ADVANCED LEVEL COURSE
GUITAR SCALES and MODES
for CHORD PROGRESSIONS
staying in one Scale Position
on six strings
GUITAR THEORY using MODES and SCALE SHAPES
There are eight lessons after the paragraph below.
Also an illustrated explanation of the Modes is at the bottom of this page and a video explanation if preferred.
Guitar and Modes are the easiest way to apply scale theory because:
a single Scale Shape can be used for all twelve Keys by shifting it up or down the fretboard to different Scale Positions on the fretboard.
for most Key Changes it is usual to stay in a single Scale Position by applying different Modes based on the Natural Minor Scale Shape with only slight changes.
the Modes can better explain music that commences with a Minor chord or Major chord that is not the Root chord of the Key.
Traditionally to improvise, a guitarist is first required to calculate the Key of a Chord Progression to find the appropriate Minor or Major Scale, which can be very difficult and often inaccurate.
This difficulty can be avoided on guitar by:using the Modes that can have just three similar Scale Shapes applied to the fretboard at the fret on the ‘e’ string with the same Letter Name as the commencing chord.
simple trial and error of each of the three Scale Shapes will reveal the correct one and any scale changes can usually be only a slight modification.
And it sounds better because the overall tonality is more reinforced by the Tonic Note of the Mode if the piece of music does not commence with the same named chord as the Key.
Lesson 1
Finding the SCALE POSITION
Firstly the Pentatonic Minor Scale or relative Pentatonic Major Scale is applied at the fret on the E string with the same Letter Name as the commencing chord.
SEE HERE the Pentatonic Minor scale for A Minor and the relative Pentatonic Major scale for C Major.
These Scale Shapes can be shifted up or down the fretboard for other commencing chords of a piece if they are not A Minor or C Major.
Try playing the A Minor Pentatonic over ‘Like A Hurricane’ by Neil Young.
The Pentatonic scale can usually continue throughout a Chord Progression except for the ‘special’ Major chords explained later.
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In the next lesson there are three Minor Modes and three Major Modes (called Relative with the same Scale Shapes) that a guitarist can easily substitute for these Pentatonic Scales, by trial and error, to find the correct Mode for a piece of music.
Be aware a Mode can change during some chords in a Chord Progression including ‘special’ Major chords called Major V (Major Fifth) and Major III (Major Three) or require the Limbo Modes for ‘very special’ Major chords (see later).
Lesson 2
THE MODES
There are seven main Modes which are based on the Major Scale but starting on different Notes to produce different moods.
Their names are:
Ionian
Dorian
Phrygian
Lydian
Mixolydian
Aeolian
Locrian
Three of these Modes are for Minor chords and three are for Major chords.
The seventh Mode is for a Half-Diminished chord called a Minor b5.
SEE HERE the Scales for the Minor Modes for an A Minor chord, and the Major Modes for a C Major chord called Relative because they have the same Notes as their Minor chord relatives.
(These Scale Shapes can be shifted up or down the fretboard for other commencing chords if they are not A Minor or C Major. Encountering a wrong Note in the Scale Shape during a Chord Progression reveals any slight scale changes that might be needed).
Try playing the C Major Pentatonic over ‘Like A Rolling Stone’ by Bob Dylan.
The A Aeolian suits practise over ‘Like A Hurricane’ by Neil Young.
The C Ionian suits practise over ‘Like A Rolling Stone’ by Bob Dylan.
The A Dorian suits practise over ‘Oye Como Va’ by Santana.
The C Lydian suits practise over ‘Wish You Were Here’ verse by Pink Floyd.
The A Phrygian suits practise over a Spanish style of the chords A Minor to Bb Major.
The C Mixolydian suits practise over ‘Rock And Roll’ by The Velvet Underground.
SEE HERE the Locrian Mode for an A Minor b5 chord which is the last of the basic seven Modes and can be shifted up or down the fretboard for other commencing Minor b5 chords (but rarely used).
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Lesson 3
SECOND METHOD for finding the MODE
There is another very simple method to figure out which of the Modes to use, explained in the INTRODUCTORY LEVEL COURSE of this website which is highly recommended for quickest approach.
Effectively the Aeolian Mode or its relative Ionian Mode is first applied on the fretboard at the fret on the high ‘e’ string with the same Letter Name as the commencing chord of a piece of music, then by playing the Mode using the ‘b’ and ‘e’ strings only, a wrong sounding Note encountered inside the Scale Shape is moved to the adjacent fret to be correct.
Such an instance means the piece was not in a Root Key and the new Scale Shape identifies the Mode of the piece.
Remember that a commencing Mode can continue through a Chord Progression unless it contains a chord that may only require a change of Mode before returning to the commencing chord Mode.
This particular method is very convenient for improvisation as it is easier to smoothly navigate scale changes using the same Scale Position.
