Tip: Practicing Modes (Part 6)

Darrin Koltow Blog Scales and Modes for Guitar

Let’s go further into our mode study in this issue. Last issue we covered diatonic (within a key) C major chords whose melody notes lay on string 1. A natural progression for us this time would be chords for string two. Here they are:

A couple comments here: play the chords descending and ascending. You can also get creative and play leap frog: play the chord with the C melody note, then the A melody, then come back to the B melody, then G, then A, etc.

Note 2: don’t get dogmatic about these chords. There are many other possibilities besides the ones given here. Check out William Leavitt’s “Modern Method for Guitar” for a more intensive workout with chord voicings.

Thanks for reading.

This first appeared in the Guitar Noise News – April 15, 2009 newsletter. Reprinted with permission.