The musical modes are based on the diatonic scale–a seven note scale containing five whole steps and two half steps. The modes add a twist to music. They can induce unique moods, and add interesting textures to a song’s tonality. If you’re familiar with the Major and minor scales, then you already know two modes. Ionian and Aeolian are the same as Major and minor. While major and minor have become a standard–there are still five other modes to explore.
In this article I will present to you each of the seven modes. Each section will contain a movable guitar scale diagram that repeats twice for a total of 24 frets. This will help in visualizing how the scale interacts with the entire fretboard. While it is essential to know different “positions” of scales, the ultimate goal is to blend that into one continuous flow that utilizes the entire fretboard. That’s why I’ve chosen to show the entire pattern.
Finally, towards the end of this article, I will discuss how to implement the modes into your own playing.
*
With that said, let us begin…
*
*
Same Intervals, Different Starting Point
As I mentioned in my introduction, each of the seven musical modes are based on the diatonic scale, which is:
W-W-H-W-W-W-H (W = whole step, H = half step)
.
Now, the only difference between the seven modes (on a strictly fundamental basis) is that each starts at a different point in the sequence. Here is an easy way to visualize this:
Ionian (Major) W W H W W W H
Dorian W H W W W H W
Phrygian H W W W H W W
Lydian W W W H W W H
Mixolydian W W H W W H W
Aeolian (Minor) W H W W H W W
Locrian H W W H W W W
.
So for example, C Ionian (C-D-E-F-G-A-B) contains the same notes as A Aeolian (A-B-C-D-E-F-G). Now, you might be wondering how I knew which notes were in each of those modes. It’s really simple — you just need to apply the intervals to the chromatic scale:
| C | C♯/D♭ | D | D♯/E♭ | E | F | F♯/G♭ | G | G♯/A♭ | A | A♯/B♭ | B | C |
*
So starting with C Ionian, we know the intervals are:
W W H W W W H
.
We start with C, then go a whole step and the next note is D, another whole step and we get E, and then a half step gives us F, and so on to get:
C D E F G A B
.
Each of the modes borrows its notes from a parent tonality. For example, C Ionian, D Dorian, E Phrygian, F Lydian, G Mixolydian, A Aeolian, and B Locrian all contain the same exact notes (C-D-E-F-G-A-B), but the difference is that each mode starts on it’s respective root note.
*
In the next few sections I will introduce each of the seven modes, and their unique tonal properties.
*
Ionian Mode
Formula: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7
Intervals: W-W-H-W-W-W-H
The Ionian mode is also the same as the Major scale. It has a very bright and happy sound to it.
Notable using the Ionian mode:
- Happy Birthday To You
- Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
24-Fret Scale Diagram
*
Dorian Mode
Formula: 1-2-♭3-4-5-6-♭7
Intervals: W-H-W-W-W-H-W
The Dorian mode can sound soulful and bluesy depending on how it’s used.
Notable songs that employ Dorian are:
- Light My Fire – The Doors
- Born to Be Wild – Steppenwolf
- Theme from Halo
24-Fret Scale Diagram
*
Phrygian Mode
Formula: 1-♭2-♭3-4-5-♭6-♭7
Intervals: H-W-W-W-H-W-W
The Phrygian mode has a Middle-Eastern or Spanish sound. This mode is common in flamenco music, and is sometimes referred to as the “Spanish” mode.
Notable songs that employ Phrygian are:
- White Rabbit – Jefferson Airplane
- Not to Touch the Earth – The Doors
24-Fret Scale Diagram
*
Lydian Mode
Formula: 1-2-3-♯4-5-6-7
Intervals: W-W-W-H-W-W-H
The Lydian mode is similar to Ionian, but the sharpened fourth gives it a very dreamy and spaced out feel.
Notable songs that employ Dorian are:
- Flying In A Blue Dream – Joe Satriani
- Theme From The Simpsons
24-Fret Scale Diagram
*
Mixolydian Mode
Formula: 1-2-3-4-5-6-♭7
Intervals: W-W-H-W-W-H-W
The Mixolydian mode can either sound funky or folky, and has been used on a lot of ’60s and ’70s songs.