Lesson 4
MAJOR V and MAJOR III chord scales
The commencing Mode can usually remain unchanged throughout a piece unless the Mode changes, but often a ‘special’ Major chord is encountered requiring a slight modification to one Note in the Scale Shape for its duration.
These special Major chords are called Major V (Major Fifth) and Major III (Major Three) chords.
It is best to quickly identify these Major chords by first applying a Pentatonic Scale throughout the Chord Progression but using only the high ‘e’ and ‘b’ strings to discover if a wrong sounding upper Note of the ‘b’ string needs to be moved up one fret to be correct (becoming a below scale for the duration of the ‘special’ Major chord).
Thereafter the full scales below can be applied.
SEE HERE the modified Pentatonic scales for a special E Major V chord after a commencing chord of A Minor and a special E Major III chord after a commencing chord of C Major.
SEE HERE the full Scales with their conventional names of Harmonic Minor/Major and Melodic Minor/Major, that are slightly modified Modes during the special Major chords E Major V or E Major III encountered after the commencing chords of A Minor or C Major respectively.
(These Scale Shapes can be shifted up or down the fretboard for other commencing chords).
Be aware the first two Scales Shapes are the same as an E Phrygian Dominant Mode and next two the E Aeolian Dominant Mode.
The A Harmonic Minor suits the E Major in ‘House Of The Rising Sun’ by The Animals.
The C Harmonic Major suits the E Major in the chorus of ‘Space Oddity’ by David Bowie.
The A Melodic Minor suits the E Major in ‘One Como Va’ by Santana.
The C Melodic Major suits the E Major in the Intro of ‘Lola’ by The Kinks.
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Lesson 5
SECONDARY DOMINANT/BORROWED CHORDS scales
There are ‘very special’ Major chords that may be encountered sometimes called Secondary Dominant chords and Borrowed chords that usually only require a slight modification of the commencing Mode too.
These Scales have the invented name Limbo because they can be ambiguous and interchangeable depending on taste.
They appear conventional but are used as alternatives in this Course method to remain in the same Scale Position during a Chord Progression.
They are obvious if first using Box Pentatonic scales on the high ‘e’ and ‘b’ strings only (explained in INTRODUCTORY LEVEL COURSE) to identify if there are Mode changes during a Chord Progression and if a different Scale Position is required.
In these instances, the upper Note of the scale on the ‘e’ string will sound wrong and need to be moved up one fret, or sometimes the upper Note on the ‘b’ string might also need to be moved up.
SEE HERE the three versions of the modified Pentatonic scale that might occur for a very special A Major chord if the commencing chord was C Major or A Minor.
SEE HERE the examples of the scales for Modes if a ‘very special’ A Major chord is encountered, particularly after a commencing C Major chord (and can be shifted up or down the fretboard for other very special Major chords).
(And they are very useful for intuitively navigating Voice Leading in Chord Progressions).
They might also be recognisable as the conventional Modes for Major chords but are not recommended to use with commencing Major chords unless it is a very special Major chord, to remain in a single Scale Position during a Chord Progression.
The label Limbo Modes comes from them being interchangeable depending on taste or Voice Leading.
The A Mixolydian suits an A Major chord if it follows a C Major in Lydian Mode as in the chorus of ‘Children Of The Revolution’ by T Rex.
Or the Mode for the commencing A Major chord before the Lydian C Major in the chorus of‘Are You Gonna Be My Girl’ by Jet. It is also the Mode used conventionally for a Secondary Dominant.
The A Aeolian Dominant suits the A Major after the Ionian C Major in the Intro to ‘Proud Mary’ by Creedence Clearwater Revival.
This version of an A Phrygian Dominant suits an A Major chord if it follows a commencing C Dominant 7 that has a Mixolydian Mode.
The following A Ionian and A Lydian versions are not for Dominant chords and best suit a Borrowed chord such as a ‘very special’ A Major 7 chord in a Chord Progression that might have its commencing C chord in C Lydian.
Or the commencing chord of a ‘very special’ A Major 7 followed by a C Major chord in C Lydian.
Be aware that occasionally the whole Scale Position will need to be moved when an extreme Key Change is encountered.
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Lesson 6
BLUES PENTATONIC scale
The Blues Pentatonic scale is a Minor Pentatonic scale played over a Major chord instead but requires some dissonant Notes to be Bent into tune.
It is the essence of Blues music and very often used in Rock Music for lead solos.
SEE HERE the Blues Pentatonic scale for an A Major chord that can be shifted up or down the fretboard for other commencing chords if they are not A Major.
The Notes with arrows are to be Bent.
There are another eight more complex Blues Jazz Scales in the MEMBERS section after Sign Up and include detailed information about BeBop and Gypsy Jazz concepts, with practise Backing Track videos and downloadable Scale Sheets .
