Understand Guitar Modes in 10 Minutes

Modes are more often than not seen as a complicated concept that could take years to properly understand. I believe that this is because, as with many things in life, we are looking for the complication, and almost can't believe that it's actually very easy and very simple. So, my job in this blog post is to break down modes for you in just 10 minutes! I will say that there is a difference between understanding the concept and being able to use this all in practice… But one step at a time!

So, what is a mode?

Might as well start with the core question! In musical terms a "mode" is simply a way of looking at a scale. Everything we talk about in this post will be about the major scale, which is the core of western music. However, the core concept of a mode applies to every scale; It's just a way of looking at that scale to create different ideas. The major scale is flexible.

So the first thing we need is the major scale. We'll take the example of C major for this particular blog post, so here is the C major scale.

Notice that above the scale you have the numbers "1,2,3,4,5,6 & 7". These numbers are crucial, as they are all of our modes in the major scale! This brings me back to the concept that a mode is just another way to view a scale, to change the sound. Let me explain that by seeing what happens if we do this to the major scale:

So what has changed? The scale notes are all the same, but there is one absolutely massive difference. We're starting on the 2nd degree of the scale and therefore ending on the 2nd degree of the scale. If you can, I want you to try and play that on your guitar (or piano). Here is a tab to copy. Play the C major scale first, starting and ending on C, then play the same scale but this time starting and ending on the D note, like this:

What did it sound like to you? Hopefully one of the things you noticed was that the scale sounded different.

This is a mode. A different perspective of the same scale to create a different sound. Let's try another… This time we'll take the same C major scale, but we'll start and end on the 3rd note. Like this:

Again, perhaps you heard that that same scale once again sounded different! How cool is this? With one scale we can make more and more different sounds, just by changing the start and end notes of the scale. That's modes! Simple as that!

Outlining the 7 modes.

You may have started to guess that we can do this same process with every single note of the major scale. It's true, we can! Even better than that, each one of these different start and end points has a modal name. They're tough names to remember, but here they are… Get the pen and paper out!

So in order you have Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian & Locrian. Each of these has a unique name because each of these has its own unique sound. Now the purpose of this blog post is to guide you the core understanding of what a mode is, and alongside that I want to give you the simple tools you need to explore the sound of these modes for yourself. I'll let you start to get a feel for what each of the major scale modes sounds like.

As you work through each one ask yourself some simple questions… What does this sound like? Is it a more minor sounding mode, or perhaps it sounds a bit brighter like a major mode? Perhaps it's neither… Can you name the sound so you recognise it when you hear it next?

Just a quick note before you dive into the scale diagrams… These are three note per string scales, which means what it says on the tin! The scales are put together specifically with 3 notes on each string. There are many other ways to play these scale shapes. If you know a different way, then fantastic, use that! So, here are the 7 scale diagrams…

Top Tip when trying modal sounds

Before I leave you to explore modes and enjoy listening to the different sounds they make, one extra tip is to have a "drone note" in the background as you play through the modal scales. This would mean that you stick to one drone note, for example an A (may be worth grabbing a looper pedal or using a drone tone online) and then play the 7 modal scale shapes again, all starting from A. This is the start of learning how to apply these ideas to improvisation and music creation… But that's for another post!

So, hopefully you are now finishing this blog feeling like you fundamentally understand what a mode is. It's simple, isn't it? As I said, it can be overcomplicated, but in reality it's an easy concept. It's the application of these modes that gets harder, and our project is to create a course for each mode! Wish us luck! Below you'll find the courses we already have available to dive into. Enjoy!