Modes Explained (With One Simple Concept)

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For years, I was intimidated by modes. Those fancy names just made me assume that they were complicated and beyond my understanding. But if you know just a little bit of music theory, they're ridiculously easy to grasp. In this video, we'll talk about relative keys, parallel keys, the seven modes, and even modal scales. We'll dig into musical examples of Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, and Locrian. By the end of this guitar lesson, you will have a complete understanding of what modes are and how to use them in your guitar playing.
If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments below. Thanks for watching!
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Chapters:
0:00 - Welcome!
0:43 - Two ways to look at modes
1:03 - Tonic vs Root
1:46 - Parallel vs Relative keys
2:17 - Relative major & minor keys
5:20 - Quick recap
5:47 - The 7 modes (and the moment it all clicks)
8:36 - A musical example of every mode
8:41 - I. Ionian
8:51 - II. Dorian
10:23 - III. Phrygian
11:58 - IV. Lydian
13:29 - V. Mixolydian
15:25 - VI. Aeolian
16:17 - VII. Locrian
17:12 - Modal Scales
19:04 - Some final thoughts
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#modes #guitarlesson #musictheory

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

I hope you guys enjoyed this one! Please let me know what you thought of the video in the comments. And if you want to support the channel, feel free to check out my Patreon: www.patreon.com/AndrewClarke

[@Jethlin2020]

In 30 years of playing guitar, I had never bothered to learn this because it seemed so daunting of a task. This video not only took the mystery out of Modes but I now feel like I fully understand them from one short video. Thank you. I will be signing up for your Patreon now.

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

@@Jethlin2020 I'm so glad you found the video helpful! And I really appreciate that :)

[@Jethlin2020]

@@andrewclarkeguitar I made up the acronym: I Don't PLay Music After Lunch to help remember the names in order.

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

@@Jethlin2020 Great idea to make an acronym to remember! If you wanted to have a separate word for each, you could do I Don't Play Loud Music After Lunch. But love yours as well! Cheers.

[@Jethlin2020]

@@andrewclarkeguitar Yes! Even better..lol. How did I miss that one?

[@andreww8890]

You can explain things better then most music teachers I've seen

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

Thank you!

[@storiesbyowen]

Facts.

[@sidsm3978]

You make guitar music theory sound easy. wow. you really have the gift for teaching.

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

I appreciate that!

[@daisyxbaby2]

I had no idea how simple modes are and how it’s all connected giving me access to play different modes and keys anywhere really

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

Much easier to understand than most people think!

[@craigghelfi3796]

Excellent job, Andrew,,, 72-year-old (beginner/intermediate-been playing for almost three years), I've had a few try to help me understand modes. You have done it the best. Thanks...I get it!

[@rodmandunn9062]

Great video! Not just a player but a teacher. Much gratitude and appreciation for the lesdon

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

Thank you so much :)

[@Squintillions]

2:44 was really helpful. I haven’t seen that presented that way before. That makes chord progressions in songs make more sense!

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

Awesome! So much of this stuff is much easier to understand than others make it seem. Thanks for watching :)

[@arliencortez3821]

Thanks for this hoping for more lessons to come❤️

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

Plenty more to come! Thanks for watching :)

[@user-tt1zj5pp5w]

An intersing thing is that when I stumbled into modal theory, it was described something like lowering or rising one or a few notes of a given major scale. It is definitely easier to sense th unique flavors of modes this way, but this video made a great job of simply connecting basic major scale knowledge to the complex topic of modes. It's quite hard to find such a grounded and straight-to-the-point kind of explanation. Big thanks!

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

Yes! That's an important way of looking at modes for sure. I just find it's easier to grasp the basics by looking at them as relative keys/scales first, then once you grasp the basic concept, you can look at them as parallel keys/scales so you can really hear the distinct sounds. Thank you very much for the kind words. :)

[@francisgregoryku3097]

I really love the way you explain things. Finished 2 music theory videos prior to this one on youtube that also covered modes and yours is by far my favorite explanation!

[@robertgertz6745]

Thanks for making this all make sense!

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

You’re very welcome!

[@JM-bs8gs]

I love your tutorial, I like how you use the fret board diagram and tabs to show what you are doing. Super clear lesson. thanks, I will sign up to your patron lesson. :)

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

So happy to hear that, thank you!

[@hastingschadza8644]

Finally, Been waiting for this for a minute

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

I hope you find it helpful!

