Theory On Tap
Lesson 4: Scales and Modes
by Greg Brouelette
The concept of modes in music (particularly jazz) is
very important. Modes allow you to have a quick reference
to know which scales will fit with which chords. This
allows you to improvise long solo phrases over changing
chord structures.
I should mention that all the scale and chord positions
are drawn for a ten string Stick in the standard tuning.
You'll have to adjust for Grand Stick and Baritone tunings.
What's a mode?
OK, modes (the way most jazz players use them) are
built up from major scales. I'm going to use the C major
scale to demonstrate the mode concept because the lack of
sharps and flats make it easier to understand. You might
also want to review the chord construction lesson because
we'll be discussing chord structure as well.
If we play a C major scale from C to C (C, D, E, F, G,
A, B, C) we are playing in the Ionian mode. A major scale
is simply the Ionian mode. Take the 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 7th
notes from this scale and you have a Major 7th chord. Play
a major chord form with the left hand and solo a little bit
with a C major scale with the right hand and notice how well
these notes fit against this chord... i.e:
Left hand on Bass strings
|- - -|- - -|- - -|- - -|- - -|
|- - -|- 1 -|- - -|- - -|- - -|
|- - -|- 2 -|- - -|- - -|- - -|
|- - -|- - -|- - -|- 4 -|- - -|
|- - -|- - -|- - -|- - -|- - -|
^
5th Fret
Right hand on melody Strings
|-----|--x--|--x--|-----|--x--| |-----|--x--|--R--|-----|--x--| |--x--|-----|--x--|-----|--x--| |--R--|-----|--x--|-----|--x--| |--x--|-----|--x--|-----|--x--| ^
13th Fret
Now were going to move up to the next mode (the Dorian mode)
to do this we simply play the same C major scale but we
start and end on D (D, E, F, G, A, B, C, D) If we take the
1st, 3rd, 5th, and 7th notes of this scale (D,F,A,C) we have
a D minor 7 chord. But since all the notes in the chord are
made up from the notes in the C major scale we can still use
the C major scale to solo over this chord. Try it. Play D
minor with the left hand and solo using EXACTLY the same
scale as above.
Left hand on the bass strings
|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|
|-----|--1--|-----|-----|-----|
|-----|--2--|-----|-----|-----|
|-----|-----|--3--|-----|-----|
|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|
^
7th Fret
You'll notice that your solos will want to resolve on to D
note instead of the C note. And the `feel' of the solo
changes because you're playing in a minor scale, but the
notes are still all from the C major scale.
It should be noted that what you are now playing is D
Dorian, not C Dorian. Even though the notes are made up of
the C major scale, because you are starting you scale and
chord construction on the D note you are in D Dorian.
Obviously the next mode will start with E. This is the
phrygian mode. Once again we play the C major scale, but we
start and end on the E note instead of C (E, F, G, A, B, C,
D, E) Taking the 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 7th note of this scale
gives us another minor 7th chord (E minor 7th). Play an E
minor chord with the left hand (same as above but moved up
to the 9th fret) and solo using the exact same C major scale
in the exact same position as before. Notice that the left
hand is changing but the right hand isn't. And yet you'll
notice a slightly different feel to this minor mode than the
last one, even though you're using exactly the same notes in
your solo.
As you can guess, the other modes are constructed by
moving up one scale tone in the major scale and building
it's resulting chord from the 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 7th scale
tones. This method of building a series of chords starting
at each scale tone is called `harmonizing' the scale. The
total list of modes based off of the C major scale are:
| Scale Tone | Mode | Scale Notes | Chord |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ionian | C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C |
C Major 7th |
| 2 | Dorian | D, E, F, G, A, B, C, D |
D minor 7th |
| 3 | Phrygian | E, F, G, A, B, C, D, E |
E minor7th |
| 4 | Lydian | F, G, A, B, C, D, E, F |
F Major 7th |
| 5 | Mixolydian | G, A, B, C, D, E, F, G |
G 7th (i.e. G Dominant 7th) |
| 6 | Aeolian | A, B, C, D, E, F, G, A |
A minor7th |
| 7 | Locrian | B, C, D, E, F, G, A, B |
B minor7th flat 5 (i.e. Bm7b5) |
If we move up one more we're back to the Ionian mode
again. Practice each of these chord forms while playing the
C major scale. Because each of the resulting chords are
built up from notes in the C major scale (albeit, from
different notes each time) a C major scale will fit over
each of these chords.
Great! So how do I use them?
