Demystifying the modes on guitar: it doesn't get any simpler than this

What are the major scale modes? How do they relate to the pentatonic scale? What on earth is "brightness ordering"? All this and more are explained herein!
[Note to subscribers: this is an expanded and remastered version of an earlier video]
[Errata: at around 5:42, the diagram at the top of the screen is showing a natural 5th rather than a flat 4th, and at around 8:00, the Aeolian scale is built on the 6th scale degree, not the 3rd]
► To see how this video fits into the big picture of fretboard understanding, check out this overview video: • A new and faster way t...
or download a FREE 12-page overview e-book: fretscience.myshopify.com/pro...
► For downloadable/printable "cheat sheets" for this video and others, visit: fretscience.myshopify.com/
► You can learn more, sign up for my email newsletter, or contact me at: fretscience.com
► Gear I use and recommend (affiliate links):
TC Electronic Infinite Sustainer Pedal - imp.i114863.net/doNAyq
TC Electronic PolyTune 3 Mini Tuner - imp.i114863.net/ZdnDVQ
TC Electronic Ditto Looper - imp.i114863.net/b34ekP
Digitech Trio+ Pedal - imp.i114863.net/5b2Xn3
Boss RC-500 Loop Station - imp.i114863.net/MXG1K3
D'Addario NYXL strings - imp.i114863.net/QOZRbx
MXR Six Band EQ Pedal - imp.i114863.net/QOZgYM
Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 interface : imp.i114863.net/jWxgev
PRS Guitars - imp.i114863.net/LPAG0L
Bose S1 Pro PA - imp.i114863.net/GjP5Kr
Pedaltrain pedal boards - imp.i114863.net/BXmQKx
Voodoo Lab Pedal Power X8 - imp.i114863.net/WDWLYG
Electro-Harmonix Freeze Pedal - imp.i114863.net/Earj0e
TC Electronic Plethora X5 - imp.i114863.net/VyzWOa
MXR EVH 5150 Overdrive pedal - imp.i114863.net/AoxDPx
Wampler Tumnus Overdrive - imp.i114863.net/9W43V0
World's Best Cables 10' (Mogami/Neutrik) - amzn.to/3lq4OlD
World's Best Cables 15' (Mogami/Neutrik) - amzn.to/3YqxCZY
► Recommended video viewing order:
Full playlist: • Guitar scales made eas...
Individual videos:
1. Use "the warp" to reduce memorization: • HOW TO VISUALIZE CHORD...
2. Master the pentatonic scale with the rectangle and stack: • Two Simple Shapes UNLO...
3. Learn the notes!: • Memorize the fretboard...
4. Intervals: Guitar's secret decoder ring: • Intervals: guitar's se...
5. Understand the modes: • Demystifying the modes...
6. The best way to learn/play the modes: • This hack makes learni...
7. Another easy way to play the modes: • Learn ALL the Modes on...
8. The CAGED system and triads: • Demystifying Triads an...
9. The 3nps system: • Unlock the fretboard w...
10. Instant harmony: • Easy Double-Stop Harmo...
► Keywords: guitar lesson, music theory, pentatonic scales, the modes, Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, Locrian
► Chapters:
00:00 - Introduction
01:20 - Where the modes come from
03:10 - "Brightness" ordering
04:30 - The sounds of the modes
05:49 - How the modes relate to the pentatonic scale
► Thank you to Dave DiCenso (drums), Jeff Gilman (bass), and Jake Shapiro (guitar, cello) for providing the theme music "Sea Horses".

[@fretscience]

If you're new to the channel, I'd like to offer a warm welcome! To see how this video fits into the big picture of fretboard understanding, check out this overview video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qqGmYmRrr89-n9k or download a FREE 12-page overview e-book: fretscience.myshopify.com/products/building-fretboard-fluency-the-big-picture-pdf-ebook Individual cheat sheets and a heavily discounted bundle are available for purchase at: fretscience.myshopify.com 🎸🧪🤘

[@vanmira]

All of your videos give me aha moments for things that I've kind of intuitively known for a while, but never learned them enough to be able to actually apply them. Excited to watch your next videos. Thank you Keith!

[@fretscience]

Thanks so much, Amir! 🎸🧪🤘

[@tomnguyen6839]

Subbed. Watched all of your videos. Made my purchase of your bundle to support your channel. As a 60-yr old Mechanical Engineer, I love your systematic approach to teaching music. Thank you.

[@bmurphy616]

Best explanation videos I’ve found hands down. Got the cheat sheets and I couldn’t be any happier with them. THANK YOU!

[@fretscience]

Much appreciated! 🎸🧪🤘

[@chrism4948]

Cool tutorial. Very easy to understand. Thanks for sharing.

