Learning the Fretboard with a Modal perspective

GuyBoden

Over the next year, I'll be posting lessons about learning the fretboard from a Modal perspective.................

I've been studying guitar since I was 14 years old. Rock, Pop, Jazz, Classical, and that's over 35 years of knowledge that I'd like to share...............

The first lesson is the modes of the C Major scale in the open position.

Play the following modes/scales in each of the diagrams and try to learn each note by sound and position.

Send me a PM if you have any questions.

ElectroDan

Very good of you to spend your time sharing your knowledge. Even for an old dog that can't learn new tricks.

GuyBoden

The second lesson is the E Phrygian Mode 3 in the same open position as lesson one.

The diagram below shows E Phrygian Mode 3 in the open position organised into smaller parts on the fretboard. This makes it easier to memorise.

The diagram also shows three modern type chords that sound good with E Phrygian Mode 3, It's a good idea to create a backing track using these chords, using a loop pedal makes it very easy.

Try playing each E Phrygian Mode 3 over your backing track, playing the notes that are in the chord as each chord is played is good discipline.

Notice how the note "F" the 2nd note of E Phrygian Mode 3 creates a lot of tension. It's important to remember that the 2nd note of Phrygian Mode is the mode's character note, which distinguishes it's sound.

Hear the tension that Chord 3 creates because it contains the 2nd note of the scale, note "F".

Get to know the notes of each chord and it's scale interval.

E Phrygian Mode 3: E F G A B C D

Chord 1 has notes "E" "D"  and "A", these are the 1st, 7th and 4th notes of the scale.
Chord 2 has notes "E" "E"  and "A", these are the 1st, 1st and 4th notes of the scale.
Chord 3 has notes "E" "F"  and "A", these are the 1st, 2nd and 4th notes of the scale.

DesVegas

Keep it going my friend

GuyBoden

The third lesson is the A Aeolian Mode 6 in the same open position as previous lessons.

The diagram below shows A Aeolian Mode 6 organised into smaller fretboard areas to make it easier to learn.

The diagram also shows three chords that sound good with A Aeolian Mode 6, again, It's a good idea to create a backing track using these chords, I like to use a loop pedal.

Try playing each A Aeolian Mode 6 over your backing track, then combine them all.  Try playing the notes in each chord when each chord is played.

Notice how the note "F" the 6th note of A Aeolian Mode 6 creates a lot of tension. It's important to remember that the 6th note of Aeolian Mode 6 is the mode's character note, which distinguishes it's sound.

Hear the tension that Chord 3 creates because it contains the 6th note of the scale, note "F".

It's good to get to know the notes of each chord and it's scale interval.

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

Chord 1 has notes "A" "E"  and "C", these are the 1st, 5th and 3rd notes of the scale.
Chord 2 has notes "A" "E" "G " and "D", these are the 1st, 5th 7th and 4th notes of the scale.
Chord 3 has notes "A" "F"  and "C", these are the 1st, 6th and 3rd notes of the scale.

GuyBoden

Lesson four is the D Dorian Mode 2 in the same open position as previous lessons.

The diagram below shows D Dorian Mode 2 organised into smaller fretboard areas to make it easier to memorise.

The diagram also shows two chords that sound good with D Dorian Mode 2, again, It's a good idea to create a backing track using these chords, I like to use a loop pedal.

Again, play each D Dorian Mode 2 with your backing track.  Try including the notes in each chord.

Notice how the note "B" the 6th note of D Dorian Mode 2 creates a lot of tension. It's important to remember that the 6th note of Dorian Mode 2 is the mode's character note, which distinguishes it's sound.

It's good to get to know the notes of chords and their scale interval.

Chord 1 has notes "D", "G", "B" and "F", these are the 1st, 4th, 6th and 3rd notes of the scale.
Chord 2 has notes "D", "A", "B" and "F", these are the 1st, 5th, 6th and 3rd notes of the scale.

Fusionista

Hey Guy - not so fast!  Some of us have day jobs

I'd pay good money to hole up for a week and just learn modes and arps with someone who could show you how to use them - and thereby fix it in your mind/fingers

nutbox

Me to they still confuse me.

Megii

Wish you well with this @GuyBoden, I will follow with interest, nice one mate!

ChrisMusic

Good of you to do this Guy   

Everyone is at different levels, and will absorb this at different speeds, but at least we can bookmark this thread and return to it as often as we like.  Little and often, repeat after a while, dip in and out at will, however you fancy it, this will be a useful resource for the forum.

GuyBoden

Lesson five is the common scale, G Mixolydian Mode 5, it's in the same open position as previous lessons.

The diagram below shows G Mixolydian Mode 5 organised into smaller fretboard areas to make it easier to memorise.

The diagram also shows three interesting chords that sound good with G Mixolydian Mode 5, again, it's a good idea to create a backing track using these chords, I like to use a loop pedal.

Once again, play each G Mixolydian Mode 5 with your backing track. Try including the notes of the chord in your playing and the character note when it's in the chord's notes.