Notable songs that employ Mixolydian are:
- Dear Prudence – The Beatles
- Norwegian Wood – The Beatles
- The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald – G0ordon Lightfoot
- Sweet Home Alabama – Lynyrd Skynyrd
- Satisfaction – The Rolling Stones
24-Fret Scale Diagram
*
Aeolian Mode
Formula: 1-2-♭3-4-5-♭6-♭7
Intervals: W-H-W-W-H-W-W
Aeolian is the same as the natural minor scale, and has a dark and sad sound to it. It can also sound tough and mean when used in heavy rock songs.
Notable songs that employ Aeolian are:
- Achilles Last Stand (Guitar Solo) – Led Zeppelin
- The Ants Go Marching In
24-Fret Scale Diagram
*
Locrian Mode
Formula: 1-♭2-♭3-4-♭5-♭6-♭7
Intervals: W-H-W-W-H-W-W
The Locrian mode is probably the strangest of the seven modes. Similar to Phrygian, it can have a spanish feel to it, but much more unresolved and darker.
Locrian isn’t a very practical mode, and has been called a “theoretical mode” by some experts.
24-Fret Scale Diagram
*
*
How To Use the Modes
When using modes, a parallel approach usually works better. That means that a different mode is used for each chord in the progression. Take a look at the following example:
C Lydian C Ionian C Aeolian
CMaj7(♯11) CMaj7 Cm11
C Dorian C Phrygian C Phrygian
Cm7 Cmin11(♭9) Cmin9(♭9)
.
The above progression is an example of using pitch-axis theory. I will discuss this in more detail in a later article, but essentially what that means is that the root note (C) stays the same for every chord in the progression.
Take a look at the table at the end of this article to understand why certain modes were used over certain chord types.
Also, If you wanted to stay in one mode for the entire progression, you could do something like this:
C Lydian
CMaj7(#11) Amin Dmaj7 GMaj9
.
And to really reinforce that this is a Lydian progression, you could stress the tonic (aka root note) note. For this progression, C is the tonic note, so we could play a C note in the bass of each chord voicing:
C Lydian
CMaj7(#11) Amin/C Dmaj7/C GMaj9/C
.
*
Useful Tables
The table below shows which types of chords can be made from the notes of each mode. This is very useful if you’re trying to write a progression that stresses a certain mode, or figure out which mode is appropriate for a certain chord.
| Mode | Triad | 7th | 9th |
11th |
13th |
| Ionian | Maj | Maj7 | Maj9 | Maj11 | Maj13 |
| Dorian | min | min7 | min9 | min11 | min13 |
| Phrygian | min | min7 | min9(♭9) | min11(♭9) | min11(♭9♭13) |
| Lydian | Maj | Maj7 | Maj9 | Maj7(♯11) | Maj13(♯11) |
| Mixolydian | Maj | 7 | 9 | 11 | 13 |
| Aeolian | min | min7 | min9 | min11 | min11(♭13) |
| Locrian | dim | min7(♭5) | min7(♭5♭9) | min11(♭5♭9) | min11(♭5♭9♭13) |
*
This next table shows a list of characteristic chords associated with each degree for every mode. Note that this is just one possibility–chord substitutes can be made. For example, Majors can be interchanged with Major 7ths, minors can be interchanged with minor 7ths and so on. Just remember to keep the Major/minor type the same. For ease of viewing, I’ve color coded the chart. Red chord names are Major types, and blue chord names are minor types.