[@fretscience]

My pleasure...I'm glad it was helpful! 🎸🧪🤘

[@dvanomm]

Another fantastic video. Thank you for what you are doing to make it much easier to understand the fretboard. Please keep the videos and content coming!

[@fretscience]

Much appreciated, thanks! 🎸🧪🤘

[@krutplaysaguitar]

such a concise and useful lesson. truly demystifying the modes. thanks!

[@fretscience]

Thanks, Krut! 🎸🧪🤘

[@josepolanco9147]

I keep loving your videos. They give me a new take on something that I'm mechanizing, Thank you!

[@fretscience]

Much appreciated…thanks, Jose! 🎸🧪🤘

[@timothythomasmusic777]

That was the most concise explanation I've heard so far. Thanks

[@fretscience]

Glad it was helpful! 🎸🧪🤘

[@markieg1619]

This is awesome! Thanks moving forward to your future videos 🥰

[@fretscience]

Thanks, Markie G! 🎸🧪🤘

[@matthewasher3934]

Awesome video. Straight to the point, clear and concise explanation, no BS fluff, advertising, or other youtube nonsense.

[@fretscience]

Thanks, Matthew! 🎸🧪🤘

[@moirot]

I've been following you since day 1 (well, maybe 2) and this type of instruction, no nonesense and straight to the core, is a perfect fit for me. Please keep doing what you're doing. Thank you so much for your time and effort.

[@fretscience]

Thank you for your kind words…much appreciated! 🎸🧪🤘

[@giorgiovalgolio590]

great job, i'm struggeling with it but im sure these time i will conquist modes..thanks a lot Giorgio

[@fretscience]

Thanks, Giorgio! Feel free to ask questions if you have any 🎸🧪🤘

[@stevencohen8754]

This is so clear - well done to whoever conceptualised and designed the illustrations - explaining things so clearly

[@fretscience]

Thanks! Just a middle-aged computer scientist and frustrated musician over here who likes to think more than practice 🤣🎸🧪🤘

[@stevencohen8754]

@@fretscience Thinking more than practicing - a familiar theme for me as well 😔

[@randymx]

Keep the good work!

[@fretscience]

Thanks, will do! 🎸🧪🤘

[@MBBZZ88]

This makes so much sense to a left-brain thinker like me! Thank you for this engineered approach!

[@fretscience]

Glad it helped! 🎸🧪🤘

[@MBBZZ88]

@@fretscience I just purchased the bundle pack - thank you!

[@fretscience]

@MBBZZ88 much appreciated!

[@MrCry2rain]

You can use Dm and Em pentatonics for playing in C... It is logical and easy to explain after you\ve said it, but wow. just wow. Thank you so much for what you are doing!

[@fretscience]

Glad it was helpful! And don’t forget Am! 🤣🎸🧪🤘

[@SkyAdventurer-zs8im]

This channel is underrated i would've known it when i was beginer

[@fretscience]

Thanks! 🎸🧪🤘

[@kenhazlin5860]

Thank you!

[@fretscience]

My pleasure! 🎸🧪🤘

[@user-hr2yp8st3l]

Great ... Thank you ...

[@fretscience]

Glad you liked it! 🎸🧪🤘

[@danellis43]

Hi Keith! Was turned on to this by Paula Jorgenson. This is fantastic, I love your insights & beautiful graphics.

[@fretscience]

Thanks, DAn! That's definitely a "small world" moment 🤣

[@fretscience]

You'll appreciate that this is all done in Keynote, plus a bunch of Python code for generating diagrams efficiently

[@sustainablelife1st]

love love love your teaching method. If you ever want to go off topic and do a focusrtie tutorial, I really need help. I have the 2i2 with ableton and would love a walkthrough.

[@fretscience]

Thanks! I use Logic Pro, and I’m not a recording expert, but I do use the 2i2…where are you getting stuck?

[@sustainablelife1st]

​@@fretscience I can't even figure out how to hook up my speakers, lol. They have some tutorials on youtube. I'll try those. I'll let you know how it goes. Thanks for the reply.

[@fretscience]

@@sustainablelife1st I bet you’ll find good tutorials out there…good luck and make some great music!

[@louistech112]

Now I see the relationship of chords and scales thanks

[@fretscience]

Glad it helped! 🎸🧪🤘

[@dontbeafoolface]

Amazing again. Would you be able to help us intermediate players with some practical exercises to internalize your system? I’m close to the practical eureka moment. Thanks!

[@fretscience]

Thanks, Ryan…there’s definitely more on the way. No ETA yet on exercises, but it’s on the list for sure! 🎸🧪🤘

[@triangulatorr4559]

These are great videos. I love the graphical explanations. If U ever edit, I found another tiny error. 5:05 "Mixoydian" in the title roughly mid-screen.

