Favourite modal exercises.

[TrevorG]

Just found a load of great exercises in a six string book of modes. Just wondering what everybody else's favourite patterns were.

 

[ProbablyTooLoud]

Not sure we're talking about the same thing, but sometimes when I practice the modes of the major and melodic minor scales I'll ascend in Ionian, descend in Dorian, ascend in Phrygian, descend in Lydian, etc. I got this pattern from the Mark Levine Jazz Theory book.

 

[TrevorG]

Not sure we're talking about the same thing, but sometimes when I practice the modes of the major and melodic minor scales I'll ascend in Ionian, descend in Dorian, ascend in Phrygian, descend in Lydian, etc. I got this pattern from the Mark Levine Jazz Theory book.

Love that and will steal! Thanks.

 

[ProbablyTooLoud]

Love that and will steal! Thanks.

Awesome, enjoy.

 

[Papageno]

To practice modes : instead of playing C ionian, then D dorian , then E phrygian, then etc..., play
- C lydian
- C ionian
- C mixolydian
- C dorian
- C aeolian
- C phrygian
- C locrian,
i.e., keep the same tonal center, and move from mode to mode from bright (lydian) to dark (locrian) (and/or vice versa). Then do the same with another tonal center. etc.

This is a much more effective way to train your ear and to learn your fingerboard.

 

[TrevorG]

To practice modes : instead of playing C ionian, then D dorian , then E phrygian, then etc..., play
- C lydian
- C ionian
- C mixolydian
- C dorian
- C aeolian
- C phrygian
- C locrian,
i.e., keep the same tonal center, and move from mode to mode from bright (lydian) to dark (locrian) (and/or vice versa). Then do the same with another tonal center. etc.

This is a much more effective way to train your ear and to learn your fingerboard.

Actually I already do that one but in a slightly different order. I'll look at this order straight away. Thanks!!

 

[Papageno]

To practice modes : instead of playing C ionian, then D dorian , then E phrygian, then etc..., play
- C lydian
- C ionian
- C mixolydian
- C dorian
- C aeolian
- C phrygian
- C locrian,
i.e., keep the same tonal center, and move from mode to mode from bright (lydian) to dark (locrian) (and/or vice versa). Then do the same with another tonal center. etc.

This is a much more effective way to train your ear and to learn your fingerboard.

I should have added this: one should also practice singing the modes (keeping the same tonal center).

 

[Bob_Ross]

My favorite modal exercises are probably the ones that use notes from outside the mode in question...e.g., play a Lydian scale with a chromatic upper (or lower) approach note before every scale tone. These get you thinking outside the box (literally!) while also opening your ears to how a mode can be strongly implied without being dogmatically adhered to.

 

[Malcolm35]

If you want an upbeat happy sound, then the major scale or Ionian gets you what you need. If you want a Middle Eastern sound, you will have to change to another mode. Which one? Figure it out - that fish thing. Yes, all the modes have a signature sound and it is left up to us to know each sound, so when needed we can call upon it.

Take the major scale then flat the 2, 3, 6 and 7 for that Middle Easten sound. For extra points what mode are you now using?

 

[Malcolm35]

Actually I already do that one but in a slightly different order. I'll look at this order straight away. Thanks!!

Yes, take it to parallel modes where the key stays the some and the notes change. Why? I get lost in relative modes where the key changes and the notes stay the same. Just starting on a new tonic - I forget where I need to go.

 

[Lobster11]

To practice modes : instead of playing C ionian, then D dorian , then E phrygian, then etc..., play
- C lydian
- C ionian
- C mixolydian
- C dorian
- C aeolian
- C phrygian
- C locrian,
i.e., keep the same tonal center, and move from mode to mode from bright (lydian) to dark (locrian) (and/or vice versa). Then do the same with another tonal center. etc.

This is a much more effective way to train your ear and to learn your fingerboard.

Agreed.

There are lots of different fingerings you can use as you work through the sequence, but one that I like to practice from time to time involves playing them all within the same 3 (strings) x 5 (frets) box. This main goal of this isn't so much to practice fingerings -- some of them are ones you probably wouldn't use often in a playing context -- but it's great for understanding the relationships between the modes in a very visual way.

For the key of C, start with your middle finger at the 8th fret of the E string. The "box" will go between two frets up and two frets down from there. Start by playing the C chromatic scale, starting at the root with your middle finger and ending at the octave with your pinky. That's the box: Every mode (or other scale) will be a subset of these notes; it's just a matter of which notes to leave out.

Now cycle through the modes in the order quoted above, so each successive mode is identical to the previous one but with one of the notes flatted. Note that the fingerings for the first three modes are the ones we're all familiar with, and only involve four of the five frets of the "box." Once you get to Dorian and beyond you might need to shift slightly, or use your thumb to pivot, to reach notes at the 6th fret (which is why these might not be your favorite fingerings for these modes when playing).

I practice modes in a variety of ways, but this is one I find it extremely useful to do from time to time, on various places on the neck, as a reminder about how the modes relate to/differ from one another, and how they all can be fingered in much the same way (even if you generally choose not to).

 

[TrevorG]

Agreed.

There are lots of different fingerings you can use as you work through the sequence, but one that I like to practice from time to time involves playing them all within the same 3 (strings) x 5 (frets) box. This main goal of this isn't so much to practice fingerings -- some of them are ones you probably wouldn't use often in a playing context -- but it's great for understanding the relationships between the modes in a very visual way.

For the key of C, start with your middle finger at the 8th fret of the E string. The "box" will go between two frets up and two frets down from there. Start by playing the C chromatic scale, starting at the root with your middle finger and ending at the octave with your pinky. That's the box: Every mode (or other scale) will be a subset of these notes; it's just a matter of which notes to leave out.

Now cycle through the modes in the order quoted above, so each successive mode is identical to the previous one but with one of the notes flatted. Note that the fingerings for the first three modes are the ones we're all familiar with, and only involve four of the five frets of the "box." Once you get to Dorian and beyond you might need to shift slightly, or use your thumb to pivot, to reach notes at the 6th fret (which is why these might not be your favorite fingerings for these modes when playing).

I practice modes in a variety of ways, but this is one I find it extremely useful to do from time to time, on various places on the neck, as a reminder about how the modes relate to/differ from one another, and how they all can be fingered in much the same way (even if you generally choose not to).

Very grateful for that. Many thanks!

 

[BassChuck]

To practice modes : instead of playing C ionian, then D dorian , then E phrygian, then etc..., play
- C lydian
- C ionian
- C mixolydian
- C dorian
- C aeolian
- C phrygian
- C locrian,
i.e., keep the same tonal center, and move from mode to mode from bright (lydian) to dark (locrian) (and/or vice versa). Then do the same with another tonal center. etc.

This is a much more effective way to train your ear and to learn your fingerboard.

This is the order I do them. This way there is just one note to change from one mode to the next. Keep the same tonal center also helps one hear the difference in color of each mode rather that just the same scale started up one step.