| Mode | I |
II | III | IV | V | VI | VII |
| Ionian | Maj (I) |
min (ii) |
min (iii) |
Maj (IV) |
Maj (V) |
min (vi) |
dim (vii°) |
| Dorian | min (i) |
min (ii) |
Maj (III) |
Maj (IV) |
min (v) |
dim (vi°) | Maj (VII) |
| Phrygian | min (i) |
Maj (II) |
Maj (III) |
min (iv) |
dim (v°) | Maj (VI) |
min (vii) |
| Lydian | Maj (I) |
Maj (II) |
min (iii) |
dim (iv°) | Maj (V) |
min (vi) |
min (vii) |
| Mixolydian | Maj (I) |
min (ii) |
dim (iii°) | Maj (IV) |
min (v) |
min (vi) |
Maj (VII) |
| Aeolian | min (i) |
dim (ii°) | Maj (III) |
min (iv) |
min (v) |
Maj (VI) |
Maj (VII) |
| Locrian | dim (i°) | Maj (II) |
min (III) |
min (iv) |
Maj (V) |
Maj (VI) |
min (vii) |
*
Formula: 1-3-5-7-♯11
Notations: Major7(♯11), Maj7(♯11), M7(♯11), 7M(♯11), Δ7(♯11)
The major7♯11 chord is the same thing as a major 7 chord, with the only difference being that a sharpened 11th is added to the top of the chord.
Movable Guitar Chord Shapes
Scales/Modes To Use:
| Scale | Formula | First Position Scale Shape |
| Lydian | 1-2-3-♯4-5-6-7 |  |
| Lydian Bebop | 1-2-3-♯4-5-♭6-6-7 |  |
Also Try:
- Playing leads based on the maj7 arpeggio (1-3-5-7)
- Use the minor pentatonic built on the note a semitone below the root of the chord — this is really cool sounding.
*
In my first article on fretboard exercises, I spoke about the benefits of fretboard exercises. In this second article article I will present additional exercises that will build upon the first article.
As I stated in my first article, I highly recommend that you use a metronome when you go through these exercises. This will help you to synchronize the timing between your left and right hands. This is very important. Start with a slow tempo, like say 100bpm, and then gradually increase it as you master each exercise.
Exercise Five — Simple Warm Up (Variation A)
This exercise is a variation of the “simple warm up” exercise from my first article. The only difference is that each of the four left hand notes are played on a different string.
Repeat the same pattern, this time starting at fret 2.
Again, repeat the same pattern, but this time start at the third fret. Continue this all the way up the fretboard.
Exercise Six — Simple Warm Up (Variation B)
This is another warm up on the “simple warm up” exercise. Bars 4-6 are where it gets interesting. The downward movement and string changes will help improve your muscle memory of the fretboard.
Exercise Seven — String Skipping
This exercise will help with string skipping. You could also use this to practice your economy picking by ignoring the picking notation.
In bars 5-8 you start to move up one string.
Again, in bars 9-12 you move up another string.
Bars 13-24 are an inverse version of bars 1-12.
After bar 24, repeat the entire exercise starting one fret higher. Continue this all the way up the fretboard.
Tab Legend
Pick Strokes:
∩ = downstroke V = upstroke
*
Left Hand Fingerings:
I = index M = middle R = ring L = little
In this article we will look at the minor scale. The minor scale is the same as the Aeolian mode, which is a diatonic scale made from the following intervals:
W-H-W-W-H-W-W
So if we wanted to figure out the notes in say A minor, we would apply the above intervals and obtain:
A-B-C-D-E-F-G
Try it out for yourself. Here is a chromatic list of the notes:
| C | C♯/D♭ | D | D♯/E♭ | E | F | F♯/G♭ | G | G♯/A♭ | A | A♯/B♭ | B | C |
Minor Guitar Scale Positions
The guitar scale diagrams below show A minor. Root notes are shown in black. Notes that are below the root note, and still within the scale are shown in light blue. Numbers denote recommended left hand fingerings (1=index, 2=middle, 3=ring, 4=little).
While fretboard exercises are great for warming up, they are also one of the best ways to improve your accuracy, speed, economy and overall technique on the guitar. In this article I will present to you four different exercises that I find especially helpful for those purposes.
