All seven modes in this lesson are derived from the major (ionian) scale. This is the C major scale:
|--------------------------------7-8-10--| ------ |---------------------------8-10---------| |OOO|O 7th |--------------------7-9-10--------------| OO||OO |-------------7-9-10---------------------| ||OO|| |------7-8-10----------------------------| OOOOOO |-8-10-----------------------------------|Each mode is determined by it's intervals, or how many steps between each note, two frets being a whole step (W), one fret being a half step (H). The intervals in the major scale are as follows:
This is using the C note as the root. If you were to play the exact same notes starting on the second note, the D, you would have a minor scale. Look at it this way - because you started on a different note, the intervals have changed:
W H W W W H W
Now instead of having the third note four frets from the first, making a major third, you have it three frets up, making it a flat third, a minor third. This is the Dorian mode:
|-----------------------------------------10-12-13--| ------ |--------------------------------10-12-13-----------| ||OO|| |------------------------9-10-12--------------------| OOOOOO 10th |----------------9-10-12----------------------------| |||||| |----------10-12------------------------------------| OOOOOO |-10-12-13------------------------------------------| O|||OOTry to figure the rest out yourself using the chart below:
Ionian - W W H W W W H
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Dorian - W H W W W H W
1 2 b3 4 5 6 b7
Phrygian - H W W W H W W
1 b2 b3 4 5 b6 b7
Lydian - W W W H W W H
1 2 3 #4 5 6 7
Mixolydian - W W H W W H W
1 2 3 4 5 6 b7
Aeolian - W H W W H W W
1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7
Locrian - H W W H W W W
1 b2 b3 4 b5 b6 b7
The rest of the scales (the root notes are in bold):
Phrygian Lydian Mixolydian Aeolian Locrian
------ ------ ------ ------ ------
OOOOOO -OOOOO -OOO-- ---O-- OOOO-O
O---OO O---OO OOO-OO OOOOOO OO--OO
-OOO-- -OOO-- ---O-- ----O- --OO--
OOO-OO OOO-OO OOOOOO OOOO-O OOOOOO
----O- OO--OO
One thing you can do is draw a fretboard on some paper and map out all the notes of any major scale up and down the fretboard. You will see all seven modes intertwined at certain notes.The numbers are the note positions relative to the major scale. For example the Dorian mode has a b3 and a b7. So what you do is play the major scale and when you get to the third note, take it down one fret. Do the same with the seventh note.
One of the biggest problems as a guitarrist using modes is figuring out what mode or scale to use in a song. To do this, analyze the chord progression. Let's say you have a song with the chords: Am, C, Dm, Em, F, G. Since the song starts in A, compare the chords with the A major scale.
A major - A B C# D E F# G# Progression - A C D E F GCompared to the A major scale, the progression has a b3, b6 and b7. This corresponds with the Aeolian mode so you would use that scale over that progression.