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How to Use Modes (Part 2 of 2) – Modes (The Ultimate Explanation) – Guitar Lesson EP375

Description

This is Part 2 (of 2) of a lesson series on Modes. In this lesson, you’ll learn what the modes are, what they sound like, how to find them, and how to use them when you play lead guitar. This lesson includes to examples (one major and one minor) along with tablature and MP3 jam tracks.

Part 1 - Free Guitar Lesson

Part 2 - For Premium Members

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Dorian Example

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Mixolydian Example

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Video Tablature Breakdown

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Comments

    • Cardo says

      The modes are really a challenge to thoroughly understand but very satisfying when you start to get it and start using them to flavor your sound. I always wondered how certain artists created unique sounds. Is there any relationship between modes and altered tunings? Someone asked me that and I didn’t have an answer.

    • Andrew C says

      Great lesson Brian! I thought I understood modes… apparently I didn’t (LOL). This lesson really cleared up a lot now I feel I have a good understanding of how they are constructed. My big AhAh moment was thinking that if I play a G major scale and start on the A that I would be playing a G dorian mode. Wrong! I now no I’d be playing an A dorian. Although, still a little confused as to how and where to use modes over different chord progressions.

    • Walter S says

      OK Brian, so yesterday I watched both your “Modes” videos. First of all, I‘ve been watching more videos lately on modes and little by little I’ve begun to understand a bit more but, your lessons really hit home with me.

      So I woke up at 5:00 am this morning with your message on my mind about learning the names of the modes, learning the numbers and that each number 1-7 represents a specific mode. Also remembering the order of the modes which obviously happens when you remember which number represents which mode.

      OK, so now I am going to get to the point. A Nemonic device I invented to do that 1=Ionian, 2=Dorian, 3= Phrygian, 4=Lydian, 5=Mixolydian, 6=Aeolian, 7=Locrian OK now watch this!

      I DO PREFER LYDIA MIX ALES LOCALLY. Just as easy as “Eddie Ate Dynamite Good Bye Eddie” No?

        • James W W says

          My trick is—( I don’t play like my aunt Lucy)…I am still not sure what the difference is in “A” dorian(in Gmaj) and just a plain old Aminor.
          Obviously I am missing the point and that frustrates me. I find that it is easier for me to think in the key of “C” although the formula does not vary. I will continue to dig, I am neither talented nor smart but I am dogmatic. I can’t even ask intelligent questions because I don’t know what I don’t know. Is it that you change modes to match each chord as you progress through a song? i.e. (ii-A dorian) for “G” then “C” lydian forIV and then “D” mixilydian for V7. That would be a 1–4–5 in “G” (But for the min ii).

          And I thought jazz was hard!

    • kitchman says

      Hi Brian. I am unclear on one thing… in the soundslice video for the Dorian example, if I select video only, it pulls the wrong sound file. works fine with the video and audio selection. Thanks!

      • Niklas R says

        Hi, CAGED has only 5 positions while major scale has 7. So two fall out in between the CAGED system. the 4th (Lydian) and the 6th position. You can just google major scale positions and find those positions there 🙂

        BUt you can still play Lydian in any other positions aswell, just by starting with the 4th as the root. The 4th is found straight under the root (exept b-string). Just start from there and you are in lydian mode.

        Im a visualiser so for me this helps to find the modes instead of counting interwalls. Ex. the mixolydian mode is found by starting above the root of the major scale, or two strings down, two to the right. Dorian two semitones to the right of the major root. et.c. Hope this helps and I didn’t explain anything totally wrong.

  4. Neil.woodcock says

    Just started this lesson…Love this stuff. Just one thing. Did you get the numbers mixed up and then leave out the Aeolian Mode? Phrygian Mode should be 3 not 4 etc. Just asking. As a beginner I am easily confused.

  6. klox says

    Hi Brian, Great effort to cover modes and ways to see them in such a compact way – well done.

