Understanding Guitar Scale Patterns:
3. Modes by Matt D’Netto
The subject of modes popped up in a lesson recently when a student was practising a three
octave G-major scale. They were having trouble with a position shift from second position to
seventh position so I suggested isolating that part of the scale and practising it separately,
playing the notes of the G-major scale but starting on an E (4th string) and finishing on an E
(3rd string). Unwittingly, I had actually instructed the student to play the Aeolian mode, and
since classical guitarists often concentrate only on major and minor scales I thought I’d go
ahead and explain what modes are and how to derive scale patterns for the common modes
and also for a couple of the more exotic modes that are particularly well used by guitarists.
We’re already familiar with how to derive major and minor scales. In the simplest form, a
major scale is a set of intervals described by playing the natural (white) notes from C to C
and the intervals of a natural minor scale are defined by playing the natural notes from A to
A. Given that, have you even wondered what scale you’d get if you didn’t start on C or A,
but instead played all the natural notes from D to D or E to E and so on? This is exactly how
to derive the common modes and each has a unique character, offering something slightly
different to the simple major and minor scales.
In the table overleaf I have used the keyboard diagram (see above) to work out the
sequence of whole steps and half steps that define the modes and have given the name of
each mode along with the corresponding starting note. Try playing the modes for yourself
by using the natural notes on the guitar in first position, playing from C to C, D to D, E to E
etc in order to try to get a feel for the different character of each mode and decide for
yourself whether each mode feels more major or minor.
Generally speaking, Ionian, Lydian and Mixolydian are the major modes, Aeolian, Dorian and
Phrygian are the minor modes and the Locrian mode is known as a diminished mode – it
may have a minor third but it also has a diminished fifth rather than a perfect fifth, which
the other modes possess.
MODE Intervals
Ionian[C] W W H W W W H
Dorian [D] W H W W W H W
Phrygian[E] H W W W H W W
Lydian [F] W W W H W W H
Mixolydian [G] W W H W W H W
Aeolian [A] W H W W H W W
Locrian [B] H W W H W W W
The Ionian mode corresponds to the standard major scale, whereas the Lydian mode is
effectively a major scale with the fourth raised by a semitone, i.e. the third interval is a
whole step rather than a half step. The Mixolydian mode is a major scale with the seventh
note lowered by a semitone, i.e. the sixth interval is a half step rather than a whole step.
This leaves the final interval as a whole step, giving the Mixolydian mode less of a sense of
resolution than the Ionian or the Lydian major modes.
The Aeolian mode is out familiar natural minor scale, while Dorian is a minor scale with the
sixth note raised by a semitone, i.e. the fifth interval is a whole step rather than a half step.
The Phrygian mode is a minor scale with the second note lowered by a semitone, i.e. the
first interval is a half step rather than a whole step.
On the following page I’ve drawn out a set of scale patterns for each of the common modes
over two octaves. In these examples I’ve chosen to use as few position shifts as possible for
simplicity. The way I have laid out the scale patterns below with similar fingerings shows just
how closely related the modes are despite their different characteristics. The patterns differ
only very slightly by the start and end notes but the different feel generated by such a small
change is clear to hear. In these examples of two octave patterns Locrian, Ionian and Dorian
are fingered with the same basic pattern, Phrygian and Lydian again share a similar pattern
and finally Mixolydian and Aeolian follow a very similar fingering.
