Term 2 - Lesson 10

Today we looked at modes in scales on the guitar which is something I've not learned about before. I only really knew that a mode was a scale but starting on a different note; for example if you were playing the C scale but you were to start on D, that would be a mode.

We started with the major scale which is this pattern of tones and semitones:

T - T - ST - T - T - T - ST

A mode would be moving the first 'T' to the back of the list and playing from the second 'T'.

T - ST - T - T - T - ST - T

So if we were in C major the scale would've gone from:

C - D - E - F - G - A - B

to

D - E - F - G - A - B - C

instead.

The major scale is the first mode which is called the Ionian mode. The second mode as shown here would be called the Dorian mode, and so on. There are 7 modes in total and they come in this order:

Ionian (Major)
Dorian (Minor)
Phrygian (Minor)
Lydian (Major)
Mixolydian (Major)
Aeolian (Minor)
Locrian (Minor)

Each mode has a distinctive major or minor sound; you would only use major scales with major modes and minor scales with minor modes. The Ionian mode is the 'normal' major scale and the Aeolian is the 'normal' natural minor scale.

The mode we decided to focus on today was the Mixolydian because it is the most common - it's used in a lot of blues and funk music. This is because in a Mixolydian, the 7th note is flattened like in dominant 7th chords so they match up perfectly.

In my band we are going to play Shape Of You by Ed Sheeran at the MK11 gig. We worked out that you can use a Bb Mixolydian scale in this song, starting on the 6th fret of the E string. Because of the dominant 7th note this scale fits really nicely so I will go home and practise it so that I am able to improvise it as I feel my part in this song is particularly bland.



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