    The only thing that really confused me was in the Mixolydian example. You mentioned that the notes during the Am chord represented a G Dorian scale (Ok) and in the G chord represents a Lydian scale. To my understanding the notes during the G chord would represent Ionian ie the parent scale.
    I see the example as containing I, IV & V chords ie D, G & Am in a Mixolydian progression and with one scale used over the whole lot.. Does that make sense ?
    Thanks

        • Brian says

          The Am chord would be the A Dorian scale, the D chord would be the D mixolydian scale, and the G chord would be the G Lydian scale – all 3 of those happen to be the same scale

          • klox says

            Not so sure Brian , per below. See also comments from others

            G Ionian = G A B C D E F#
            A Dorian = A B C D E F# G
            D Mixolydian = D E F# G A B C

            All these are the same scale/notes in key G

            G Lydian = G A B C# D E F#

            4th mode in key of D major

            Regardless, your D Mixolydian example is a good one.

            Cheers

          • Brian says

            Ah ok – yess! I was actually thinking Ionian but I said Lydian…even commented back here doing the same thing. You’re right on this! Dang it! This is why I hate the modes…lol – I’m just not used to referring to the proper names of any of them. I have an old lesson where I referred to Mixolydian as “Mixo-LO-dian” through the whole video, not realizing how it should be pronounced. Any way good catch on this! I’m going to made an screen edit and re-upload the video on this one to not confuse folks in the future.

    • Cardo says

      I’m thinking that the answer is that it’s not a I-IV-V progression but rather an accompaniment to bring out the modal sound. It does all relate to the parent scale of G major but the mode changes to sound right with the chord changes, from D Mixolydian (major) to Am Dorian (minor) to G Lydian (major). In practice you just keep playing the notes of the G major scale over the entire piece while emphasizing the new tonic note for each mode as the chords change. This is a semi-educated guess and maybe just one of many ways to look at it.

    • charjo says

      Brian,
      I believe klox is correct. D myxolydian is derived from the G major scale. The #4 in G Lydian would be a C# and your tab shows only the 4th, ie.C of G major. Also, these chords are all found in the key of G major. So easy to get this stuff confused.
      John

  7. Merv W says

    Great that you wear a different shirt for every lesson, and rotate guitars. I skip around the lessons a bit, then forget what the number was. However can usually find via the accompanying picture. Am loving the lessons.

  8. Nasti P says

    In the end it is always all the notes of the scale.
    as far as I’m concerned it’s just the intervals that change on each chord.
    We are increasingly confused in my opinion it would be better to study the characteristic notes on certain chords to hear the sound. I am still not convinced of this method.

  10. JohnStrat says

    Brian This is very helpful. I knew only some basics of the modes but this has helped and made it plain and easy to understand. Now it down to the grey matter to remember it and start using some of it to reinforce the memory and explore the understanding.
    A useful addition would be to put up a summary PDF of the screen tips perhaps you might consider that.
    Thanks JohnStrat

  11. Gerald M says

    Brian: Last nite I saw ep 374 on utube This morning it was on when I opened the site. The utube add led me to 374 which I did not know existed. Is there a way to catalog the ep’s foraccess?

  12. sciencefiction says

    Fantastic, Brian. I think this is one of your best teaching lessons ever. Lists, video words ,highlights great, along with great talking explanations while playings notes. How can you talk and do all this at the same time?! Amazing. If I ever want to understand what modes are completely, this is definitely where I would start first.
    Thanks, great video!
    Larry

  15. Roland says

    Video 1 (Youtube) 19:45: I think the neckdiagram is wrong. 5th and 6th strings are wrong. there are supposed to be only the 2 black dots on the A string, and the E string should look the same as the high e-String. (then it also looks like the 2nd pattern of the major scale)

  16. Gary S says

    Brian, I was under then impression that as you play in either mode, when you travel up/down the fret board, you actually use the fingering patterns of the adjacent mode fingerings. (example: Dorian – Phrygian – Lydian etc…) Is this right? Am I just looking for the mode root note when doing this? Or am I out of my mind?

  17. Jim M says

    Just what I need to clarify the different modes. Now I can develop a foundation for examination/improvisation and ear training using modes.

    Good job explaining this difficult topic Brian.

  18. Darryl P says

    Brian, I wanted to say thank you, thank you for explaining modes. Finally, I can make some sense of what they are. They were just scales to me, no idea where they were supposed to be used. Thank you.

    I don’t know if you remember the 1st, 2nd and 3rd string chords vs the caged system? Well, I have another for you: instead of W W H W W W H I learned it as 2212221. You are a great teacher I wish I had met you years ago! I might actually be a guitar player by now.