Notice how the note "F", the 7th note of G Mixolydian Mode 5, creates a lot of tension. It's important to remember that the 7th note of Mixolydian Mode 5 is the mode's character note, which distinguishes this mode's sound.

I always find that it's good to get to know the notes of chords and their scale interval.

Chord 1 has notes "G" and "F", these are the 1st and 7th notes of the scale.
Chord 2 has notes "G", "F" and "A", these are the 1st, 7th and 2nd notes of the scale.
Chord 3 has notes "G", "F" and "B", these are the 1st, 7th and 3rd notes of the scale.

Send me a PM if you have any questions.

DesVegas

So far I'd say the mixolydian mode is the most 'musical' and the dorian the least as (to my ear) it doesn't resolve itself.

Very interesting and useful as I so rarely play notes on frets 1-3, only chords.

Thank you Guy.

thomasross20

I'd say I use dorian (blues) 95% of the time. Probably because Slash and a lot of other 80s rockers used the same - I wouldn't say "not musical"! 

Modes I never use: locrian. 

Other than that I mainly play major scale modes. Tried harmonic/melodic minor at one point but just too much for me. 

I superimpose arpeggios and the pentatonic out of these shapes and also try to be able to play any mode from low E and A strings, to either side of the main shape. A lot to remember though.

flyingv

This is VERY cool! nice one Guy.

GuyBoden

Lesson Six is the one of my fav scales, F Lydian Mode 4, it's in the same open position as previous lessons.

The diagram below shows F Lydian Mode 4 organised into smaller fretboard areas to make it easier to memorise.

The diagram also shows four interesting chords that sound good with F Lydian Mode 4, again, it's a good idea to create a backing track using these chords, I like to use a loop pedal.

Once again, play the notes of the F Lydian Mode 4 with your backing track. Try including the notes of  each chord in your playing.

Notice how the note "B", the 4th note of F Lydian Mode 4, creates a lot of tension. It's important to remember that the 4th note of Lydian Mode is the mode's character note, which distinguishes this mode's sound.

I always find that it's good to get to know the notes of chords and their scale interval.

Chord 1 has notes "F", "E" and "G", these are the 1st , 7th and 2nd notes of the scale.
Chord 2 has notes "F", "F" and "G", these are the 1st, 1st and 2nd notes of the scale.
Chord 3 has notes "F", "F" and "A", these are the 1st, 1st and 3rd notes of the scale.
Chord 4 has notes "F", "F" , "A" and "B", these are the 1st, 1st, 3rd and 4th notes of the scale.

Send me a PM if you have any questions.

GuyBoden

Lesson Seven is the last of the open position lessons.

The diagram below shows C Ionian Mode 1, which everyone knows as C Major, it's organised into smaller fretboard areas to make it easier to memorise.

The diagram below also shows B Locrian Mode 7, an unusual mode for creating chords, it's also organised into smaller fretboard areas to make it easier to memorise.

It's good to learn and memorise the patterns for each mode, knowing the note name and it's position on the fretboard.

The chords for C Ionian are the C Major chords we all know, so create your own backing track and play along.

The Ionian scale is rarely used in modern Modal Harmony, due to it's strong use in Functional Harmony, that's harmony built in thirds with strong cadences pulling towards the tonic chord. (Functional harmony is the basic music theory taught all over the western world.)

See Functional Harmony wiki page:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatonic_function#Functional_harmony

The chords for B Locrian I'll leave for another more advanced lessons.

Send me a PM if you have any questions.

GuyBoden

This was good stuff for Modal Jazz.

GuyBoden

Pity, this was a good approach for Modal Jazz, but Modal Jazz died in the late 1970's.

pintspiller

I used mode shapes to learn shapes of diatonic major up and down the neck. Didn't learn them all of course, Ionian, Aeolian, Dorian, Phrygian and Mixolydian was all I thought I needed.

It's still all I kind of use. I never attempted to learn CAGED, but the old mode thing kind of the same.

GuyBoden

pintspiller said:

I used mode shapes to learn shapes of diatonic major up and down the neck. Didn't learn them all of course, Ionian, Aeolian, Dorian, Phrygian and Mixolydian was all I thought I needed.

It's still all I kind of use. I never attempted to learn CAGED, but the old mode thing kind of the same.

What these exercises were trying to convey is making the mode the tonal center, so drawing the listener's ear toward hearing the mode for resolution. This is difficult to achieve due to the cultural dominance of the Major/minor cadence resolution.

Not really the same as how Rock/Pop type use Modal music, it's a Jazz thing.

See a better explanation below:

"The main difference between the modal approach to a tonal center and a
tonal (i.e. classical major/minor tonality) approach to a tonal center
is that when a particular chord type lasts for a long duration its root
becomes a sort of a tonal center and any harmonic (key) relations
between that chord and any other chords in the piece are minimized. The
player is free to explore and emphasize the intervallic relations of all
the tones in the implied chord-scale. "