Modes1

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The Mod Modal al Guit Guitari arist st — Par Partt I Major Melodic or Natural Modes Modes From the Major Scale by Jo John hn Ru Rufffi Modal Guitarist — Part I Major Melodic or Natural Modes copyright ©2006 John Ruffi The Mod The Modes es — Pa Part rt I Major Melodic or Natural Modes Forward After many years of studying, exploring and teaching guitar, I’ve developed a system that communicates to the student the modes and how they are used. But, most importantly, importantly, it shows where they come from and enables the student to create modes and scales on-the-fly — which is the ultimate goal of studying any kind of theory. Who is this book for? Any guitarist who already has a little bit of playing ability can benefit from the Modal Guitarist series. A guitar instructor will most likely draw hundreds of charts to teach the modes to students. In this book all of the charts are already clearly printed in a way that will give greater insight into how the modes are made and what makes them sound the way they do. The Modes Modes — What are are they? The Modes are a specific type of scales. they all have 7 notes and all have a slightly different sound. The guitarist, by learning all of them — both how to play them, and how they sound — will never be at a loss for playing just the right phrase or melody to fit the piece of music at hand. The C major scale is shown below. Notice Notice that it begins and ends on C. This is also the C Ionian Mode. The numbers below also begin and end on “1”. A “D Ionian” would have a D as its first note, or it’s it’s “1”. An “E Phrygian” mode would have E as its 1, and so on. C D E F G A B C 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 can be created using two intervals: half steps and whole steps, steps, without Part I & II contain all the 7 note modes that can Part two adjacent half steps. All the modes have 7 degrees, and all in this group have 5 whole steps, or whole tones and 2 half steps as intervals between the adjacent degrees. degrees. Since the half steps never occur twice in a row, row, that means there are only 2 possibilities possibilities for grouping the whole steps: a group of 2 and a group of 3, or a group of 4 and a group of 1 whole steps. All the modes that can be made with one group each of 2 and 3 whole steps are called the Natur al Modes, or Melodic Major Modes. Those Those made with one group each of 4 and 1 whole steps are called the Melodic Minor Modes Modes — not because they are all minor, but because they are derived from the ascending Melodic Minor Scale. In Part I we explore the Natural Modes. If you’ve never learned any modes this is a good place to start, because these are the seven modes that include the Major Major Scale and Natural Natural Minor Scale — in other words, the most commonly used used scales. If you already are familiar with some or all of these modes, this book will enable you to know them th em exhaustively. exhaustively. In other words, you’ll know them on every fret, on every string, in any position all over the guitar neck. You’ll also be able to see where all the various degrees (the 3rds, 7ths, and so on) fall for every mode. What are they for? Every tone contained in the chosen cho sen scale or mode affects the color, or flavor of the music. Playing these modes will both give guitarists a wider palate palate of flavors to use, but also allow allow them to “taste” more sounds, so that they can recognize them when these flavors flavors come along in music they like and want to learn or emulate. So, in other words, words, if you practice these modes you’ll be able to: 1 2 play a great play greater er vari variety ety of melo melodie diess and and phrase phrases. s. develop develo p your ear to to be able able to to interpre interprett more more melodies melodies and phrases phrases.. 1 Modal Guitarist — Part I Major Melodic or Natural Modes copyright ©2006 John Ruffi How To Use The Modes The Modes in Improvisation Improvisation means making up the music spontaneously. Improvisation can be in a solo, or “ride,” where the “lead” instrument is showcased and is making its own musical statement. Improvisation can also be scattered throughout a piece of music, in what are usually called “fills.” A good guitarist uses the right mode for the chord being played. This is based, not only on the type of chord (major, minor, 7th, and so on) but on the relationship between that chord and what comes before it and after it. For example, the Ionian mode is a major mode with a major 7th arpeggio. This mode is used for the “one” chord (roman numeral I) of the key. The Lydian Mode is also a major mode with a major 7th arpeggio, but it is the IV chord - it has a subtle but distinctly different sound than the Ionian. Of course, once you know which modes have the “correct” sound for the piece of music, you may choose to play those “in” notes, or be a little more daring by playing a mode that has some notes which alter the harmonic structure — in other words “out” notes. Roman numerals are used throughout this series to indicate what