    • sunjamr says

      Yep, that’s how I remember them also. To get to Dorian, you just move the first 2 to the end of the list and you get 2122212. It’s like musical chairs. Move it once more and you get Phrygian – 1222122. Voila!

      • richard p says

        I agree. I really expected Brian to get to this view of modes.

        And, I learned how to determine the maj vs min chord sequence (if you can’t memorize the sequence) as:
        – if the next two notes in the mode’s note sequence are whole, then the chord is major
        – else it’s minor (or that one half-dim)

        It seems like putting the 2212221 and maj/min chord sequence concepts together would make it a bit easier to noodle around with modes

  19. Jay Guitarman says

    Excellent explanations. I like the idea of the root note, the key scale you can refer to any time to play the mode you want, as long as you emphasize the mode’s key note you are aiming at. I think one of the chord progressions where you can switch from major (i.e. mixolydian or ioneon mode) to minor is the blues. Since the minor pentatonic scale (aolean) works over it, just as the dorian scale does… doesn’t it?

  20. Gary W says

    Hi Brian, I think you are a guitar teaching genius! I can only speak for myself, but this locked into exactly what I knew already and what I almost understood, and gave me a whole lot of new understandings to help me move on in this fascinating trip. Thank you very much 🙂

  21. Jim R says

    Great explanation, I followed it pretty well, mostly. Where I actually get lost is when you move up the neck from one pattern to another. Is there a lesson specifically for that?

    Thanks,
    Jim R.

    • Cardo says

      I’m no expert but I think the thing to keep in mind is that the notes of any scale are available all over the neck in a lot of different patterns. Shifting positions does give you different fingerings which facilitates certain licks and a slightly different sound, but you’re still playing the same notes. I try to follow the advice to simply focus on playing a particular scale in one position and really get good at it, as opposed to trying to learn it all over the neck. That’s the reason why Brian is always emphasizing Position One of the minor and major pentatonic scales, aka “home base”. Playing in modes is no different IMHO.

      • Jim E says

        Agree – start simple. This was a great lesson form me – filling gaps and understanding and giving practical application. And to follow on from Cardo’s point, I immediately went to the E shape scale where the note on the E string is the root. If you use the next note up from the root as the “new Root” then you are playing in Dorian. Move the “new Root” 1 note further you are playing in Phrygian, etc.

        I tried this and it made it a lot easier for my tiny mind. Then you can join the other scale patterns and move up and down the fretboard, remembering where the “new Root” is.

  23. Laurance K says

    Thanks so much Brian. I’ve read so many attempts of explaining the concept of modes….but they always fell short of giving me a clear understanding. This one stuck, though I’m not surprised! Your “real world” examples really helped out filling in the missing content for me. Thanks again…I’ll be referencing back to this one for years to come.

  24. Todd F says

    Hi Brian,

    Great lesson, but one thing I’m still confused on…So when playing over multiple chords, we have 2 choices, play the same scale over both chords, or play the scale of the chord you are on…So, Say your playing a B-A vamp…I can play B mixolydian and stay in the E scale shape to play A Lydian…or, to play the scale of the chord I’m on, would I go to A mixolydian or Ionian? or am i totally wrong about this?

    thanks in advance

    -Todd

    • Brian says

      hey Todd – modal playing isn’t really about trying to change the scale to match the chord, it’s more about staying in the key of the song. That said, you’ll notice that you actually are changing keys organically – when the chord changes… without having to think about it. So basically, just play a single mode in the key of the song.

  26. Tomas A says

    Hello Brian!
    I think there´s an small error on your free youtube video Part.1, at min 19:07, the G Dorian scale diagram is not correct,
    Low E and high e strings show different notes. The right one is high e (first string) , and then low E, (sixth string) should have the same notes, G, A, and A#.

    Good learning with your very good videos!!

  27. madams says

    Very thorough lesson. One question I still have is:

    When you are playing a mode, which note do you emphasize and why? Is it the same as emphasizing the tonic when you are playing other scales (like A in the Am pentatonic)?

    Thank you,
    Michael

    • Todd F says

      my understanding (and take this with a grain of salt) is that each mode has 1 note that sort of makes it unique from the other modes…Ionian is the maj7, Dorain maj 6, Phrygian b2, Lydian #4, Mixo b7, aolian b5…

      • Nasti P says

        Do not worry the modalities are subjective for me it would be impossible while you improvise to think of Ionic Doric Phrygian misolydian etc etc while there are many chords. the best way to study would be intervals but unfortunately I didn’t get an answer from Brian. Regards

    • Brian says

      Yes. so in these examples – I was playing in the key of G, so I should emphasize that G note. I don’t think about it that much – my ear guides the whole thing … if you do that, you’ll land on the right notes. It takes a little practice.

