Lesson: The Easiest Way to Master Modes on Guitar Using a Single Scale, by Derek Frets

Introduction

Modes are one of the most important concepts to understand when it comes to playing guitar. It’s also one of the more complicated topics for beginners to grasp, as it involves understanding and manipulating scales. Thankfully, there is a simpler way to get to grips with modes on the guitar – using a single scale.

Today I’m going to show you an easy way to begin mastering the different modes just by shifting a simple pattern up and down the fretboard. We’ll start with a basic scale — the major scale. This is constructed of 8 notes, known as degrees. You probably already know how to play a major scale in a few different ways, but in this lesson we’re going to scratch all of that and just move around one easy-to-remember, 3-note-per-string pattern. We’re also going to be thinking in terms of intervals, or the distances between each note, instead of the actual note names themselves.

The single pattern we’re going to use is made up of:

2 whole-steps on the 6th string followed by the same fingering on the 5th string (what I’d call a 1-3-5 stretch because that’s what frets they would correspond with if you were doing an exercise starting on the first fret, see below).

1 half-step followed by 1 whole-step on the 4th and 3rd strings (a 1-2-4 fingering, see below).

1 whole-step followed by 1 half-step on the 2nd and 1st strings (a 1-3-4 fingering, see diagram below).

So when you’re thinking about it in your head you can just say to yourself, “1-3-5, 1-3-5… 1-2-4, 1-2-4… 1-3-4, 1-3-4…” You could of course use any major scale pattern, but I chose this one for our lesson today because it’s very easy to remember and visualize.

Understanding the Basics

Now, I don’t want to overload this lesson with too much music theory, but here are a few things you should know before we dive in:

There are 7 modes in the major scale, one for each note of the scale. They’re called Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, and Locrian.

Each mode corresponds to either a major or minor chord. There are 3 major chords and 4 minor chords in each key (one of the minor chords also has a flattened 5th degree and is called a diminished chord).

The 1st, 4th, and 5th chords in the key are major.

The 2nd, 3rd, 6th, and 7th chords in the key are minor (the 7th is the diminished chord).

The way you construct basic chords (called triads) is to play the 1st, 3rd, and 5th notes in the scale together. When the 3rd note of the scale is 4 frets higher than the root note, that distance is called a major-third interval and makes it a major chord. When the 3rd note of the scale is 3 frets higher than the root note, that distance is called a minor-third interval and makes it a minor chord.

When the 3rd note of the scale is 4 frets higher than the root note, that distance is called a major-third interval and makes it a major chord.

Phrygian

The third mode is the Phrygian mode. It has a flat-3rd so it’ll be played over an E minor chord. Again, its the same fingering as the Ionian scale, but this time starting with your pinky on the 6th string E instead. Play the E minor chord and then play the first octave of the scale starting with your pinky and going up to the next root and back down. That’s the Phrygian mode. Notice we’re just starting on the next note in the scale pattern each time, so if you want to play the 3rd mode then just have this pattern in mind and start with the root note as the 3rd note in the pattern and play from there. Easy, right?

Lydian

Okay so the fourth mode is the Lydian mode. We’re still using the exact same pattern as the other modes, but now we have to move down and start with the E that’s on the 5th string at the 7th fret. Remember, the scale pattern stays exactly the same so start on the 5th string with your first finger at the 7th fret and play 1-3-5, then move to the 4th and 3rd strings and play 1-2-4, 1-2-4… Then 1-3-4, 1-3-4 on the 2nd and 1st strings. Lydian is a major scale, so start by playing an E major chord. Then pick the scale up to the first octave and back down again. Once you’ve done that a few times, try playing the entire scale up to the first string, then all the way back down to the 6th string, and then return back to the root on the 5th string. That’s the Lydian mode.

Mixolydian

The 5th mode is the Mixolydian mode. Similar to Lydian it’s also a major mode (think of all the songs that use a I-IV-V progression, those are the 3 major chords in the key). This mode consists of the same fingering as the Ionian pattern, but starting with your middle finger on the 5th string, 7th fret as shown below. Play an E major chord first and then play the scale to hear how it sounds.

Aeolian

The sixth mode is the Aeolian or Natural Minor mode. You’ll want to play an E minor chord and start with your pinky on the 5th string E this time. Play it up and down a few times to hear what it sounds like. You’ll find this used in any genre as it is the go-to “sad” key for pretty much all music.

Locrian

The last mode is the Locrian mode. It’s a diminished mode which means the corresponding chord uses both a flat 3rd (like a minor chord), and also a flat 5th which makes it an especially dark sounding mode. Don’t let other teachers fool you, I actually use this mode all the time. It’s where I naturally go when I’m playing darker sounding music. It also isn’t as complicated as they make it sound either. It’s just the exact same pattern but starting with your first finger on the E that’s on the 4th string, 2nd fret. Even though it’s technically over a diminished chord, you can just play an E minor chord to hear how it sounds. An easy way to make it a diminished chord is to take an Em chord and move your note that’s on the 5th string 2nd fret down a half-step to the 1st fret, and only play the top 4 strings (0-1-2-0-x-x). Or you can get really fancy and play an Edim7 just by adding the 2nd sting, 2rd fret like this (0-1-2-0-2-0).

Conclusion

As you can see, all of these modes can be played by simply starting on a different degree of the major scale. This makes it much easier to practice and understand each mode without having to learn an entirely new scale for each one. Once you have this under your belt it will open up a whole world of possibilities, and there are lots of things we can do to expand on this.

By understanding the relationship between the different modes and their corresponding major and minor chords, you’ll be able to easily master modes on guitar, in no time.