I highly recommend that you use a metronome when you go through these exercises. This will help you to synchronize the timing between your left and right hands. This is very important. Start with a slow tempo, like say 100bpm, and then gradually increase it as you master each exercise.
Exercise One — Simple Warm Up
This exercise is probably the most common one out there. I find that this works best as a quick warm up before playing.
In bars 7-12 the pattern repeats one fret higher. After bar 12, continue this pattern all the way up the fretboard.
Exercise Two — Warm Up Variation
This is a variation on the first exercise. Repeat this exercise one fret higher each time working your way up the fretboard.
Exercise Three — The Finger Twister
This exercise is a sort of tongue twister for the fingers. The aim here is to get the fingers moving in ways they would probably not move naturally. Once these “unnatural” finger movements sink into your muscle memory they will greatly improve the economy and improvisational quality of your playing.
Exercise Four — Wide Stretches
The purpose of this exercise is to get the fingers used to making wide stretches. Notice how the second note is played with the middle finger to achieve this. Also, pay close attention to the left hand fingerings of the notes in bold–they alternate from the little to ring finger. Finally, when the pattern repeats in the first bar, there is another wide stretch using the ring finger.
When you move up to around the fifth fret, you could do something like this:
…and of course repeat with the same pattern as before.
Tab Legend
Pick Strokes:
∩ = downstroke V = upstroke
Left Hand Fingerings:
I = index M = middle R = ring L = little
In this article we will look at the major scale. The major scale is the same as the Ionian mode, which is a diatonic scale made of the following intervals:
W-W-H-W-W-W-H
So if we wanted to figure out the notes in say G Major, we would apply the above intervals and obtain:
G-A-B-C-D-E-F♯
Try it out for yourself. Here is a chromatic list of the notes:
| C | C♯/D♭ | D | D♯/E♭ | E | F | F♯/G♭ | G | G♯/A♭ | A | A♯/B♭ | B | C |
Major Guitar Scale Positions
The guitar scale diagrams below show G Major. Root notes are shown in black. Notes that are below the root note, and still within the scale are shown in light blue. Numbers denote recommended left hand fingerings (1=index, 2=middle, 3=ring, 4=little).
If you are unfamiliar with barre chords or how movable chord shapes work, I recommend you read the following section. If not, feel free to skip straight to the reference sections.
Barre Chords and Movable Chord Shapes Explained
A barre chord is a chord where one or more fingers are used to press down more than one string at the same fret. Barre chords that contain no open strings can be moved anywhere up and down the fretboard to form different chords of the same type (Major, minor, diminished, and so on).
For example, if you were to shift every note in the G Major chord (shown below) up one fret (one-half step), you would still have a Major chord. In this case we would end up with a G♯ Major chord:
Notice how the fingering in both examples have the same ’shape’. This is what’s known as a chord shape. Chord shapes can be shifted anywhere up and down the fretboard and the chord remain the same type (Major, minor, diminished, and so on). Just remember that you can only shift up and down the fretboard, and not from one string to another.
Please note that for all of the chord shapes I present in this article the root note will always be the note on the lowest string.
Here’s an example:
Lets say we wanted to play a B Major chord. First we would need to find B on the low E string. As a reference, here’s a diagram of the notes on the fretboard:
We can see that B is at the 7th fret of the low E string. Now, if we apply the Major chord shape starting at fret 7 on the low E string we end up with a B Major chord:
It’s that easy!
