Playing in Modes

Stuart Legg · Posted 21 Feb 2017 1:44 am

When this comes up in a Steel guitar conversation I usually get that "oh sure, really" grin.
Since there is a Mode for every note in a given Major scale.
I simply learn to visualize the neck as a major scale and select the major scale that is appropriate for my Mode of choice
For that I use this little template.

Stuart Legg · Posted 21 Feb 2017 1:49 am

For instance if I wanted to play in ((A) Dorian) I would just play in the (G Major Scale) and so on and etc..
Note the the notes under the numbers are in descending order.

Stuart Legg · Posted 21 Feb 2017 1:51 am

For instance if I wanted to play in (G Mixolydian) I would just play in the (C Major Scale) and so on and etc..

Stuart Legg · Posted 21 Feb 2017 1:54 am

For instance if I wanted to play in (Bb Aeolian) I would just play in the (Db Major Scale) and so on and etc

Stuart Legg · Posted 21 Feb 2017 3:24 am

Here you can see why it works. Play the G major scale over the Key of (A) for a Rock Sound

Heres that 3 finger 1 pedal thing example

Ian Rae · From: Redditch, England

I have never learned the names of all these modes. In real life they're just major scales starting on the note of choice.
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Rick Barnhart · From: Arizona, USA

That looks like a lot of work, Stuart. I always try to just play with feeling. Probably technically incorrect, but it works for me.
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Dustin Rigsby · From: Parts Unknown, Ohio

Stu points out a good piece of info here that may help a novice steel player out ! I remember when I learned this as a young guitar student it opened up a new world to me.
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Donny Hinson · From: Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.

This may be a dumb question, but how many pro players are actually thinking about modes when they play? I know newbies and intermediate players should learn as much theory and basics as they can, but I've also come across some very accomplished musicians that, frankly, don't have any idea about what modes are. Shocked

Bob Hoffnar · From: Austin, Tx

Most of the young players that I meet that are moving up the professional ladder are quite aware of and use modes. It is pretty helpful when it comes to knowing what to play when you encounter unfamiliar music.

On one level modes are just a major scale starting in different places. I find it more productive to think of them as different sounds and gestures these days.

It is always important to play what you feel but if that means you are playing notes that do not work with what the rest of the instruments are playing you will put serious limits musical opportunities.
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Dustin Rigsby · From: Parts Unknown, Ohio

Bob, you expressed what I was trying to say .
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FRANK MARIANO · From: PENSACOLA FL

I'm lost on this one .can you explain the note names on the top ad what they represent
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Donny Hinson · From: Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.

Bob Hoffnar · From: Austin, Tx

By recognizing the harmonic content of the chords and melody.
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Bob Hoffnar · From: Austin, Tx

For instance if you can tell that the melody is major but has a flat 7th then you know what mode will work when you harmonize it. A big part of understanding modes is the ability to hear them and identify them. Then you can hear the music you want to play and find it on the neck without having to have a lick memorized.

Modes are vocabulary. And because of how the steel is laid out can be very helpful in being able to look down at the steel and hear what a phrase will sound like before you play it.

The name of the game for recording and sideman work is being able to immediately play something that works with whatever comes at you. if you need to practice and memorize every lick you play then it might be very difficult to accept enough work to make a living.
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Doug Beaumier · From: Northampton, MA

I understand what Stuart is saying, and I think of modes in a similar way. If I want to play A Dorian (over a song in the key of Am), I just play a G major scale. That's because the G major scale has the same notes as A Dorian. And if I want to play A Mixolydian (over a song in the key of A with 7th chords) I play a fourth above the key (D major scale). The D major scale has the same notes as A Mixolydian. A good jazz player would probably memorize the mode patterns starting on the root of each mode. But I use modes so infrequently, I just transpose on the spot and play the major scale I need to create the mode I want in that song. The only modes I ever use are Mixolydian and Dorian, and of course Ionian (major) and Aeolian (minor).
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Steve Knight · From: NC

Personally, when I'm playing jazz, I try to vary the melody and/or hit the arpeggios. Modes are a pretty advanced method of improvisation. It's often taught first. I think it should be taught last.

I only use modes on a "modal" tune--think "So What", or as an extended intro. For example, if I'm about to play Autumn Leaves in E minor, I'll vamp on E dorian, phrygian, aolian or locrian (or melodic or harmonic minor). This is in free time. I'll throw out some chord voicings and single notes over an E pedal note.

I think modes function best in these examples, or as a method of composition. The chords go by too quickly for me to think, "what's that chord?" "what's it's parent scale?" "What mode should I play?"

Steve Knight · From: NC

It might be beneficial to hear what a mode sounds like if you play the major scale, then one of the modes for comparison:

C Ionionâ€”major scale
C Dorianâ€”major scale with flat 3 & 7
C Phrygianâ€”major scale with flat 2, 3, 6 & 7
C Lydianâ€”major scale with raised 4
C Mixolydianâ€”major scale with flat 7
C Aolianâ€”major scale with flat 3, 6 & 7
C Locrianâ€”major scale with flat 2, 3, 5, 6 & 7

Ideally, you'd play the chord that corresponds to that mode, too, but I can't recall those chords now.

Stuart Legg · Posted 25 Feb 2017 5:57 pm

Well I made up those charts to hopefully make the process clearer.
After further review I donâ€™t think it helped in that regard
This is what I have committed to memory. Perhaps this might help clear things up.
The first row of numbers represent the Modes starting note of the corresponding major scale.
The second row of numbers represent the major scales starting note that corresponds with the mode.
Note: the letters of the alphabet entered are representative of the second row of numbers.
example one represents the corresponding major for each of the 7 C modes

represents the major scale corresponding to the 7 modes of A

Etc.. G Etc..

Etc..

Jeff Mead · From: London, England

Buell Wisner · From: Georgia, USA

Modes are really useful for playing Blues and Rock, and for understanding how just about every country song picked up the flat 7 from the former.

If you're asked to play Blues, for instance, Mixolydian is your friend (for the same reason you blow an A harmonica for a Blues in E).

In rock music that comes out of the Miles Davis and John Coltrane avant-garde principles (Allman Brothers, The Grateful Dead, et al.), Dorian is really useful.

For instance, Dorian is what you play over "Whipping Post" or "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed."

That may be more basic than you're looking for--not sure. Those two modes are the most common oustside of the basic major and minor.

Thanks for the charts, Stuart! I plan to use them to get beyond where I'm at currently. I can never remember the less common ones off the top of my head, but this will definitely help.

Bob Hoffnar · From: Austin, Tx

If you are playing country music then a tune like Jolene would use mostly Dorian. A tune like swinging doors would use mixolydian because the 7th tone is flat. A tune like Empty Glass would use Ionian. For standard country tunes you could just play the parts. Like why screw around with Swinging Doors ? Mooney played the perfect thing already.

If you are playing an original tune for the first time and you need to come up with something that fits then knowing your modes can be a life saver. It really helps when the music doesn't normally use a steel. It also helps when you are learning licks off recordings. Instead of hunting and pecking for the right note knowing your modes can be a great head start.
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Paul Stauskas · From: DFW, TX

b0b · From: Cloverdale, CA, USA

Steve Broatch · From: Newcastle, England

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