[@fretscience]

Nice catch, thanks!…I can’t believe I hadn’t noticed that yet! 🎸🧪🤘

[@shanedodds4440]

Great videos. I’m a visual learner so the way the information is presented helps me to ‘see’ what you are saying and allow me to see the patterns etc. But I do have a question about the modes that always trips me up and so I tend to give up. Towards the beginning you show the scales in steps/half steps etc, and then show that as the starting position changes we play the different modes. My takeaway from that was we are always playing the exact same notes in a scale, but starting in different positions. But then you talk about ‘flattening’ notes etc. and this is where I get tripped up. So my question is, are we playing the exact same notes in the scale but in different positions, or are some notes different than the normal scale in places for the different modes? I hope that makes sense lol

[@fretscience]

Thanks for your kind words, and thanks for your question. They are two different ways of looking at the same thing. Any two modes with the same note name but different modal name will contain different notes…G Mixolydian is the same notes as G Major, except with a flattened 7. But it’s also true that G Mixolydian has the exact same notes as C Major, since G is the fifth note of the C Major scale. I’ve found that the mental model based on intervals is more useful for playing music most of the time, and it’s a little bit easier to use in practice, so I recommend focusing on that viewpoint.

[@johnryan8645]

Holy cow! the brightness ordering has 6, 2, 5, 1 as an order! Interesting!

[@fretscience]

The cycle of 4ths is everywhere!

[@grantdickey]

My next logical question is what chords go with each mode? From Ionian to Dorian and so on... how the chord choices change... Your explanation is unmatched. Thank you so much!

[@fretscience]

Thanks, Grant! There are endless answers to your question. Here are a few basic guidelines. For an isolated chord, typically you would use a mode that contains the notes of the chord being played and shares the same root. So D Mixolydian over a D7, F Lydian or F Ionian over an Fmaj7, C Dorian, Aeolian, or Phrygian over a Cm7. Locrian goes with a m7b5 chord. If you’re playing over a major triad, any of the major modes may fit, and whether they “work” or not may depend on the other chords in the chord progression, but none of their notes will directly clash with the triad. Same idea for the minor modes and a minor triad, or Locrian over a diminished triad. When playing over a progression, there are many different ways to think about it. For example, over a ii V7 I in A, you could just play A Ionian over the whole thing, or you could think of it as B Dorian, then E Mixolydian and then A Ionian. Or you could just use pentatonic scales and target chord tones. Like I said, endless answers…I’ll definitely cover some of them in future videos

[@grantdickey]

@@fretscience Wow! Thank you so much for the extremely elegant response. #615boys #Nashvillelovesyou

[@YEM_]

Is this video different than the first one you posted with a similar title? Very familiar.

[@fretscience]

Closely related…”remastered”. The modes discussion is expanded and the trick of filling in the rectangle was split out to a separate video

[@iggykarpov]

4. The “modes” are really just different ways of looking at the notes of the major scale, but brightness order is the key to understanding and using them.

[@VinnyLePes]

I’m interested in your bundle. Is it complete yet? I’d hate to buy it and then have to buy individual videos to finish the course. I’d prefer to buy it all at once when it’s complete, if that’s even how you intend it. Thanks!!

[@fretscience]

Hi Vinny, the bundle will most likely never be "complete"...I intend to keep making new content indefinitely, and the bundle price will go up as new content is added. In any case, the current price is about half the cost of one guitar lesson, and I have tried my best to make it an excellent value for the money. I also occasionally offer "upgrade" discounts to customers who have bought a previous bundle

[@VinnyLePes]

@@fretscience you know, just after asking this I decided to f*** it and buy the whole thing. $25 isn’t much for what you are offering and I’m happy to support you. Thanks for the quick response!

[@fretscience]

@@VinnyLePes Much appreciated, thanks!

[@mccloysong]

So genius to use the pentatonic as scaffolding to then only add two notes for each mode. And since every major scale is exacty the same as its relative minor, it cuts the scale learning in half.

[@fretscience]

That’s exactly it…if you understand how it works, you need much less memorization. 😉 Thanks! 🎸🧪🤘

[@mccloysong]

@@fretscience your step by step illustration and explanation is the clearest I’ve ever seen it. Perfect.

[@monkeyrater]

You say in this video and many of your other videos "if you want more information on this, click the link to the video above". But there are no links on this video or any of your other videos. Just letting you know. Love your videos.

[@fretscience]

Thanks for the heads up. From what I can tell, the links show up when you view the video in a browser at KZbin.com or in a native KZbin mobile app. If you’re watching on a smart TV or in some other way, your mileage may vary. In any case, they’re all available by visiting the channel, and hopefully the titles are clear enough that you can find what you’re looking for. Glad you’re enjoying the videos! 🎸🧪🤘

[@monkeyrater]

@@fretscience OK, so if you mean that little 'i' icon at the upper right, I do see that. But that just links to your youtube channel, I dont think that links to the specific video youre referencing.