[@camisover]

Thanks for sharing your knowledge in a way I can understand it. I've just watched this and everything makes sense now!

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

You're very welcome! Glad it worked for you :)

[@mikuyoss267]

With you I feel like, I can finally get the idea of music theory

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

I'm so happy to hear that! I'm confident you can :)

[@jamesmungall6669]

Loving these videos. Even things I thought were clear to me become much more intuitive after watching and listening. Keep working on this channel and you’re going to see subscribers increasing fast

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

So glad you're enjoying the videos. I really appreciate the kind words :)

[@kha_]

Mister, your videos are awesome, thank you.

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

Glad you like them! 🙏

[@Andresdha]

Dude your videos are killer! So clearly explained thanks!

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

Thank you! Glad you like them :)

[@stefanbogosavljevic]

Actually, when I saw this video, for the first time, I didn't understand modes that well, but now, after I saw the last video, from today, I came back again to this one, and now, for me, modes are totally understandable. Thank you so much!

[@drewdietz2115]

Another good one, keep em coming Andrew. thanks

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

Thanks! Will do 😀

[@PilgrimaticStone]

You explain this so well, thank you!

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

Glad it was helpful! Thanks for watchin!

[@pcanarsky]

I would love to see one on what to think about while soloing over changes (ie switching scales as the chords change, staying in the primary key/scale only, soloing in one key but hitting core tones as the keys pass, etc) I think you would have really good thoughts on that…

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

Great suggestion! I'd like to do more stuff on soloing now that I've covered a lot of foundational stuff.

[@lewisA76]

Andrew you make understanding this so easy. Brilliant work thank you

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

You're very welcome!

[@climbdaddyclimb]

Your vids are really helping me have lots of penny dropping moments. Cheers man.

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

I love hearing that! Cheers!

[@A_Train]

Explained so well!

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

Thanks! 😀

[@ObliviousBanana]

Undoubtedly the best teacher for guitar music theory out there, keep it up!

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

Thank you so much! 🙌

[@pradeeplal335]

Such a great explanation

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

Glad it was helpful!

[@TheKaves2]

Chords progressions explained with modes and a focus on where it resolves. That is great! And I imagine helps to identify scales to use over certain progressions to get the feel we may be after. But don’t quote me lol

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

You're thinking in the right direction! Thanks for watching :)

[@simenraaen6089]

Best video on KZbin

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

🙏❤

[@double-r4975]

Also, the term diatonic gets thrown around a lot here, might be nice to add a definition in there somewhere. Just a cursory Google search turned up: Diatonic - A diatonic scale is a type of music scale with seven notes. Diatonic scales has two semitone intervals (half steps) and five tone intervals (whole steps) within one octave. Diatonic scales use all seven pitch letter names (A, B, C, D etc.) in sequence without skipping any. -- For someone who has learned guitar mostly by ear, the relation to shifts in "pitches" in this definition clicked for me.

[@razidzakaria1343]

U r a master of all music teachers 😉👍

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

🙏🙏

[@philjames1019]

One of the finest lessons on MODES that I have ever watched .... well done mister!! I hope you don't mind, but I have just one question ... at 6:15 where you mention using Roman numerals for key reference, do you mind me asking why you didn't use lower case numerals for the minor keys/MODES?

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

Thank you! I do in more recent videos and I should have in this one. Sorry for any confusion!

[@paulpo999]

great video. for modal scales scales you show a diagram of a C major shape and play from the second degree for dorian or the fifth degree for mixolydian etc, - i get that. but when playing, do you mentally rename the mode's tonic as "1", or do you keep seeing it as the "5" of the major key scale (for mixolydian)? I keep getting confused because if i play from the "5" in the Cmaj shape (G), I'm in mixolydian. but if i don''t want to use the full seven note scale, i think G major pentatonic - and presto, the fifth degree of C major mentally becomes my 1 in the pentatonic box shape. Going back an forth between these two ways of thinking about the notes is mentally fatiguing. The only option i can think of is to learn 5 new seven note shapes for each mode where the mode's tonic is seen as the 1.That way i could go back and forth between the 7 note modal scale and pentatonic scale with the tonic staying as the 1 in my brain. But that seems like a waste since the modes all live in the 5 seven note major scale boxes i know so well.

[@Jamie-js3qw]

kinda disappointed in modes now - same pie, different slice? But, this guy is one talented teacher for cutting through the hype. Perhaps this is just the surface. Relating it to songs was excellent!