Lesson 7
DOMINANT 7#9 HENDRIX CHORD Mode
One particular chord is incredibly both Major and Minor in tonality called the Dominant 7#9 or Hendrix chord due to his extensive use of it, and especially as a commencing chord.
SEE HERE the Scale Diagrams newly identified for an A Dominant 7#9 chord (that can be shifted up or down the fretboard for all the others whether or not they are a commencing chord).
Notice there are two versions for either Minor or relative Major scale as uniquely it exists as both.
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Lesson 8
AUGMENTED AND DIMINISHED scales
Augmented and Diminished chords conventional have scales that are Hexatonic and Octatonic respectively, but they both have wrong sounding Notes when applied.
Some musicians instead play the Chord Tones then add two Neighbouring Notes between them to compensate, probably because there can be different scales for the same chord in different pieces of music.
These could be called Augmented Modes and Diminished Modes but the terms did not exist till here.
These newly identified seven Note scales called Altered Modes were discovered using a manifesto of the Notes being Stacked Third Intervals plus extra Notes but No Consecutive Semitones (NCS).
Their Intervals often vary depending on the Mode of the following chord which may be a reason for the confusion previously.
SEE HERE an example which is a new Altered Mode for an A Augmented Chord if the following chord is an A Minor with an Aeolian Mode.
It is just one of five new Scale Shapes discovered of the four Augmented chords (the Shape can be shifted up or down the fretboard for a piece of music if it does not resolve to A Aeolian).
Intervallic variations of the Aeolian Dominant Mode and Phrygian Dominant Mode will also sound better for some other Augmented chords than either of the two conventional Hexatonic Scales.
The many other Scale Shapes are available in the MEMBERS section of this website after Sign Up and include more detailed information to apply them.
SEE HERE an example which is the Altered Mode for an A Diminished chord if the following chord is an A Minor with an A Aeolian Mode.
It is just one of three new Scale Shapes discovered of the three Diminished chords (the Shape can be shifted up or down the fretboard for a piece of music that is not Aeolian A).
Intervallic variations of the Phrygian Dominant Mode will also sound better for many of the other Diminished chords than either of the two conventional Octatonic Diminished scales.
The many other Scale Shapes are available in the MEMBERS section of this website after Sign Up and include more detailed information to apply them.
PRIVATE ONLINE LESSONS available for support.
MEMBERS section video examples
Example of Scale Demonstration video for A Aeolian Mode.
Example of Backing Track video for A Aeolian Mode.
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UNDERSTANDING THE MODES
Understanding the Modes makes it easier to absorb the science of music creation.
(A video version of the following explanation is at the end)
Simply described, music is a sequence of single Notes called a melody often with Notes in combination called chords.
A sequence of single Notes can conjure up the feeling of a chord if they belong to a special set of seven Notes called a Mode based on the sequence Do Re Mi Fa Sol La Ti.
Fundamentally, music can have Major chords which have a cheery mood and/or Minor chords which have a sombre mood and there is the Minor Flat 5 chord which is even darker.
There are also Augmented chords and Diminished chords related to these moods.
A seemingly impossible chord exists that is a combination of cheery and somber moods known as the Dominant 7#9 or Hendrix chord.
When a piece of music commences with a melody or a few chords it will usually suggest other chords from its family of seven related chords.
This family of seven chords can be illustrated with a House where each chord has its own Room.
HOUSE OF MODES illustration
Melodies can move from Room to Room in the House which has three levels.
One side is sunny containing cheery Major chords.
The other side is cloudy containing somber Minor chords.
Not often visited is the seventh Room in the darker attic at the top which is the Minor Flat 5th chord.
A Treehouse representing Jazz Blues is just outside the third level sunny Room as it has rebellious Notes that break the House rules especially one particular sombre Note that clashes with other Major chord Rooms more than alongside this Room due to its Mode including a sombre 7th Note that partially clouds the sunniness.
Its chord is called a Dominant.
Altogether there are twelve different Houses in the Music Neighbourhood each named after one of the twelve different Notes that are possible in Western Music.
MUSIC NEIGHBOURHOOD ILLUSTRATION
The name of a House is either A or B or C or D or E or F or G or modified by a Flat (b) or Sharp (#) if it is between them. But each House also has a relative Minor name as in C can be A Minor.
Houses in between have either of two different names, for example the name between A and B is called either A Sharp (A#) or B Flat (Bb) depending on rules for a Key (which is the conventional name for a House).
Of course there are no Houses between the B and C, or E and F.
And after G the sequence continues again from A (which is why they are in a circular formation).
The Diatonic scale has these same sequence of spaces between its seven Notes (skipping over in between ones) and each Mode has seven Notes starting on a different Note of the scale.