      • richard p says

        Yup, that is the major issue that is still killing me… even though I’ve been plinking daily for about 4 years now… I still can’t hear the notes. So, instead of trying to land on the right note, I’ve started trying to do this in reverse… I’ll noodle a random lick and stop and find the chord that goes with that last note. I think it’s helping, but I’m amazed that it’s so much tougher than I thought it’d be. Did the hearing part of this just come naturally to you, or did you find some nice drills to help you?

  29. Cardo says

    Great lesson on modes – your hard work putting this one together really shows. I like that you talk about what modes you use and why. I get easily overloaded trying to learn too much at once so your suggestion to simply add the Dorian and Mixolydian modes to the major and minor scales we already use is good advice. Lots of music there in the styles of Carlos and Jerry. I see that several others have noticed that the neck diagram showing how to add the notes A and E to the G minor pentatonic scale to convert it to G Dorian has an error – you show a D# on the 5th string when you meant an E and the A on the 6th string is missing. Small detail, but I always first assume it’s me.

  31. jaimeiniesta says

    Thanks for another great lesson, looking forward to get deep into it.

    It surprises me that you find phrygian a dark, weird and unsettling mode. It’s the mode used in Flamenco music, so to me being Spanish it sounds very common. I guess that it sounds weird when you apply it to blues / rock but if you take it into the flamenco context, it’s very natural. It sounds cool also to get an exotic, arabic mood.

  33. Richard S says

    Thanks Brian. This took me years to get my head around. You have done the best job I have seen.
    After I connected the modes to pentatonics and chords it opened up a whole melodic world.
    This months challenge track is a great place to try and use these ideas.

    • Brian says

      It doesn’t really fit into a mode. It’s yet another scale – with kind of a middle eastern feel – there are 3 minor scales – Natural, Harmonic, and Melodic maybe a future lesson? hmmmm

  35. Tim Moran says

    Cool stuff, which will take a while to get my head around. it would be helpful, I think, to show the fretboard diagrams for each mode in G or whatever key. You showed it on video for the extra notes in G minor pentatonic for a mode, but I’d like to see them for the other modes for G major and minor pentatonic. (I know, I should be able to do this myself, using the major scale method you explained, but I’m still wrapping my head around this stuff). Just a thought for slow folks like me….

  36. Vernon says

    Brian, in the Dorian Mode example, in the 2nd measure, I think the bended 7 on the third string is actually a 5 on the second string. Otherwise, a great lesson once again. I keep adding to favorites. Thank you!

  38. Milton S says

    i have been playing guitar for many years and watched countless videos on the subject of modes. I just want to say that you totally nailed it when it comes to taking all the mystery out of modes. It’s the best explanation that I have everseen. I ‘ve never seen it compared to the major scale chords like that. A fantastic lesson. Thanks.

  40. Roland says

    Hi there!

    I made PDF that shows all modes (exept lokrian) in G. There is one page for each CAGED-Shape. On each page you find the 3 major-modes in the upper half of the page, and the 3 minor modes in the lower half of the page. The scales are sorted “by importance***”: major > mixolydian > lydian and minor > dorian > phrygian. In the Diagrams you can also see which note is which interval in comparison to the root note (r). If you are interested have a look at it. I give it to public domain hereby ;-). I made it with Neckdiagrams.

    https://www.dropbox.com/s/vmdzdnc3p4k3aa8/CAGED%20%2B%20Modes.pdf?dl=0

    I personaly stick to the E-Shape-Scales (Position 1) for now, but I tought I’ll print them all for the future … 🙂

    All the best form Austria

    Roland

  41. Jon B says

    Hey Brian. Doesn’t the band Jethro Tull use the locrian mode for a lot of their big hit famous songs? When I noodle around with their songs, it seems like the guitar licks and chord progressions are based on a diminished scale. What do ya think?

  42. Norbert says

    EP 374 and 375 – Hello Brian,

    agian: thank you very much for two very good lessons.

