notes from the C major scale, but it has a different sound because we started on D instead of C. This scale is also a mode of the C major scale and is called Dorian. So what is a mode?

A mode is collection of notes from a parent scale, and emphasized starting at a particular note from the parent scale.

So what are the names of the modes for the C major scale and how are they played:

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

In the example below, listen to each mode as its played against the characteristic chord associated with that mode. Don't worry about why a particular chord is played with that mode. Just concentrate on the sound.