The Idiots Guide to Modes on Bass (Fool Proof Method)
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- Опубликовано: 1 окт 2021
- If you're anything like me, you might cringe whenever you hear people talking about the modes. What are the modes for, anyway? Do they give you some kind of superpower? Maybe you shouldn’t worry about modes at all.
But there’s really nothing to fear. And in today’s new video I’m going to give you a quick-fire route to mastering them.
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About 5 years ago I stumbled onto SBL. After watching those videos my playing grew exponentially. Plus, I learned to solo up the entire neck and look super cool! lol
Thanks Scott!
This is easily your best video on this channel. you explained everything so well and im FINALLY moving around the fretboard in a way that makes sense, thank you so much
Cheers for that, glad you found this video useful!!
Overall a brilliant video! My only suggestion would have been to demonstrate each mode in the same key. I know the point of the video was to show all of these modes contained within c major, but I think in order to distinguish between each mode and get a good flavour for the sonics of each mode, playing it in the same key would have helped. A lot of videos on RUclips do the exact same thing, but I can only think of one video that demonstrates each mode in the same key.
Thanks again Scott for sharing your knowledge with us. I really appreciate this lesson because now I understand modes so much better. Your free lesson book is so beneficial and I enjoy practicing the exercises within the pages. I look forward to more from the shed my friend.
I think a better way to teach the modes would be to separate them into major (Ionian, Lydian, Mixolydian) and minor (Dorian, Phrygian, Aeolian) modes - and "that special" mode (Locrian).
Then you point out that: Ionian = "normal" major (1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8) and Aeolian = "normal" minor (1 - 2 - flat 3 - 4 - 5 - flat 6 - flat 7 - 8). Normal = most common/listened to
Then you point out the tension tones of the other ("not normal") modes (the tones THAT DIFFER from the two "normal" modes Ionian and Aeolian):
Dorian = minor without the flat 6
Phrygian = minor with a flat 2 AND without a flat 6
Lydian = major with a sharp 4
Mixolydian = major with a flat 7
Locrian = minor with a flat 2 AND a flat 5
Much useful than the 13:53 video.
Seems to me that this ADDS to the vid content, but *doesn’t* replace it
When you talk about "leaning into" the modes, then mention extended notation e.g., "#11", one thing I've found helpful for this is to think instead about where the half steps fall in a given mode--between 1&2, 5&6 in Phrygian, for example. That's helped my ears lean into the color inherent in each mode. Cheers for a impactful video! I particularly like how you suggested to drone on the E string and explore that tonic through its modes. Also, you play very fun + musical etudes over that drone rather than limited, sequenced scalar patterns, which naturally helps players engage in creating musically interesting stuff whilst practicing. ♥️
Dear scott, thank you. Apart from your incredible knowledge and bass playing I do really appreciate you singing your bass lines. I think thats so important for musical bass lines, a melody you can sing. Dear greetings from hamburg
As noted this lesson mainly discussed the definition of how to construct the modal scales but not provide much context for their applications. It would be nice to have a better historical sense of how the use of modes has evolved. From some limited reading I thought that before jazz (and possibly earlier) that modes were just a specific scale that your melodic composition stayed in. There wasn't really moving harmony and generally the tonic of the mode might be played to strongly root the melody against the tonic (otherwise it can be hard to clearly hear which mode is being used). At some point compositions started coming out that had one or more modal sections though this mean't that entire piece was no longer a purely singular mode piece. At some point some moving harmony was added within a modal section, possibly beyond just the defining tonic chord (Root, 3rd, 5th..etc..). As this evolved it has probably become more challenging to define a piece as purely modal since useful aspects of the modal concept have been cherry picked to come up with new applications. Hopefully anyone with a music history background could post some links that give some examples of this evolution.
What students really don't get is the application of the modes 🤦
Exactly... 🤦
@@hugotessier5138 thanks
@@hugotessier5138 In other words you are playing over the II chord in the key of C major.
Soo, can you play d Dorian over a C chord??
I understand the modes just no how to apply them
Very nice lesson Scott ! Thank you for sharing your knowledge ;-)
This video was a good start but what I don't really get is how to use modes over chord progression or when I should use them creating baselines
Chord progressions come from nodes themselves
You’re just changing your regular major/minor bassline by moving some notes a step down or up, creating a tricky chromatic sound, and this video tell you which notes to move and what should you get from it
See the reply from Hugo in the previous comment.
The half-steps in the scale give the mode it's characteristics.
Will help so much with neck mobility, knowing what notes are in key up and down the neck.
I guess it also depends, for me practicing the formulas (dorian - minor with a raised 6th, phrygian - minor with a flat 2nd etc) is when the penny finally dropped. Now modes are easy so there are ways to learn them but you need to expand the options, like with everything.
I LOVE this p- bass sooooo much, what an amazing instrument!! It just sound so crisp
thanks for the lesson. awhile ago my first bass teacher wrote out all the modes as if they were all played on G with a format similar to how chords can be written. I like this lesson, and it's good to hear the identity of all the notes, I've been just outlining the modes from using a major scale as you taught here.
