Leaning The Modes

I've recently been getting more into the scale modes or modal playing. After playing for years it never mean't much to me. I know my keys and such. Play mostly in Ionian. Since I've gotten into this subject more I have been trying to make sense of some of it.
 
A lot of the recent music I play is in Dorian mode.
 
Those who are more enlightened on this subject maybe you can tell me if this is accurate? Each mode shifts up one whole step but retains the same scale step increments , mainly the 3rd and 4th and the 7th and 8th as micro tonal steps or half steps. There can be minor and major modes of the same scales in different modes. IOW a D Dorian can be major or minor.
 
The most common modes seem to be Ionian, Dorian and Aeolian. Some songs go between modes in the same song. This is really the first time I have looked at music structure this way. I know it's basic theory. Just haven't had a need to use it until recently.
 
How would you recommend to get started learning it. I'm guessing you would learn to play all the major scales in every mode. Seven modes seven scales or 49 scales in every mode.
 
Most musicians seem to commonly play in only a handful of Ionian scales. Mainly because they are easier to play on their instrument or their instrument isn't capable to play all of those.
 
Jazz musicians are probably the most versatile because they know where fold one thing into another and make the two relate.
 
 

oh... and of course multiple THIS...
 
"So you've essentially got 7 modes x 3 for a total of 21 distinct diatonic modes."
 
by 12 to cover all the keys.
 
You get some REALLY crazy playing options on guitar when you apply the modes to certain keys so it's really beneficial to try it all out. Riff/Lick-O-rama, yo!
 

Oh and another EXTREMELY useful exercise to do once you have your fingers and ears wrapped around all the modes in all the keys is to then arpeggiate the triads within each key. So "I", "III", "V". This not only hammers home what chords appear in what order in all keys (and their modes) it also trains your ears/fingers to gravitate toward the "sweet" notes whilst soloing. When ever in doubt figure out what chord you are playing over top of and noodle around those three triad notes.
 
If that makes sense.
 

Completely trailed off on this one though and cut the exercise short...
 
"Aeolian: Natural minor. Sad, dark, classical sounding. Great for almost anything really but old school metal and "sad" folk music would be the best descriptive applications. In traditional theory this is your relative minor to the key's relative Major and can be used as your root "I" scale/chord. When you do that your Major (Ionian "I") becomes the third step of your minor key. Now this is even weirder and based on classical theory BUT when attempting to compose a harmony in a minor key it is considered to break the natural modal patterns and play the minor "v" of natural minor as a Major "V" chord. That is what the Harmonic minor is essentially designed/used for. Just that temporary bumping up of the "v/V" to Major status. Try it out. In nat minor if you do a i, iv, v progression all those chords are minor (which, by the way is the same case for natural Major (Ionian) except the I, IV an V are all majors... this is, fraom I can glean, at least one of the reasons why we refer to "Perfect" I, IV and V in both those modes/Natural scales instead of "Major/minor" like the rest of the diatonic steps... er I may have just nereded out a bit too much... moving on)."
 
What I was trying to say was that in nat minor i, iv and v are all minor. In classical composition (and thus a lot of contemporary composition) they turn the minor "v" chord of the nat minor (Aeolian scale) to a Major "V" chord. This is acheived by momentarily switching to the Harmonic minor scale thus breaking the natural modal pattern.
 
Yeesh.
 
lulz
 

7th Chord sequence of a Major (Ionian) scale:
 
I = Ionian = Maj7
II = Dorian = Min7
III = Phrygian = Min7
IV = Lydian = Maj7
V = Mixolydian = Dom7 (Dominant 7th)
VI = Aeolian = Min7
VII = Locrian = Dim7 (diminished 7th)
 
Hopefully I didn't futz that up. Been a while.
 

Western Pentatonic scales are generally created using the I, III, IV, V and VII of a diatonic scale.
 
If you played JUST those notes of any diatonic (7 note) mode (natural, harmonic or minor) you can turn any mode into very useful pentatonic scales (and there are some interest ones in the harm/mel set of modes).
 
Pentatonic scales remove the more "clashy" notes making them more versatile over a larger variety of chord progressions. I mentioned earlier about learning arpeggiated triads because they are the "sweet" notes. Pentatonic scales are the same but not quite as reductionist (you get a couple extra sweet notes to goof around with but you have to pay a little more attention to avoid sour notes).

In my requests for a Chord Track, I've also asked for the Track to denote the mode too, so keyboard shortcuts would help find the root, chord tones and tension/colour tones in PRV. I doubt a Jazz approach will be of interest to the vast majority of users, but I recent stumbled on Modal interchange, and I this seems a far more accessible and useful composition tool for most musicians.
 

lulz... been working my way through South Park again (after many years) and I just finished the "Guitar Hero" episode.
 
Kismetically prescient timing.
 
Also...
 

Any one looking for a simple intro into modes could do worse than play around with an Appalachian dulcimer and its various modal tunings with drone harmonies.

Starise
 I just ordered a book called " Elementary Rudiments of Music " by Barbara Wharram. Most musicians won't need most of the info in the beginning of the book, later on though there is some interesting info in it. Makes a good refresher too. I have a first version of the book I picked up inexpensive online used. I think there's a second version.

No prob at all, man. You've always been a very helpful and generous chap and I love nerding out on this stuff anyway.
 