order the modes appear within a key. They also indicate whether the modes are major, minor, or have some other kind of arpeggio. Major modes are indicated by upper case roman numerals, while minors are indicated by lower case roman numerals. The symbols for various chords and modes are shown below. IV - major V7 - seventh ii - minor viiº - diminished V+ - augmented Guitar Solos Guitar Solos, also called “rides,” are created by guitarists most often by improvisation. Always remember — the most important thing is to be musical. Being musical is often not as easy as it sounds. The temptation for the guitar player, or any other musician for that matter, is to show off what they know. After all, that's the point, isn't it? Music is a performance art. The real issue is this: what makes for good performance? Always try to play what makes sense for the piece you're playing. Guitar Solos Using one Mode The simplest way to use modes in improvisation is to find one mode that fits over every chord in the progression and just stay with that. this is limiting, because only certain combinations of chords will work. More complex progressions always require at least a minimal amount of changing the mode being used as certain chords appear in the progression. Guitar Solos Using Changing Modes When you learn to change modes to fit whatever chord comes along you'll find that a ton of limitations have been lifted. Not only that, but you'll be able to actually define the chord progression by the notes you use in your solo. The arpeggio, or chord tones, within the mode define the sound of the chords. This means a listener will be able to hear the flow of the chord changes without even having someone playing the chords themselves. 2 Modal Guitarist — Part I Major Melodic or Natural Modes copyright ©2006 John Ruffi Technique Playing scales and modes are to a musician what running is to an athlete. It’s a great way to work on strength, speed, coordination and stamina. A good way to warm up is to play them slowly. Playing through the modes very slowly when you first pick up the guitar is a great way to relax, focus, and get the fingers ready for playing, as well as getting one in the right frame of mind for making music. Using the left hand properly and safely. it’s good to remember the Three Rules of Superior Technique: When at all possible... 1 When you skip a fret skip a finger. This first rule is most important because it prevents us from spreading the 2nd and 3rd fingers across more than 2 adjacent frets. 2 Never use the same finger twice in a row (unless shifting or sliding). 3 Never shift twice in a row. Of course, like every rule, these sometimes have to be broken. That’s why it says “when at all possible.” In the diagram below, the numbers indicate the fingers. The first finger may occasionally reach out of position to reach a note on the lower fret. 1 1  2 3 4 The fourth finger occasionally needs to reach out of position to grab a note one fret higher. 4 Notation method in this book Strings are shown as vertical lines, with the 6th string on the left. Frets are shown as horizontal lines. Flat () moves the note one fret down (toward the head of the guitar). A Sharp (#) moves the note one fret higher (toward the body of the guitar). The numbers denote the order the notes are to be played in the scale. These numbers also tell us where the roots are (1), the other chord tones, or notes in the triad (3 and 5) and which note to add to make a 7th chord (the 7). And, as you become more familiar with the modes you’ll begin to be able to identify the sounds of the tones by these numbers. For example, a 6 always has a certain sound that can be very easily memorized, as can the other degrees of the modes. There is no use of tabulature or traditional musical notation here, so knowing how to read music is not a prerequisite.  3 Modal Guitarist — Part I Major Melodic or Natural Modes copyright ©2006 John Ruffi The Natural, or Melodic Major Modes Many students learn some or all of these seven modes sooner or later. They are the seven based on the Major Scale, and are by far the most common. I The Major Scale, also known as the Ionian Mode 1 The intervals are as follows: 1 1 1/2 1 1 1 1/2  2 In other words, the half steps are from 3 to 4, and from 7 to 1. This can be easily seen in the diagram to the right. You can play the mode entirely on one string starting from any fret, and it will be an Ionian mode. 3 1 1  2 4 5 5 7  3 1 4  2 1 4 6 5 3 6  2 7  6 Notice how the 7th is right up against the 1, or root note. This makes it one of the two Major 7th modes found in these natural or melodic major modes, because the chord that emerges from it create a major 7th chord. the wide stretch from the 1 to the 3 make it a major mode. The 1, 3 and 5 of this mode form the major triad (in other words, the notes that make up the major chord). Below are chords that will sound good with the Ionian mode played over them. The student should experiment with improvising over these chords in the C Ionian Mode (8th position). Typical chord progression for using the C Ionian Mode: C | F or Cmaj7 | Fmaj7 4 1 7   2 1