Guitar Modes in 5 Levels: Hear Each Color and Make Music With It

Guitar modes are seven ways of organizing the major scale around one center note, and each one gives that center a different color. Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian and Locrian each use the notes of some major scale. What changes is the note that feels like home, so you learn modes by hearing each one against that center.

Modes haunted me for many years. I didn’t quite understand what was important or how to go about them, and honestly I was kind of scared of them. All these Greek names sound like a lot, but the truth is it’s only color. In this lesson we play every mode against a C center, hear it and sing it, then go through four more levels that turn those sounds into music.

What are the guitar modes?

In a contemporary music context, modes are colors and sounds. If we have a C center, we can play any one of the seven modes against it, and each one makes that C feel different.

Ionian is literally the C major scale. We call it a mode because we can start from C and organize the sounds in a different way, and naming them saves time. We’re humans, and we’re pretty good at tagging information. The point is to hear the sound, tag it and play it. Here are all seven with C as the center:

1. Ionian. C, D, E, F, G, A, B. The major scale itself.
2. Dorian. C, D, E flat, F, G, A, B flat. A minor sound, and a completely different one from Phrygian and Aeolian.
3. Phrygian. C, D flat, E flat, F, G, A flat, B flat. One, flat 2, flat 3, 4, 5, flat 6, flat 7. Check how beautiful it is. That sound is very typical of Phrygian.
4. Lydian. C, D, E, F sharp, G, A, B. Basically the C major scale with a sharp 4 (or flat 5, if you will).
5. Mixolydian. C, D, E, F, G, A, B flat. This is the dominant, the five chord. Whenever we have a dominant chord like C7, we can play Mixolydian. It’s not the only color for that chord, but it’s definitely a solid one.
6. Aeolian. C, D, E flat, F, G, A flat, B flat. The natural minor.
7. Locrian. C, D flat, E flat, F, G flat, A flat, B flat. A little harsher. It shares the flat 2 with Phrygian, but it’s a different sound.

How do you find the fingering for each mode?

Ask the question in reverse: C is which degree of which major scale? Then play that major scale’s fingering while you keep hearing C as home. If you know the major scale, this shortcut gets you every mode.

Take C Dorian. I say to myself, I’m playing C Dorian, so C minor is the 2 of what? B flat is the 1 and C minor is the 2, so B flat major is the fingering I’m playing. I’m not thinking about B flat major, though. I’m thinking about the sound of C Dorian, and I’m aware of the framework it lives in.

• C Dorian. C is the 2nd of B flat major.
• C Phrygian. C is the 3rd of A flat major.
• C Lydian. C is the 4th of G major.
• C Mixolydian. C is the 5th of F major.
• C Aeolian. C is the 6th of E flat major.
• C Locrian. C is the 7th of D flat major.

It’s fine to be aware that you’re playing the fingerings of D flat major for C Locrian. It’s not a problem. We’re still thinking about C as the center. When I play C Lydian with the G major fingering, I’m not listening to the note G. I’m listening to the note C. If the major scale positions themselves still feel shaky, start with learning the guitar fretboard first, because every one of these shapes comes out of it.

How do you hear the difference between modes?

Connect each mode in three ways: understand it intellectually, know the fingering in your hands, and listen to how it sounds against the center. Then sing it.

• Know the notes. Understand how each note relates to the center. The 5 of C is G, and so on.
• Know the fingering. You want a quick and clear kinesthetic memory, muscle memory, for each shape.
• Listen. At the end of the day, music is the art of listening. You want to internalize the sound color of each mode in relationship to the center.
• Sing it. I’m not trying to be an opera singer. I’m just trying to imagine the color of the scale and how it relates to the center. Sometimes I’ll tell myself what notes I’m playing and sing the C.

In every mode there are notes we want to accent a little more, the ones that give it its flavor. For me, one of the most beautiful is the sharp 4 in Lydian, so I might dwell on it. It’s a little bit like Indian ragas. I know just a little about them, but some notes in a raga are more highlighted than others, and we can think the same way about the color that makes each mode special.

And slow it down. We want to slow it down to a point where we can actually digest it and learn from it, because just moving our fingers isn’t going to be really helpful.

Levels 2 to 5: how to make music with modes

Once you can hear the seven colors, pick one mode and use it. Just playing the scales isn’t enough. In the video I’m feeling Phrygian, so C Phrygian is my example.

• Level 2: play it in time. I really feel all of this needs to be played in time. Keep it simple: just the scale, maybe thirds. If you notice you’re not seeing C Phrygian the way you want to, that’s great. Now you know what you need to practice.
• Level 3: repeat one line. Take one idea, one line, and repeat it in time until it feels stronger and good. Think about the notes as you play it.
• Level 4: write something. Write a couple of bars, or even a full song, with that color. Maybe a little melody, maybe some chords. Mess around with it and feel the center of the mode.
• Level 5: build the framework. If you say to yourself, yeah, it’s cool, but I don’t really see it, no problem. Spend some time on the positions. In the video I go over C Phrygian in five positions. Take it slow and make sure you can see it, hear it and play it, then make music.

One of the mistakes we often make is playing the scale up and down, ascending, descending, great, and then never writing any melodies with it.

You don’t really want to be a master of C Phrygian just to be a master of C Phrygian without making any music with it. The whole point is the music.

Rotem Sivan

A modes practice idea for today

Pick one mode with C as the center. Play it slowly and sing it, naming each note against C, and find the note that gives it its color. Then play it in time with just the scale and some thirds. Choose one short line and repeat it until it feels good. Finish by writing two bars with that color. If you’d like a mapped-out way to see the neck, Unlocking the Fretboard covers the C major scale in five positions, seven three-notes-per-string positions, and the A minor pentatonic in all five positions.

Frequently asked questions

What’s the easiest way to learn guitar modes?

Keep one center note, like C, and play each mode against it so you hear its color. Learn the notes, the fingering and the sound together, sing it, and slow down until you can really digest it. Then pick one mode and make music with it in time.

Do I need a new fingering for every mode?

Not if you know the major scale. Ask which major scale your center belongs to: C Dorian uses B flat major, C Phrygian uses A flat major, C Lydian uses G major. Play that fingering, but keep hearing C as home.

Which mode goes over a dominant 7 chord?

Mixolydian. It’s the mode of the five chord, so it fits a dominant chord like C7. Its flat 7 gives it that dominant sound. It isn’t the only color you can play on a dominant chord, but it’s a solid one.

What’s the difference between Phrygian and Locrian?

Both have a flat 2, flat 3, flat 6 and flat 7. Locrian also has a flat 5, so in C it uses G flat where Phrygian uses G. That flat 5 is the one note that separates them, and Locrian sounds a little harsher.

Pick your mode tonight and write those two bars before you learn another position. When you’re ready to fold colors like these into real solos, Solo Mastery is my full framework for improvising.