    I already had some knowledge of scales: now everything fits a little better, hopefully ………… ;-).

    There is something else about which I have some theoretical knowledge without seeing any practical use: the circle of fifths (fourth). It is very likely that this benefit does exist. Could you please explain it to us on occasion….

    That would be great.

    Please continue with your great work.

    Sincerely

    Norbert Heitkamp

  48. Jim K says

    I’d be embarrassed to say how many years, I’ve been trying to get a handle on the modes. Candidly speaking this is the most comprehensive explanation I’ve ever heard. I’m delighted.
    Thanks Brian,
    Jim K

  49. Colin E says

    Two really great lessons for anybody struggling with the Modes. Another great lesson would be connecting the Arpeggios and Chords with the Modes. I practice in all keys using the Mode – Arpeggio-Chord, which takes time but over a long time is worth it. Keep up the good work Brian. Really good!!!

  50. Darren K says

    Hello Brian

    Thanks for all the great lessons, like your product and how you do your lessons. I think your the best on-line, please consider some items that can be purchased from your site to support you and your family. I think this would be awesome.

  51. Bill F says

    Hi Brian,
    I really believe you accomplished a key objective for me: giving your students a simple and practical way to understand modes and how they work in the context of both major and minor pentatonic scale soloing. I don’t want to get bogged down in technical stuff that I’ll never use in my lifetime (like trigonometry that I had to take, but never used it in my whole career). I just want to play and enjoy my guitar. Then I started scrolling through the comments and began getting a headache. I recognize all the folks were trying to do was be helpful in pointing out some discrepancies, etc., so thanks for that. I guess what I’m asking, Brian, would it be possible for you to do one more lesson or edit to your last lesson that closes the book on all this once and for all, so I can use that as my official reference if I ever need it- and then I can go back to really enjoying playing great music and learning from one of the best!! Thanks again! PS: skip the seventh mode pleeeeeze 😎

  52. Ian M says

    Thanks Brian for giving me an introduction to modes in a way that I could take on board. Your description of adding just 2 notes to give flavour to a piece of music was just what I needed.

  53. Rick M says

    Not sure if many people see comments once a lesson is a week old…

    I’ve heard many times that a simple way to remember the notes for Mixoydian is to flatten the 7th of the major scale, but nobody ever explains what that does or why it works. You didn’t either when you mentioned it briefly (Part 1 @ 20:45), BUT, the lesson material taught me what I needed to know to figure it out for myself.

    If a song is in the key of C and you want to play Mixolydian, the 5th of the C scale is G. Thanks to EP374, I know how to play the G major scale up and down the neck in 5 positions, so I’m almost there. But the song is in C, so what do I have to do to the G major scale to have it be the same notes as C major? Well, there’s an F# that has to be lowered to F natural. F is the 7th of the G scale, so flatten the 7th. That’s it.

    Other examples:

    The 5th of the key of G is D. To change the notes of the D scale to G you have to lower the C#, the 7th of D, so flatten the 7th.

    The 5th of F is C. To change the notes of the C scale to F you have to have Bb, the 7th of C, so flatten the 7th.

    What I don’t know yet is what’s easier (for me) to play, for example, in G Mixolydian: Play the (5) G major scale patterns while flattening the 7th on the fly, or playing the C major scale patterns while starting and ending and/or generally hanging out on the G note.

  55. JULIAN C says

    Hi Brian
    Thank you for all our research and outstanding presentation.
    Simple, creative & interesting. Great Job.
    (working with 1.,2.,5, & 6. perfect)
    Just this one lesson alone was worth the premium membership for 2 years.

  57. John C says

    Brian,
    Regarding the usage of the Mixolydian mode. I “think” I understand that, for example, G Mixolydian is the same notes as the C major scale, just starting on the 5th interval, correct?
    So, does that mean that one would want to play the G Mixolydian scale over a C chord, or when playing in the key of C? Or would you play the G Mixolydian in place of the G major scale, as when playing over a G chord or in the key of G?
    Thanks, John

  60. Tony L says

    This lesson is worth the cost of a yearly subscription alone! Thanks Brian, this has provided great clarification on the modes. It requires some wood shedding but I watched this without my guitar and I can say I now pretty much get it.

  62. Phil P says

    The parent scale: How to find any mode
    You just learned the parent scale method of building the modes. Now you can build any mode as long as you know its number in the order.