[@fretscience]

@@monkeyrater KZbin may have changed the implementation, but in my browser (Chrome), the "i" icon expands at specific times in the video and includes a text descriptor of the video or link that is mentioned. If you click on it, it opens up the video description and scrolls down to the bottom, where all of those links are laid out. It's a bit less direct and obvious than it used to be, for sure!

[@mohamedhabib8982]

This content is high wow

[@fretscience]

🤔

[@julianandrews6025]

Great tutorials just noticed that at 8.42 the diagram for locrian is phrygian and doesnt show b5. Incidentally without your teaching i would nt have understood that anyway so great educational video.

[@fretscience]

Nice catch…you’re 100% correct. I must have made a cut and paste error with the diagrams in my animation software!

[@julianandrews6025]

Also at 8.42 theres a typo Amin as 3rd scale degree of C maj instead of 6th, you say 6th. Thanks for the information in such a great format Ive finally found a logical comprehensive explanation on how the modes are constructed and connected

[@julianandrews6025]

​@@fretscience❤

[@fretscience]

@julianandrews6025 it’s amazing what manages to slip through the cracks even with extensive proof-reading…thanks! Unfortunately KZbin doesn’t provide a way to update the video itself 🙁

[@gustavochiozza6465]

Flattened relative to the major scale. Minute 3:00. Could you explain this in other words, please? Thank you very much.

[@fretscience]

There are several notes in the major scale that can be raised or lowered by one semitone (one fret) to make the other modes. Lowering the 7th scale degree (making a major seventh into a minor seventh) changes the major scale into the Mixolydian mode. We call it “flattening” because in music notation, the B note in the C major scale becomes a B flat. I hope that helps! 🎸🧪🤘

[@danielrenaud3985]

This was excellent..turns out I am a mixolydian fan

[@fretscience]

That and Dorian are the scales that built rock and roll…and they only differ by that bluesy area between the flat and natural third! 🎸🧪🤘

[@YEM_]

@fretscience now you've confused me. Dorian has the notes shifted to the right and mixolydian has them shifted to the left. So in what way are they the same? Unless you're saying G mixo is similar to D Dorian. But if I play D Dorian with my pointer finger on the 10th fret, the D mixo will be completely different shapes, eh?

[@fretscience]

They have their roots in different positions inside the rectangle and stack because Dorian is built off of the minor pentatonic and Mixo is built off major. It can be a brain-twister to visualize, but they end up being exactly the same notes except for the third. As an example, build Mixo off of Form 1 major pentatonic and Dorian off of Form 5 minor pentatonic (to get the roots to line up). Or Mixo off Form 2 and Dorian off Form 1. The way I’ve described it is a bit “academic”, but in practice you can substitute Dorian for Mixo as long as you give the minor thirds a little bend, and the result sounds super bluesy. I hope that makes a little more sense

[@metal1mark73]

Should I learn the pentatonic scales first or the 7 modes first?

[@fretscience]

Pentatonic scales, hands down, every time! Check out the recommended video viewing order on fretscience.com 🎸🧪🤘

[@metal1mark73]

@fretscience I already learned the pentatonic scales in the key of a and just shift frets to play them in another key, but I know the modes in the key of C but I'm having a hard time playing them in different keys what should I do is there a easy method to play modes in all keys on the fly? Thanks.

[@fretscience]

@metal1mark73 take a look at the recommended viewing order on fretscience.com - I suspect you can deepen your knowledge of the pentatonic scale using the rectangle and stack method I teach, and then you will be able to use the “hidden in plain sight” method to learn the modes in minutes. And then, you can layer 3nps and CAGED on top of that. It’s all there in the recommended viewing order

[@metal1mark73]

@fretscience I will do that, is there any supplemental material I should buy to assist with my learning? Big thanks! I also play mostly rock and metal guitar!

[@fretscience]

@metal1mark73 there’s an optional PDF cheat sheet available to purchase for each video, or you can get the complete set for a significant discount. They’re at fretscience.gumroad.com There’s nothing in the PDFs that’s not in the videos, but many have found that they’re helpful as a reference, and those purchases support the creation of new content. I’m a hard rock player myself. I created all of this so that rock/blues/metal players would have a way to learn improvisation and solo construction without having to study jazz at Berklee.

[@hansgruenweg294]

I have to waste my 9 to 5 as a programmer. For me it is very easy to follow, because it is just logical. I wished the projects I am faced with had the same logical requirements, architecture, Interfaces, ...

[@fretscience]

Wouldn’t it be great if everything came with straightforward patterns? 🎸🧪🤘