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

Haha, I know right? There is definitely a more advanced application of modes that you can get into from here. Namely, using parallel modes instead of just viewing them as relative scales. Thanks for checking out the video :)

[@arindamdas9712]

Plz make a beginner lesson to learning scales

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

Sure :) I can do that.

[@arindamdas9712]

@@andrewclarkeguitar yes .. how to connect scales and play in any key and turning into a solo .. plz .. we need a right pathaway to learn ❤️

[@mackiemjeez]

I do have a problem on my improvisation skill and I feel like I always did the same thing over and over again. I can't do good licks or cool stuffs myself😭 What should I practice or where should I start in your own opinion TYSM❤️

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

Have you gone through my two Improvisation lessons yet? Also, the one about playing between chords could be quite helpful.

[@swaroopdino1790]

Video on power chords

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

Sure!

[@jasond626]

Mind blown a bit.. Oct but really known about chord's being in different modes.. I've heard it more in scales.. only thing is videos I've watched on this, they modify the major scale or pentatonic b by flattering and sharpening notes.. that's different to what you showed at the end? Bit confused

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

What you're describing is using parallel scales rather than relative scales. Two ways to arrive at the same conclusion. For example, changing the notes in a D major scale so that it becomes D Mixolydian would be finding a parallel scale. Both scales would start on a D note, but the remaining notes would be different. In this video, we're finding relative scales. So starting a D major scale on the 5th note (A) would give us A Mixolydian. These scales would start on different notes, but every single note from the scales would be the same. I hope that helps a bit. It can get pretty confusing pretty fast.

[@jasond626]

@@andrewclarkeguitar still bit confused.. I understand the starting note more about the key. The modes in scales that I've seen is different to what you showed. Other videos I've seen show the variation in the major or pentatonic.. if you could do a more on depth video on scales that would be good. Plus scales you can move diagonally across the neck and not just in boxes. Would be good to see a video also on the different positions of the scales (major and pentatonic a good start). Would be helpful to refer back to. The g major scales I know starts on the 3rd fret but I've noticed you use a different scale shape for the major roadmap where you finished on the e (12 thb fret). You finished on that note..

[@zoniotdd992]

this is really well explained but i just need some more practice before i actually understand it at all

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

It's a lot of info for sure! You'll get it :)

[@S.E.Walker]

Help! My brain is breaking trying to understand this... I've watched a lot of video trying to explain modes, and I feel like every single explanation is missing some fundamental piece of info that makes the last 70% of the vid sound like gibberish to me... Here is where I keep getting tripped up: I get the basic idea that Dorian mode is taking the C-Major scale only using the 2nd degree, in this case D, as the tonic. Phrygian is using the 3rd degree as the tonic, etc all the way up the scale to Locrian. You can go through this process with any scale. This all makes sense. AND YET... this logically leads me to assume that if you say you're in the E Dorian scale, that means I should go to the E Major scale, and start playing it from the 2nd Degree! If you say C Dorian scale, I would assume that means go to the C-Major scale, and start playing it from the 2nd degree! BUT THEN the video will show me what they are calling the C Dorian scale, only it has 2 flats in it! Which it should not have if it's just playing from the 2nd degree of the C-Major scale! So clearly the thing that is labeled as "C Dorian" is NOT just playing from the 2nd Degree of C-Major. What am I missing? I think the answer lies in the difference between relative and parallel modes, but I cannot decipher it. Mostly I want to know why it doesn't work in the way I would assume. Saying, "hey, play this scale you already know starting on the X degree" seems way more straight-forward than whatever weird numeric alchemy gets me to a C Dorian with 2 flats.

[@pasqualealba]

👋👋👋

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

🙏🙏

[@Thegovernr3]

I wish I had an electric🤧

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

Electrics are great, but you can still do everything I teach in these videos on an acoustic guitar :)

[@user-no1cares]

Try this post at .75 playback speed. The rapid speech is more understandable.

[@Cherokie89]

I missed something. It looks like you pulled the major/minor/dim labels out of thin air

[@andrewclarkeguitar]

Check out my video in “Where Chords Come From”. It explains the major/minor formula in detail. :)

[@Podclips980]

how do i learn the actual chords lol

[@needtosayit]

Now I am even more confused.

[@meungawa]

Please stop upspeaking. You have such good content but upspeak is not professional for your image. Good descriptions!