However I lost that piece of paper a long time ago, and I really want to find another one lol, that way I can just pick a note and a mode and go go go. I think it could be a great visual reference to write out the patterns of the modes but all starting from maybe G or something!
Thank you man! How the hell could anyone dislike a video that teaches bass material for free???? Once again, thank you and all your crew for your time.
Hey Scott this is a very effective method! I gotta do a video like this, but more of a keyboard version :)
Great lesson! Thank you sir!!!
Asking How to apply the modes, is just like asking "How do I apply the major scale in a song?"
Modes are scales. We learn them taking the Major scale as a reference point (It's easier to explain and learn), but MODES ARE SCALES. You just have to get used to the sound in order to master its use.
There are two ways of apply the modes:
- In Harmony:
Creating a chord progression that sound modal, like ||: Cmaj7 | D/C :|| for a lydian sound, or ||: Fm | Bb :|| for a dorian sound.
How do I get this chords? I wanted a C lydian sound, so I look at the scale degrees and put the first degree there, in this case, a C major chord. Next step is to look for a chord that has the #4 since that note is the one that gives lydian that spacey-floaty-stevevaish sound. I chose the D. The bass in C is just because I know that sound more spaceyfloatystevaishy.
Same process for Dorian. I want an F dorian sound, so I put the Fm up front since it's my first chord in that mode (scale), and then I look for a chord that has the Natural 6 on it. I chose Bb. Done.
This is veeery basic modal chord progression composition, but it's a start.
- In Melody:
For this, you can do what Scott did, play a pedal note and play every mode over that pedal note. The "disadvantage" of this is that you don't hear any chord, so here's another excercise:
Play a C major (or any major triad chord), and over that, you can play C Ionian, C mixolydian or C lydian because those are the MAJOR MODES. The three of them contains the notes of the C major chord.
Play C minor (or any minor triad chord), and over that, you can play C dorian, C phrygian, C aeolian, because those are the MINOR MODES.
Play C diminished (or any diminished triad chord), and over that, you play C locrian. This is the diminished mode.
Once again, this is basic but it's a start.
Hope this helps!
Ídolo
Based
wish he would do a video breaking down those transition points on the neck where it allows you to move up and down the neck
excellent way to describe scales and modes in a simple way
This video is SO good!!
Wow 👏excellent lesson thank for shared it..
natural 13 ?? ok.. I still have a lot to learn... getting close to the end of the fretboard accelerator class.. which has been amazing and has really opened up the fretboard so that I can see the notes like never before. thanks for all you do Scott
"like a dare gone wrong" is my new description for everything now!
good to see you back at HQ again ....keep it up
ohhhh those are the shapes that make those spicy turkish-rock sounds, ive heard these my whole life and i revert to them when im improving
Helpful. Now.... hearing examples on how and when a bassist uses these , in a practical real world way, that would help a lot!
Outstanding simplicity teacher.
I understand the concept of the first part, that is starting each mode shape on the next scale degree progressing to the octave of that scale degree. Fine, but that adds no more harmonic content. Simply the same notes. The second part - are you saying to play the same SHAPES but always starting those shapes from the same root note, as you say E? For instance, E dorian SHAPE but starting on E rather than F#. This is what has always confused me. Thanks for any help. You rock!
Exactly, you get it just right. We learn the modes taking the major scale as a reference point (it's easier to learn and explain), but in practice and theory, modes are scales, so it´s important to think about them as individuals and not as something that come from any other scale.
The harmonic context is in the second part, when you jam around the mode (scale) and hear its particular sound.
Hope this helps!
A mode is just a scale. If you take a C major scale... and just transpose it to F, then you have an F major scale right? Same way, if you have a D dorian scale (starting on a root note of D), and transpose it to F (scale now starts on F), you have an F dorian scale.
If you have a pattern for C dorian... and you go up the neck 1 fret and play exactly the same pattern, you're playing C# dorian.
The first part is just an exercise to figure out what a dorian, phyrigian, lydian scale is... once you know the scale, you can transpose it to any starting note.
EDIT: I'm just reiterating what Guillermo already said.
The one thing this video didn’t go deep into is the scale shapes of the modes, that like the other guys said can start on any root note on the neck. Look up scale shapes for the modes and practice them starting on different root notes, then practice every mode or scale type on one root note like Scott’s doing. You’ll have to get that down before doing all the fancy variations he’s doing. Hope this helps!!
See: Tonic notes versus Root notes
If you play C Mixolydian. C is your tonic note, or the first note of the scale progression. But G remains the fundamental note of the arpeggio & chord structure, or the root note of the Mixolydian mode.
Thank you for noting that you compared the modes of the using one root for all
Great lesson
Nice board! Thanks.
It's interesting that the flat 5/sharp four is often considered dissonant or even ugly, but it turns up in the lydian mode which is considered brighter than the Ionian and frequently used to express a heroic or victorious mood.
Isn’t that also considered the “tri-tone”(I’m obviously a noob)…?
I understand the principle now. However I really don't want to overthink what I'm playing, and not really for me.
But anyone else with a faster working brain than mine will benefit from this. A game changer for someone.
wow this is amazing
Damn, i have no idea what you are talking but the sound of your bass is awesome!!