In jazz, if you're playing a major 7th chord you're
almost always in the Ionian mode (jazz players will
sometimes use the Lydian mode. Steve Via loves the Lydian
mode). If you're playing a minor scale jazz players tend to
use a Dorian mode and classical players tend to use the
Aeolian mode, but the phrygian mode has an interesting sound
as well.
Dm7 G7 Cmaj7 Cm7 F7 BbMaj7
| / / / / | / / / / | / / / / | / / / / |
Let's look at the first 3 chords. The first is a minor
7th chord. It might turn out to be the best idea to use the
Dorian mode, but we'll hold off judgment for a moment. The
second chord is a dominant 7th chord. The only mode that
makes a dominant 7th chord is the Mixolydian mode. So we
ask ourselves "The Mixolydian is built off of the 5th scale
tone of a major scale. G is the 5th scale tone of what
major scale?" It turns out that G is the 5th of C major.
It also turn out that D minor is the Dorian mode built from
C major. So you can play C major over the first two chords.
And since the next chord is C Major 7th (and we KNOW that's
build from the C major scale) we can play C major over all
3 chords.
We would say that the chord progression Dm7, G7, Cmaj7
has a `Key Center' of C major. This progression is known
as the II, V, I progression. (That's Two, Five, One. We
use roman numbers to tell which chords from the Key Center
to play). It's called the II, V, I progression because this
short sequence of chords are built from the second, fifth,
and first scale tones of the Key Center scale.
Look at the next 3 chords and see if you can find the
Key Center. Using the same logic you'll find that Cmin7,
F7, BbMaj7 are all based off of the Bb Major scale. So the
Key Center for the next three chords is Bb.
It's very possible, and in fact likely, that the key
center will change throughout a song. It's also very
possible, and likely, that several of the Key Centers will
not be the same as the key the song was written in.
By using the key center concept you can eliminate a lot
of jumping around the fretboard. Quite often it turns out
that the next chord you're about to play is built from the
same major scale as the last chord. So you don't need to
change your scale at all. You no longer have to change
scales and positions with every chord.
The Stick is uniquely suited to modal playing. Because
the Stick has the same scale shape for a major scale
everywhere on the fretboard you can think of the notes in
the scale as the `Ionian note' or the `Mixolydian note'.
Let me demonstrate.
If I draw the `4ths into infinity' scale from page 41
of `Free Hands' by Emmett Chapman, but I number the notes by
scale tones of the major scale I'll get this:
|-----|--4--|-----|--5--|-----|--6--|-----| |-----|--1--|-----|--2--|-----|--3--|-----| |-----|--5--|-----|--6--|-----|--7--|-----| |-----|--2--|-----|--3--|--4--|-----|-----| |-----|--6--|-----|--7--|--1--|-----|-----| |-----|--3--|--4--|-----|--5--|-----|-----| |-----|--7--|--1--|-----|--2--|-----|-----| |--4--|-----|--5--|-----|--6--|-----|-----| |--1--|-----|--2--|-----|--3--|-----|-----| |--5--|-----|--6--|-----|--7--|-----|-----|
Let's choose a chord. Say, an Eb7th chord. We could
quickly find the scale to play this way:
- That's a 7th chord and 7th chords are built from the 5th scale tone of a major scale.
- Find an Eb on the fretboard. Any Eb.
- Play the scale above such that the notes where there are number 5's is an Eb.
Modes are useful in any solo, but there are jazz
standards which are completely written in a `modal' fashion.
`So What' by Miles Davis and `Impressions' by John Coltrane
both have 16 bars of D dorian followed by 8 bars of Eb
dorian and then move back to D dorian.
You can also mix modes. In a Bb blues you might want
to start your solo in Bb mixolydian (which would fit the
Bb7th chord perfectly). A trick I like to use is to play Bb
Dorian instead because it fits right on top of a Bb
pentatonic scale.
Or try vamping over Cmaj7th and D7th while playing a C
lydian scale. If you're really feeling adventurous then
harmonize a jazz minor or harmonic minor scale, or an Indian
raga scale. It's amazing how easily you can find new sounds
and harmonies.
Stick players are lucky because we have a single scale
that covers all the modes in every position. Learn the
4th's to infinity scale inside and out and you'll find that
you can solo all over the fretboard with an almost Zen-like
freedom. I find that once I learn the feel and sound of
each mode and how it fits into the 4ths into infinity scale
I don't even think of where the notes are. I can just hear
where the next note is. After 21 years of practice I still
can't do this on guitar, but it happens naturally on the
Stick because of the unique even interval tuning.
I hope you've enjoyed this lesson. I'd be glad to
answer any questions or comments via the Stickwire.
Happy tapping. Greg Brouelette