In the sections that follow, I will present to you movable chord shapes for the following chord types:
- Major Chords
- Minor Chords
- Power Chords
- Diminished Chords
- Augmented Chords
- Dominant Seventh Chords
- Major Seventh Chords
- Minor Seventh Chords
- Major Sixth Chords
- Minor Sixth Chords
- Dominant Ninth Chords
- Major Ninth Chords
- Minor Ninth Chords
- Suspended 2nd Chords
- Suspended 4th Chords
If you’d like to see a chord type that I haven’t featured, feel free to leave a comment and I’ll see what I can do. With that said, I present to you my guide to movable chord shapes:
Major Chords
Formula: 1-3-5
Notations: Major, Maj, Ma, M, Δ
Major Chord Shapes
Minor Chords
Formula: 1-♭3-5
Notations: minor, min, mi, m
Minor Chord Shapes
Power Chords
Formula: 1-5
Notations: 5
Power Chord Shapes
Diminished Chords
Formula: 1-♭3-♭5
Notations: diminished, dimin, dim, °
Diminished Chord Shapes
Augmented Chords
Formula: 1-3-♯5
Notations: augmented, aug, +
Augmented Chord Shapes
Dominant Seventh Chords
Formula: 1-3-5-♭7
Notations: 7
Dominant Seventh Chord Shapes
Major Seventh Chords
Formula: 1-3-5-7
Notations: Major 7, Maj7, M7, 7M, Δ7
Major Seventh Chord Shapes
Minor Seventh Chords
Formula: 1-♭3-5-♭7
Notations: minor 7, min7, m7
Minor Seventh Chord Shapes
Major Sixth Chords
Formula: 1-3-5-6
Notations: Major 6, Maj6, M6, Δ6
Major Sixth Chord Shapes
Minor Sixth
Formula: 1-♭3-5-6
Notations: minor 6, min6, m6
Minor Sixth Chord Shapes
Dominant Ninth Chords
Formula: 1-3-5-♭7-9
Notations: 9
Dominant Ninth Chord Shapes
Major Ninth Chords
Formula: 1-3-5-7-9
Notations: 9
Major Ninth Chord Shapes
Minor Ninth Chords
Formula: 1-♭3-5-♭7-9
Notations: minor 9, min9, m9
Minor Ninth Chord Shapes
Suspended 2nd Chords
Formula: 1-2-5
Notations: sus2
Suspended 2nd Chord Shapes
Suspended 4th Chords
Formula: 1-4-5
Notations: sus4
Suspended 4th Chord Shapes
|
Chord Progression Chart
|
|
|---|---|
| These Chords… | Lead to These Chords… |
| I | Any Chord |
| ii | IV, V, vii° |
| iii | ii, vi |
| IV | I, V, vii° |
| V | I |
| vi | ii, IV |
| vii° | I, iii |
There is no rule to making ‘good’ chord progressions, but there is a theory behind what makes certain chord changes sound good.
If you take a look at the chart to the right, you will see an outline of chords that sound good next to each other. This chart is for Major chord progressions. It utilizes Roman numeral notation.
Here’s a rundown of Roman numeral notation if you’re unfamiliar with it:
Major chord: I, II, III, etc.
Minor chord: i, ii, iii, etc.
Augmented chord: I+, II+, III+, etc.
Diminished chord: vi°, vii°, etc.
Half-diminished chord: viiØ7, etc.
Extended chords: ii7, V9, V13, etc.
Altered tones or chords: #iv, ii#7
.
|
C Major
|
|
|---|---|
| These Chords… | Lead to These Chords… |
| I (C) | Any Chord |
| ii (D min) | IV (F), V (G), vii° (B dim) |
| iii (E min) | ii (D min), vi (A min) |
| IV (F) | I (C), V (G), vii° (B dim) |
| V (G) | I (C) |
| vi (A min) | ii (D min), IV (F) |
| vii° (B dim) | I (C), iii (E min) |
To the right is the same chart chart with the corresponding chords for the key of C Major included.
Here’s an example: If we start at the I chord (C Major), the chart tells us that any chord can follow. Let’s pick the VI chord, which would be F Major. According to the chart, F Major (the VI chord) can lead to either C Major (I), G Major (V), or B diminished (vii°). Now, If we pick G Major (V), we have just created one of the most commonly used chord progressions:
I-IV-V: C / / / F / / / G / / /
.
Cadences
At the end of a phrase you can create what’s know as a cadence. Essentially, you set up tension and then resolve it. This gives the feeling of a ‘natural’ ending. There are four main types of cadences: perfect cadence, plagal cadence, imperfect cadence, and interrupted cadence.
