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Best way to learn scales and modes and how to apply them?

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(@supratroopa)
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Joined: 12 years ago
Posts: 1
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I'm putting together a practice routine, and part of it is learning scales. I'm familiar with the five shapes of the pentatonic/blues scales, and I'm ready to learn some more. I know the major and minor scales, but I'd like to get familiar with all the modes and with how to apply scales in context. The book that came recommended for this was the Guitar Grimoire book, but that book occurs to me as being more of a reference than anything instructional, and I don't believe that practicing boxes of scales in triplets/quintuplets/pentuplets will teach me anything practical. Frank Gambale's "Modes: No More Mystery" is nice, but he doesn't say how to apply the scales he plays, and Mick Goodrick's "The Advancing Guitarist" is a little hard to follow.

What book/website/routine/exercise is best for learning scales in a practical manner?


   
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(@askaguitarpro)
Eminent Member
Joined: 11 years ago
Posts: 38
 

Modes seem to be daunting at first, but they are really easier than you think to understand. In order to apply them you need to know a few quick things. If you play the natural scale......in the key of C Major, for example, you'd have the notes C, D, E, F, G, A, & B. Also known as the Do-Re-Mi-Fa-So-La-Ti-Do. The modes have different names for the different degrees of the natural scale. In our case the modes are C Ionian, D Dorian, E Phrygian, F Lydian, G Mixolydian, A Aeolian, and B Locrian. The biggest takeaway here is that the notes in C Ionian are the same as D Dorian......and the same as F Lydian, and G Mixolydian, and so on and so forth. They are all the same. Where things get interesting is when you play a particular mode over a chord that doesn't typically exist in that particular key of music. For example, playing a C Mixolydian mode over a C Major Chord......which is typically the "defining" chord in the key of C Major. While the C Mixolydian mode does contain the three notes that make up a C Major chord, it has additional notes in it that are not found in the key of C Major. These "off" notes can add some pretty cool flavor and help make a song stand out.

So.....getting back to your original question.....you can typically play any mode or scale that contains the notes of the chord you are playing over. This opens the door up for a lot of cool substitutions. However, if there are a lot of chords played in rapid, succession, it's tougher (during a solo) to implement these "out of key" substitutions.......you basically have to make sure you land the off notes at the right time to make things sound right. Does that make sense? Sometimes it takes a little time for it to sink in....I know it did for me. Great topic.

Jake

AKA "AskAGuitarPro"
http://www.askaguitarpro.com
http://www.youtube.com/user/AskAGuitarPro?feature=mhee
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