Modes An Easier Way

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Guitar Modes: An Easier Way

Guitar modes are a creative way to give your soloing a new and different sound. Some guitarists
are enamored with the idea of modes but dont know how to practically use them. Perhaps it is
the exotic sounding names and elusive promise of secret guitar scales that causes some
guitarists to treat them like a mystical holy grail of advanced understanding. When, in truth,
with a little bit of music theory you can easily understand what modes are and how you could
use them to bring a new sound to your music.
This lesson covers an easier, player-friendly approach to modes - taking from the realm of
unusable, mysterious theory and turning them into real tools that you can use on the bandstand.
Modes and the Key

For our purposes, there are seven different modes that can be related to the major scale
through the key and key signature. (There are other modes, but we wont get into that here.)
Lets get started, a major scale is a repeating musical pattern of half steps and whole steps.
Here is the C major scale with numbers assigned to each scale tone. Notice how the C at the
beginning and end is referred to as 1 since it is the same note name C, albeit a different
octave.
But a scale and the key signature it generates are more than those specific notes. Think of a
scale like a musical number line with scale tones extending above and beneath the specific
defined one octave scale. The same half step and whole step pattern that made up the major
scale can also be extended up and down. These other tones are still in the key and are various
octave doubles of the original scale. So, the major scale is actually a smaller subset of this
larger musical line that is defined by the key.
The Modes
A mode takes an octave range of notes and adjusts it within the key so that the starting and
ending note are different. So, instead of going from C to C as in the case of a one octave C
major scale, you could also go from D to D, or from E to E. Keep in mind; you are still in the
key of C. You are simply shifting over the starting and ending notes of a one-octave scale.
Gibsons Skills House Lessons with Steve Krenz
When you do this, seven different scales, called modes, are derived all sharing the same key
signature. Each of these seven modes has a unique name.
Here is a chart with these seven modes and their names.
Another way to think about the relationship between modes and a related key is this.
The
The
The
The
The
The
The
Ionian mode starts/ends on the

Dorian mode starts/ends on the
Phrygian mode starts/ends on the
Lydian mode starts/ends on the
Mixolydian mode starts/ends on the
Aeolian mode starts/ends on the
Locrian mode starts/ends on the
1st step of the key.

2nd step of the key.
3rd step of the key.
4th step of the key.
In
In
In
In
In
In
In
C,
C,
C,
C,
C,
C,
C,
going
going
going
going
going
going
going
from
from
from
from
from
from
from
C to C.
D to D.
E to E.
F to F.
G to G.
A to A.
B to B.
Soloing with Modes

Now that we know what modes are, how can we use them to create great music? First, its
important to understand that three of these modes fit better in major keys and three fit better in
minor keys.
Modes that sound major are the ones built off of the 1st, 4th, and 5th scale steps - the Ionian,
Lydian, and Mixolydian.
Modes that sound minor are the ones built off of the 2nd, 3rd, and 6th scale steps - the
Dorian, Phrygian, and Aeolian.
So, lets say you need to solo over an Am chord and youre looking for some new ways to create
fresh sounds. Well, an Am chord appears in three different keys - the keys of G, F, and C. So, if
you were soloing in Am, then you have three different minor modes as possible choices to solo
over.
A Dorian = From A to A in the key of G.
A Phrygian = From A to A in the key of F.
A Aeolian = From A to A in the key of C.
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Foundation Lessons: Guitar Modes:

An Easier Way
Gibsons Skills House Lessons with Steve Krenz
Notice that each of these modes contains the main tones of an Am chord which are A-C-E. But
each mode has a slightly different overall sound because of the other notes in the key involved.
So, to sum up, mentally switching your soloing from the framework of licks and pentatonic
patterns to looking at a chord and relating it to a variety of different modes can bring about
some unexpected and creative sounds in your playing.
Experiment with soloing with various modes and see if you dont come up with some new and
fresh sounds!
For step-by-step quality guitar instruction check out the award winning Gibsons Learn & Master
Guitar course at www.LearnAndMaster.com and the lessons section at www.gibson.com for all
the help you need to become the player you want to be!
Steve Krenz
As an educator, Steve is best known for the top-selling guitar instruction
course, Gibson's Learn & Master Guitar that received the 2011 Acoustic
Guitar Magazine Players Choice Award for Best Instructional Material. As a
professional guitarist in Nashville, Steve's broad playing experience includes
playing guitar with a symphony orchestra, to jazz big bands, to performing with
numerous Grammy-winning artists like Donna Summer, Michael W. Smith,
Bryan White, The Fifth Dimension, Israel Houghton, Tommy Sims and American
Idol finalist Melinda Doolittle.
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FOUNDATION

Guitar Modes: An Easier Way

Modes and the Key

Gibsons Skills House Lessons with Steve Krenz

Ionian mode starts/ends on the

1st step of the key.

Soloing with Modes

Foundation Lessons: Guitar Modes:

Gibsons Skills House Lessons with Steve Krenz

Foundation Lessons: Guitar Modes:

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