*
Perfect Cadence
A perfect cadence (V-I) is made by using the V chord to set up tension, which is then resolved by the I chord. For simplicity, we will use the key of C Major for all of the following sections. Here is an example of a perfect cadence:
V-I: G / / / C / / /
.
Plagal Cadence
A weaker version of the perfect cadenceuses the IV chord instead, which is then (like a perfect cadence) resolved with the I chord. Here is an example:
IV-I: F / / / C / / /
.
Note: plagal cadences are not as effective as perfect cadences. For this reason it is sometimes better to use one in the middle of a song, and then save the more effective and dramatic perfect cadence for the ending of a song.
*
Imperfect Cadence
If you ever end on a chord that isn’t the I chord, you are setting up unresolved tension. Using an imperfect cadence, you can get to the V chord any number of ways:
I-V: C / / / G / / /
ii-V: Dm / / / G / / /
IV-V: F / / / G / / /
vi-V: Am / / / G / / /
.
Interrupted Cadence
An interrupted cadence uses the V chord to trick the listener into thinking that a perfect cadence is on the way. What happens is the progression moves to any chord except the I chord:
V-IV: G / / / F / / /
V-vi: G / / / Am / / /
V-ii: G / / / Dm / / /
V-V7: G / / / G7 / / /
.
Conclusion
The most important rule is to remember is that in music, rules are more like guidelines. With that said, feel free to break them and experiment with creating new and unique chord progressions — If it sounds good it works!
In conclusion, I hope my tutorial was both easy to understand and useful to you. Please feel free to comment with any questions or comments.
The equalizer is one of the most useful tools available to any recording engineer. It is also the easiest to misuse and hardest to master.
The age old problem of determining the ‘magic’ frequency to cure certain tonal problems is one of the greatest challenges faced by both professional and armature recording engineers. It seems that knowledge on this subject is fragmented all over the place. That’s why I took the time to compile the charts below, which provide these sought after frequencies.
Some of the instructions are intended to fix problems, while others will change tonal characteristics of the way a recorded part sounds. Either way, please note that the provided information is only a starting point. For the best results, you should experiment with using nearby frequencies and Q-numbers.
In this tutorial I will explain how you can simulate a ‘vintage photo’ type effect using the curves feature in Adobe Photoshop.
Here is the photo I will be using:
Step 1. Create a curves adjustment layer.
Goto Layer > New Adjustment Layer, and select the option “Curves”. Name your new adjustment layer whatever you wish (I like to call it vintage) and select OK. Once you’ve done that you should see the following dialog box:
Step 2. Select the ‘red’ channel.
Under the channel selection drop down select the ‘red’ channel. When you do this, the curve and histogram should turn red. Click the red dot at the bottom left corner of the line and enter the following criteria: output=29, and input=0. Next, click the dot in the top right corner and enter the following: output=243, and input=255. Finally, click anywhere in the middle to create a new dot, and enter this: output=130, and input=107. You ‘red curve’ should look like following:
Step 3. Select the ‘blue’ channel.
Following the same procedure for the blue channel, click the bottom left dot, and enter output=55, and input=0. Select the top right dot, and enter output=203, and input=255. Click anywhere in the middle of the line to create a new dot, and enter output=112, and input=126. Your ‘blue curve’ shoud appear as follows:
Step 4. Select the ‘green’ channel.
This is the easiest step–all you have to do is click anywhere on the line to create a new dot, and enter output=123, and input=128. Your ‘green curve’ should look like this:
Select OK, and your image should resemble the following:
Step 5. Make final adjustments.
Sometimes you will have to tone down the effect by adjusting the opacity on the curves adjustment layer. Many times this will provide more visually pleasing results.
Adjusted image at 75% opacity:
Adjusted image at 50% opacity:
Well, that’s it! I hope you found my tutorial both informative and easy to understand. Feel free to comment.
Download Curves Settings: Photoshop ACV File