    Simply count backwards to the major parent scale to determine the structure of the mode.

    Simply count backwards to the major parent scale to determine the structure of the mode.
    For example, E Aeolian? Aeolian is the 6th mode. What major scale is E the 6th degree of?

    Correct, it’s G. So E Aeolian is simply the 8-note scale beginning and ending on E with the same formula as G-Major.

    Again, staying sharp with your key signatures is a must for working with modes. The circle of fifths is a great partner tool for writing modally.

    Once you understand the parent scale method for getting the modes, you’ll start to see patterns.

    This is where the other method for remembering the modes comes into play…

      • Phil P says

        Ok. Another way to look at Your favorite modes Brian?

        Ionian or major
        R 2 3 4 5 6 7

        Mixolydian
        R 2 3 4 5 6 b7
        Diff. from Ionian: b7
        Different from minor pentatonic: 2 3 6

        Dorian
        R 2 b3 4 5 6 b7
        Diff. from Ionian: b3 b7
        Add to minor pentatonic: 2 & 6

        Aeolian
        R 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7
        Diff. from Ionian: b3 b6 b7
        Add to minor pentatonic: 2 b6

  65. Pierre D says

    Can’t believe how this well conceived explanation of modes turns into chaos! At 9:00, you say, “Every one of those modes were played in the key of G. That was G Dorian, G Phrygian, G Lydian, etc” How can this be when, in G, the modes are G Ionian, A Dorian, B Phrygian, C Lydian, etc. Or am I totally mistaken here?

    • Brian says

      I listened to 9:00 and don’t understand the confusion here. I was showing to play each of the seven modes in G. … i.e. G Ionian, G Dorian, etc. – what you described still doesn’t demonstrate how someone would play in G Dorian (for example), or G Phrygian.

  68. Brian Canadian in the UK says

    I getting into modes but Lead Example is great practice tool, and good thing to add to my tool box for phrasing , I am going to study modes more I love them, not that hard to understand , just the application which takes practice

    Again thank you Brian

  71. David K says

    Also, I listened twice to the Members section and didn’t catch the answer to “when do you use a mode” other than a quick mention of Major and Minor chords.
    If I understand it correctly, anytime you come to a A minor, you can use a A Dorian, A Phrygian or A Aeolian. But if it was an A Major, you could use A Ionian, A Lydian or A Mixolydian. Am I correct?

  72. Rich F says

    Hi Brian,

    This is a brilliant, if mind-blowing, lesson! It has given me a head-ache!

    I am really interested in trying to understand the modes, and have studied your Santana dorian and JJ Cale Dorian lessons in the past. There was a JJ Cale lesson, where you switched a light-bulb on for me… you used the D minor pentatonic position 1, added the two extra Dorian notes, and then explained how the D dorian was the same as the C major scale, and the G mixolydian.. I found that amazingly mind-blowing! And then, in that lesson, the chords you played over: you stsrted with D minor, went down to C then up to G… so although it was a D minor feel to the somg there, it was really in the key of C major (and D dorian, G mixolydian!)

    So, my question is really this: I am trying to work backwards, using your lesson video two above… I am using the pentatonic pattern 1 for A minor, adding the two dorian notes, and now trying to come up with good chords to play over. From your earlier JJ Cale dorian lesson, I am thinking thst a gold way to find good backing chords is this… think of A as the second chord in the G major family, so A minor (the words that stick in my mind from your JJ Cale lesson is that “A dorian is a minor mode”)… then go down 1 chord to the G major, then up to the 5 of G major to D major, as that will be a good myxolidyan… then just keep playing pattern 1 A dorian throughout..

    So, to summarise my thinking/confusion (!), the backing chords in video 2 come out of the G major family, not A minor? Although for the dorian example, you only have two chords, Am and D7 which would not come from the A minor family, but from the G major family.. and in the second example, although you start with D major, this again is in the key of G really?

    Finally, I am wondering if I can stick in the A dorian pattern 1, and experiment with the chords underneath it… eg: stick with the same A dorian scale, but change the chords to get different modes: eg: B minor would give phrygian?

