Video Guitar Lessons, Tabs
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Introductory Mode Lessons - 3 (cont.)
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We are now going to explore where the modes come from, and then reconcile the two ways of looking at them that was covered in previous lessons. Starting with the C major scale, (C, D, E, F, G, A, B), drop the 1st note of the scale and place it at the end so that it starts at D and ends at C. That gives the scale (D, E, F, G, A, B, C), which is called the D dorian mode. Next, take this scale and move the D from the beginning of the scale to the end of the scale, which gives (E, F, G, A, B, C, D) and is called the E phrygian mode. Going through the rest of the notes of the scale in the same manner gives the following table:
| mode | 1st note | 2nd note | 3rd note | 4th note | 5th note | 6th note | 7th note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C major scale | C | D | E | F | G | A | B |
| D dorian | D | E | F | G | A | B | C |
| E phrygian | E | F | G | A | B | C | D |
| F lydian | F | G | A | B | C | D | E |
| G mixolydian | G | A | B | C | D | E | F |
| A aeolian | A | B | C | D | E | F | G |
| B locrian | B | C | D | E | F | G | A |
From the way these scales were built, or from a quick look at the above table, you can see that each of the above modes contain only notes from the C major scale, and start with a different root or bass note that is also from the C major scale. This is similar to what was taught in Course 5 and Course 6, except that in the two Course 6 lessons the mode key on the left of the above table was the same, and the notes (scale) on the right of the table were adjusted accordingly.
What about the other way of looking at modes: modifying the scale of the key we are in?
Take the above table but expand it so that the gaps between notes are shown. For example, since there's a whole step or 2 frets between the C and D notes, we put a space between them. There's only a half step or 1 fret between the E and F notes, so we don't put a space between them. We have also shaded the columns that contain notes of the C major scale:
| mode | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C major scale | C | D | E | F | G | A | B | |||||
| D dorian | D | E | F | G | A | B | C | |||||
| E phrygian | E | F | G | A | B | C | D | |||||
| F lydian | F | G | A | B | C | D | E | |||||
| G mixolydian | G | A | B | C | D | E | F | |||||
| A aeolian | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | |||||
| B locrian | B | C | D | E | F | G | A |
Since we're trying to show how the D dorian mode differs from the D major scale, how the E phrygian mode differs from the E major scale, etc. let's change "C major scale" to just "major scale", and replace the notes on that line with asterisks. It makes sense to do this since the major scale has the same intervals between notes regardless of what key it is in. And to make it easier to read, we bold the notes that do not line up with the major scale notes:
| mode | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | summary | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| major scale | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | ||||||
| D dorian | D | E | F | G | A | B | C | flatted 3rd, 7th | |||||
| E phrygian | E | F | G | A | B | C | D | flatted 2nd, 3rd, 6th, 7th | |||||
| F lydian | F | G | A | B | C | D | E | sharp 4th | |||||
| G mixolydian | G | A | B | C | D | E | F | flatted 7th | |||||
| A aeolian | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | flatted 3rd, 6th, 7th | |||||
| B locrian | B | C | D | E | F | G | A | flatted 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th, 7th |
The results shown above match what was taught in the technical description of modes lessons.
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