Understanding Modes Part 8 Modal Playing Video Lecture - The Ultimate Guitar

up until now we've been learning the
modes is seven different hand positions
that lock together to play the major
scale all throughout the neck of the
guitar over chords right now what we're
gonna do is we're gonna talk about modal
playing and how you can make these sound
different so you may have noticed that
we've done seven different shapes and
they're all slightly different from each
other and they sound a little bit
different from each other but we haven't
really gotten them to sound so different
from each other and the reason is
because we've all been doing it in the
same key so for example right let's
we've done in the key of C so here's a C
major chord and that's kind of a happy
uplifting chord in and of itself and one
of the last ones we did was the LA
Korean scale which is it was a very dark
scale alright and that started on B so B
C D alright so here's the C major chord
and here's the seventh mode these mode
in C a and if we combine them
it doesn't really sound that dark
because really we're just playing the
same notes of the C major scale I'll be
a we are starting at a B so it sounds a
little bit different but we're not
really getting the feel for what la
Crean sounds like so we're gonna talk
about different ways to bring out the
individual sound of each mode but before
we do that I wanted to take a note and
talk about how the guitar community
looks at modes and it seems like there's
a lot of pressure to play modes the
correct way because right now all we've
done is use the Moses hand shapes to
play the major scale and make things
sound right or something correct now I
don't really think there's a wrong way
to play the modes even though this isn't
really modal playing we're just still
making things sound together because
we're playing in one key all throughout
the guitar and that's a really good way
to stoke your creativity but if you want
to take it the next level and kind of
see what each of them offer this is a
good way to do it and at the end of the
day you're not really gonna dazzle
anyone with your mastery of the modes
it's either you're gonna sound cool or
you're not right so I just kind of want
to go over a few different chords and
show how they can be used within a
progression with the different modes so
let's start out with just a C chord
right now a C chord in and of itself
doesn't have a key that we can discern
yet now it gives us a good idea of what
it might be it could be the one chord
and the key of C it could be the four
chord in the key of G and it could be
the five chord in the key of F so it
would make sense that the modes we would
use to play over that chord would be the
first fourth and fifth modes which would
be Ionian or major
lydian mixed it all you have maybe
playing with somebody else or you're
just kind of extending a cord on your
own that's a good way to kind of think
of it as if the cord is your base and
then you can jump off using whichever
mode you kind of perceive so a lot of
times modal playing is playing with the
changes right so if there's a chord
progression maybe just like a C major to
an a minor and that's it alright we
still aren't totally sure which key were
and just by giving those two chords
right again we have a good idea we could
be in the key of C playing a one six
progression in which case the modes we
would play over the C major chord would
be the C major scale and over the a
minor chord would be the a minor scale
but that's gonna kind of give you the
same sound I'll be with a couple little
differences now where you can use it
your knowledge of the differences
between the modes is an extension of
that corner so how do we create like a
la Korean feel over a C major chord you
might think that yeah just go to where
the LA Korean scale exists in the key of
C which is that B and then start playing
those notes again but again that's not
really gonna give you the sound of la
crema the way I like to think of it is
if you want to lock you and feel in the
key of C place C lockrey right so
instead of going a C chord to
we're gonna move that from a beat to a
SIA and to me that's more of an accurate
example of that sound the seventh mode
sound even though really musically it
doesn't fit because a C major chord has
a major third right a C and E and a G
and the C Lockean scale is a minor third
right so those dissonance there but that
dissonance is actually was kind of
responsible for that so I'm gonna link
to a backing track and one of the chords
in the backing track is gonna be a C
major chord and feel free to play any of
the modes over that C major chord and
sometimes I technically won't fit and
that's fine this is kind of like an
exploration of the modes so if you want
a Dorian feel in the key of C instead of
going to D Dorian try throwing C Dorian
in there and that's what practice is all
about is just finding the things that
you find acceptable because if you're
just playing what's right everything is
gonna sound more or less a little bit
the same everything's gonna sound very
safe if you want to start taking more
risks and that's a great thing that the
modes can help with is just kind of like
going outside of the box and exploring
things start playing different modes off
of the same note and the reason that
this is creating such a different
atmosphere is because we're changing the
tonal center now what I mean by that is
again in that key of C or whatever key
you're in well this is just a C major
chord we're not even thinking of it as
the one chord in the key of C we're just
thinking of it as a group of notes C E
and gia that are telling our brains our
ears what the tonal center is right
that's why a lot of the time the first
chords you hear in a song that's the key
it's in right if you if a chord starts
with the C it
there's a better than 50/50 percent
chance that it's gonna be in the key of
C just because that first strum of a
chord is establishing that tonal Center
and everything we do is kind of reacting
off of that tonal Center so if you have
a total Center and then you start
manipulating the modes around it you
start ending up with different
interesting types of sounds right now
the safest one you can do is just use
the one that lines up with their rights
like if I have a C major chord to a G
major chord and I'm thinking in the key
of C then I could display the C major
scale over the C major chord and the G
mixolydian scale over the over the G
major chord right because that's where
fits and that's gonna sound great but if
you want to explore the modes a little
bit more try doing something differently
right so maybe for the C major chord we
actually place C alien or C minor right
so over the C major chord you can use
all all those kind of minor pentatonic
licks or anything you know in the C
minor scale and then for Gia
which again will be the G mixolydian
mode normally maybe we could actually
even go lockrey in there right so for
the C part
now the one thing I want to stress is it
if you're playing with other musicians
you kind of need to be on the same page
or else this kind of philosophy it can
go really really off the tracks like if
there's a two guitarist if you're one of
two guitarists as a bass player and the
other guys are kind of playing a C to a
G and every time they play a C major you
just rip off some like like C lockrey
and riff and every time they play a G
major
you're still in G lock Rihanna like look
they're gonna kick you out of the band
like they're just it's unacceptable
because it's gonna sound so bad you kind
of have to make sure you're all working
together as a unit and that's where
music theory really comes in handy to
communicate with other musicians like
for example again with that C right as
soon as you get a bass player to jump on
board he plays a B over a C major you
guys are actually combining to play a
bigger chord now if it's on top a C
major plus a B is a cegb
which is a C major seven so if you kind
of doubled up with like a guitar player
and one guitar player plays it B and if
I'm plays the C major chord
you both are combining to play a C major
seven chord so that's why in a band you
want to be on the same page musically
and theory wise so maybe two guys in the
band can hold down the fort while one of
them kind of explores something modally
because if everybody is exploring
different things at the same time it's
really gonna be unlistenable and again
nobody is ever gonna really congratulate
you on your mastering of the modes
it's just does it sound cool or does it
not so again don't get too stressed out
over trying to play mode early but if
you want experiment that's well backing
tracks are for like you can see what the
court is and then you can kind of
interpret which mode you want to play
over that and don't always be handcuffed
to playing in the key all the time
because a lot of times some of the best
sounds are maybe just taking something
way out of left field that isn't in the
key that isn't even close to being in
the key and working that into a melody