    Sorry if this is abit garbled… My headache is getting worse! Whete did I put that paracetamol? 😫

  76. Rich F says

    Just looking through this lesson again… I love the modes! I am now thinking of it from another viewpoint: Brian’s second suggestion… staying in one major key (for example, C), going to the pentatonic pattern one for the second note, and adding the extra notes to get D Dorian, then jamming in this pattern over a backing track of the various chords in the G major family. Staying in the key in this way, and allowing the chords to pass by appears to be giving me the different sounding modes as they go by…

    Eg: my latest practice piece: I am playing in D Dorian, emphasing the B notes, over a backing chord of B half diminished, which I think gives Locrian? If I add an E Minor chord, I think that would be phrygian?

  80. Mark S says

    At 9:35 + in first video you are referring to the modes that were just played (over the G major scale) as G Dorian, G Lydian etc. Isn’t that incorrect. You were actually playing A Dorian & C Lydian, right??
    And certainly feel free to correct me if I’m wrong. That’s why I’m bringing this up.

  81. Mark S says

    I see now. During your demonstration of each mode prior to 9:35 in the 1st video, you were emphasizing the G note using the backing track AND (I didn’t realize until now) you were changing the underlying major scale used to play each mode.

  84. Massimo M says

    Hi Brian, Thanks for this lesson, I’ve been trying to figure out modal scales for a long time by following various players to no avail, I’ve always stopped short of figuring it out.
    Now thanks to this video I finally succeeded

  85. Russ2066 says

    Brian,

    Is mixolydian just a mixture of playing box 2 of the major pentatonic over box 1 of the minor just combining the notes of both? That’s what it looked like when you played the notes so just curious about that. If that is correct then combining the other boxes together would be the other modes?

    Thanks,
    Russ

  86. P as tri k L says

    after this lesson, Im still very confused about modes! first off, you said, in the key of G, major scale ,starting on the second note(A) is A Dorian, then later you said that in the key of F, starting on F, would be playing in G dorian. can you clear this up for me please

  87. Dennis E says

    One question, in the second example where you play the D Mixolydian over all three chords ( D, G and Am) when the G chord comes up, do you emphasize the G note? And when playing over the Am chord do you emphasise the A note? Ill try to find out for myself by reviewing the tabbed example, but was just curious if its Neccessary to do so, or can you just emphasise the notes in the D7 chord for the entire example. Any answers would be welcome. Also Brian is there a link to ” answered post comments” somewhere? Or do we just remember what lessons we asked questions on and keep track that way? Ive asked so many questions now on so many lessons ive lost track lol. Ok thx everyone. Keep it Blue! Dennis : )

  88. Robert R says

    Thanks for this excellent lesson Brian it really helped with understanding modes.
    In regard to the chordal scale or chordal degrees in the key of G: We know that Em
    Is the relative of G, and is also the 6th degree of the G scale. How does this relative minor
    Of Em apply to modal playing, when starting in the key of G? Thanks

  89. charjo says

    Brian,
    The one aspect I don’t think you explained is how do you make a modal progression., ie why does D, Am and G make a D mixolydian progression. I’m talking about the concept of the “tonal center” ie what chord feels like home, which chord does the song want to rest or resolve to. The D, Am and G chords are from the G major family but the song centers around the D chord. That’s why the song is D mixolydian, we play the notes of G major but base our solo around the D note as the start and resolution which results in using the D mixolydian scale.

  90. Jim L says

    I’m gaining by watching several times but, as a visual learner, was stuck on first video, minute 19-20 where you show, with blue dots, the notes added to the G mnor scale to make it G Dorian. You add back A and E but I was stuck for a while on the blue dot on the 6th fret of A string which is neither A nor E. I finally did hear that the dot should be bass E string on the 5th fret instead of A string 6th fret. Could you insert a correction in the video for the benefit of other visual learner modal newbies. Thanks.

  91. Robbie M says

    This is a great lesson. For every “complex” concept I always try to make one sentence/paragraph as simple as possible . Here it is. “I like to think in terms of Modes because it means all I have to know is one scale, the major scale ” I take the the key of the song and find out which occurrence of a major key my songs key I want it to be. If it is a major key then I’m free to imagine it as the first, fourth, fifth occurence of a key and am free to play Ionian, Lydian and Mixolydian. If on the other hand it is a minor key I am free to imagine it the the second, third, and sixth occurrence of the a major scale hence Dorian, Phrygian, and Aeolian are my 3 mode options that I have to play. Anyone feel free correct me if need be. Thanks

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