Every House has its own Diatonic scale with Notes that are the Letter Names of each chord Room which are Minor or Major depending on the side of the House.
A piece of music in a House might often start in the ground level sunny IONIAN Major chord Room or the shaded AEOLIAN Minor chord Room, but importantly, also in Rooms on other levels especially the shaded second level DORIAN Minor chord Room or the sunny third level MIXOLYDIAN Major chord Room (common in Rock Music).
The less common second level sunny LYDIAN Major chord Room has launched some very famous popular songs such as 'Dreams’ by Fleetwood Mac.
Music commencing in the shady third level PHRYGIAN Minor chord Room can be exotic and Spanish sounding.
The darker attic LOCRIAN Minor Flat 5 Room is not where many songs commence.
BTW the Ionian Mode is also known as the Major Scale and the Aeolian Mode as the Natural Minor scale.
Conveniently for guitarists each level of the House can have the same Scale Shape on both the relative Major and relative Minor sides.
Hence only one of three different Scale Shapes might be needed for the commencing Mode in a piece of music.
Exceptions are when a shaded Minor chord Room is brightened with a light to become a ‘special’ Major Chord.
Or sometimes a Major chord is encountered that belongs to another House sometimes called a Secondary Dominant chord or a Borrowed chord which can be Minor or Major.
Summarising, each of the seven Rooms of a House has a different chord and a corresponding Mode that uses one of three Scale Shapes (except the seventh rarely used attic Room with a Locrian Mode).
Conveniently the Scale Shape of a commencing chord of any Room can usually continue for the following chords of Rooms unless a ‘special’ Major chord is encountered requiring slight modification of the scale.
Often this occurs in music commencing with a Minor chord on arriving in a shaded Room that has a light switched on changing its Minor chord character to an artificially sunnier Major chord.
This chord is called a Major V (Major Fifth) if the piece commences with a Minor chord, or called a Major III (Major Three) if the piece commences with a Major chord.
(In these cases one wrong sounding Note of the Mode must be moved up to the next available fret for the duration of the chord only).
Only the two shaded PHRYGIAN and AEOLIAN Rooms can have lights switched on.
FYI these two modified Modes during ‘special’ Major chords have the same Notes as the Harmonic Minor scales and Melodic Minor scales respectively.
.
Usually the duration of a Major V or Major III chord is the same length or less than the other chords in a piece.
Notable though is ‘Sultans of Swing’ by Dire Straits where the Harmonic Minor Scale is followed by the Melodic Minor Scale due to the extended length of the A Major V chord as it seems to move toward a normal Major chord.
A piece commencing in the sunny IONIAN or LYDIAN Major Room arriving in a shaded Minor chord Room with its light switched on (called a Major III) will have the same Note moved up in the relative Mode as the previous Harmonic Minor Scale or Melodic Minor Scale, now called Harmonic Major scale and Melodic Major scale respectively.
Examples of this are quite common as in the songs ‘# 9 Dream’ by John Lennon, ‘The Air That I Breathe’ by Albert Hammond Snr, ‘Creep’ by Radiohead or the chorus of David Bowie’s ‘Space Oddity’.
Sometimes a whole section of a song will move to a different House (called a Key Change) though finding the new Mode might sometimes only require moving one Note in the commencing Mode which is very convenient for remaining in the same Scale Position.
Chord Progressions can often contain a chord that requires the Mode to change for the duration before returning to the commencing Mode as the D chord in ‘House Of The Rising Sun’ and E chord in ‘Hotel California’.
NB. Rarely will the commencing Mode require two Notes to change but an extreme Key Change may require repositioning of Scale Shape or even a whole new Scale Shape for that section.
Confusion has existed about Augmented and Diminished chords having scales of six and eight Notes respectively (Hexatonic and Octatonic) and have Notes that are very dissonant when applied to these illusive sounding Passing chords.
In fact these Augmented scales and Diminished scales are never demonstrated along with Augmented or Diminished chords on the internet.
Revolutionary Augmented modes and Diminished modes are here identified with minimal dissonance, discovered using a manifesto of four Stacked Third Intervals plus extra Notes with No Consecutive Semitones (NCS).
Mostly they are different for all four Augmented and three Diminished chords and also change depending on the Mode that follows them.
There is also a newly identified Mode for the earlier mentioned chord with tonality that is both Major and Minor called the Dominant 7#9 Chord or Hendrix Chord.
The seven Notes have the same intervals as the Hungarian Major scale as well as the Nasikabhushani Raga and is idiomatically like Blues and Jazz Blues music.
Hint: The DORIAN Mode can be applied in the Tree House alongside the MIXOLYDIAN chord Room of the same Letter Name to create a more expressive Blues/Rock music although one sombre Note will sound out of tune unless a String Bend corrects it.
Here is a video illustrating the HOUSE OF MODES