BTW that is the EXACT book I used to reference/verify all the crazy charts, theories and other wackiness I came up with whilst mostly bedridden all those years ago. It's a great resource and instructional guide BUT it is definitely hardcore traditional theory steeped in the much less linear classical way of teaching. It essentially covers modes in the scattered and indirect way most teachers and methods do.
 
For me it was a WHOLE pile easier to understand once I unlocked the modal grid and Circle of Fifths on my own.
 
That said working through all the exercises in that book really will teach you proper theory, how to write/read notation, understand how chords and scales are constructed and even touches on cadences/composition theory.
 
The section on intervals, triads and inversions were extremely useful for me in particular.
 
My ex got for her university level music class and loaned it to me... and I never got around to giving it back.
 
Woops. I don't think she was getting as much out of it as I did though and I'm pretty sure she just wanted me to translate it for her. lol
 
As always, if I'm around I am available to help with what I can.

Great posts Beepster.  I have read and re-read.  I'm surprised how much of that made sense to me already.
 
I've decided to change my practice approach to scales now and redirect myself to the various modes of the same scale.  I did that a little this weekend and was eye opening.  So, I'll stick with D major scale (or B minor, I guess), for the song I'm working on at the moment, and I want to practice the 7 modes in that scale.  And then just see how that works out...for starters.
 
 
 
 

The only mode that matters is Am

Unfortunately it does require a bit of an attention span at first. I know I've tossed a lot at you here but really focus on my first post. You can ignore the Harmonic and Melodic mode stuff until you learn the natural modes in sequence.
 
I HIGHLY recommend approaching this by studying what I wrote in my OP (particularly the sequence of the modes) then writing it out on chart paper (make your own notation staff, guit tab "staff" and fretboard charts with a ruler then filling them in) then comparing those to a scale book (such as the Hal Leonard Scale Finder I mentioned earlier but any good scale book that includes all modes will work) to confirm your work. Then pick up the guit and play it all in 1st position (Index finger at the first fret and using open strings whenever the mode/scale allows).
 
Start on C Major then work through the Circle of Fifths.
 
Here's a bit of a shortcut that may help...
 
Take your scale book and locate the "E" section. Learn all the modes (in the order I posted them in) from the low open E to the high open E (this covers two octaves of the mode being played). Really drill these patterns into your head until tthere's no shaking them loose. Jam out in the modes by droning on the appropriate E chord (so E Major for Major modes, E minor for minor modes and E diminished for the Locrian mode... I posted the chord qualites of the natural modes in series in one of my later posts if you are unsure).
 
Doing this will create 7 distinct patterns on the fretboard in first position. Pay attention to the two accessible notes we are not playing on the high E string as well (they will be the same notes played on the low E) so that when you start really manipulating these patterns/modes you don't get lost. I actually play these patterns up to the third note on the high E when practicing for that reason BUT leaving them off is better for getting used to the "moods" of each mode.
 
Once you know these 7 patterns in 1st position by heart lay out a Major scale "vertically" on your low E string from the open low E up to the 12th fret (which is of course your octave). Just for clarity here are those notes...
 
0 (open) = E
2nd fret  = F#
4th fret = G#
5th fret = A
7th fret = B
9th fret = C#
11th fret = D#
12th fret = E (8ve)
 
Now take those 7 modal patterns you've learned in 1st position and lay them out on to the fretboard sequentially starting each pattern in those positions. Do not (for now) play any notes "lower" (closer to the Nut) than the starting note. Some of these patterns are tricky outside of 1st position but are great exercises and reveal exactly how the modes "stack" to create a grid on the fretboard (CAGED theory actually draws from this concept but I find it a really incomplete way of teaching/describing the full range of modal theory).
 
So that will look like this and what the hell I'll include the chord qualities again for your convenience...
 
0 (open) = E = Ionian (Major) = EMaj
2nd fret  = F# = Dorian = F#min
4th fret = G# = Lydian = G#min
5th fret = A= Lydian = AMaj
7th fret = B = Mixolydian = BMaj
9th fret = C# = Aeolian (Nat minor) = C#min
11th fret = D# = Locrian = D#dim
12th fret = E (8ve) = Ionian again and you can repeat the entire pattern/sequence above the 12th fret from here.
 
You have now mapped the entire fretboard for the key of E Major.
 
This pattern is unbreakable (as long as you are playing in the natural modes). You can apply this pattern to ANY key by simply choosing a root note, finding it on your low E string and starting the pattern from that fret instead of the open E. Once you run out of notes before hitting the 12th fret play the next pattern as close to the nut as you can (they will either start on the open low E or on the 1st fret... no exceptions).
 
By doing this you are getting a fastrack to being able to play every mode into every key by just using that simple trick. HOWEVER every single mode and every single key can be performed in ANY of those seven patterns by just a) choosing the correct position and b) changing the starting point within the pattern... which is probably a little brain bendy without actually doing it soo don't worry about that just yet but it should become apparent once you start working through all the keys in 1st position which is the proper, non lazy way (but more complicated) to approach this.
 
Hopefully I didn't screw any of that up. I have reams of Notepad docs and a half finished website detailing all of this but I'm not ready to start digging all that up at this moment.
 
At some point I intend to offer customized lessons over the intertubes for guit players. Gotta get some other crap finished first though (like FINALLY finishing/releasing my old band's album which is just about ready and sounding pretty slick... or so my bandmates said).
 
Cheers.