Really helped, thank you
Glad you found this helpful!!
Thanks Scott
Watching the very cool video on the modes and have a related question...What are the chord tones for stuff like flat 3's, flat 6's, flat 7's and such? In other words what related notes theoretically fit when playing a measure of the above listed degrees?
thank you scott for the lesson ,actually the video explains about modes in the key of major but how to play in key of a minor please?
Great info. I occasionally hear the mode names used to describe chords. I'm reasonably familiar with modes and chord construction. What is meant when a chord is called by a mode name?
Man, that was NOT for beginners!
Absolutely magical, tho - & I *do* have a better grasp, or the beginnings of one
Thanks as always…now, back to the Fretboard Accellerator
it's gold, thk u dude
👊🏻👊🏻👊🏻
very clear stuff
music theory is actually quite simple if you look at it from a very basic perspective
a combination of:
simple maths 1-7 or 1-12
simple alphabet A-G
common sense and logic
if we use our hands and count on our fingers like a child(try it) would thenits possible to have a basic good understanding of music and intervals theoretically then apply that to our instrument
I like this but I have to echo a comment I saw by someone else. I find it much easier to understand Dorian by thinking in terms of an Aeolian/natural minor scale with a raised 6 (rather than a natural 13), to understand Phrygian as an Aeolian/natural minor having a flat 2 (rather than a flat 9), Lydian as an Ionian/major scale with an augmented 4 (as opposed to thinking a raised 11.). Good job though, sorry if I sound critical. I understood what you meant but I was just thinking that someone less familiar with modes might be confused at first, not realizing that the simple intervals are changed as well as the compound ones. So I really wrote this comment not to correct you, but to maybe clarify it for someone else who may not understand. Music theory can be a headache - but when a light bulb goes on - it's exciting!
Can you talk about some great Gave nelson basslines? I will survive, shot skirt and a long jacket, the distance so many morw
that fretboard is beautiful scott! what wood is it?
The modes!!
My main question about gear is: How do I Setup a distortion Pedal to Sound really well in the mix? Its too loud or too silent or too disturbing.
Anyways Great explanation!
It would have saved my Octaver years ago!
Best title ever
The fretboard looks mmwwaah! What bass is this?
When talking about the progressions you use upper or lower case roman numerals. At least that is what I was taught when I was in theory class. Any major cord uses an upper case and minor uses lower case. Kinda nitpicky I know, but you'll see it notated that way. Also the 7th cord is a diminished cord which just means it is a minor chord with a lowered 5th. You may see the cord written with the cord letter and a small circle which means the same as a minor chord with the lowered 5th. But hey, its a good introduction either way. Some one that doesn't have much background in theory should be able to pick up the concept pertty much right off the bat, then learn other ways of identifying the nodes.
Can we get a bass breakdown on It Gets Funkier 1 by Vulfpeck? I think Ian would do a great job with that bass line. Maybe a new episode of the greatest bass lines of all time?🤔
Wow, I just listened to that song for the first time bc of this, and it is incredible!
everything was going very well and I was really understanding it up until 8:30 of the video... just got lost. Was hoping to see the E in every mode on a scale just like what you did starting from the 5:07 of the video.
Gonna buy my first bass next week! its a Ibanez GSR 205B WNF. Super exited. its a 5 string tho, any tips?
Learn to play with other musicians early on...learn the notes of the fretboard..memorize them
I understood everything until the E Ionian, where you started playing the E Ionian across the fretboard. How do you know which notes ? Is there a pattern? I might have missed something. How do you create an E Ionian and tell that apart from an E Phygian ? If I'm correct, the E Ionian is basically the E major scale, but he started playing notes outside of that scale pattern up and down the fretboard. I want to know why ? Is that a specific pattern. I'm still learning about modes and scales. I just found that part confusing, as someone that is still trying to grasp this concept.
That's exactly where I got lost too 🤦🏻
same
the face at 10:53 *puresatisfaction* 😄
what is that riff being played right at the beginning up and down neck?
Чувак я тебя искал, самый лучший обзорщик!
I picked up an old bass that my family had a while ago, and have fallen in love with the instrument. Unfotunately i cant afford lessons(no money) but have somewhat taught myself the basics about the instrument. Anyone have any tips on what to learn, practice, look into, in order to get better. Something straightforward that will help improve my playing.
this modal content is exactly what I would recommend. being that you are already here, I would suggest just learning basslines to songs that you like, the simpler the better to start with. work your way up until you can play sir duke by stevie wonder cleanly and then youll be somewhere near intermediate.
Focus on technic early on. Learn good principles from the get go and you won't establish bad habits that will become harder to break later on. Learn to play notes cleanly, mute open strings to reduce hums and rattles, and proper right hand technic. And patience, patience, patience: Anything you can't play slow you won't be able to play fast. Focus on learning the notes of the strings. This doesn't mean having to memorize every single note up and down the fretboard. But focus on the "Money Notes" for the bass guitar which are going to be mostly through the first 5 frets. Once you get those down, then you'll see the pattern emerge as you go up the board. Once you know where the notes are at, then you can start to learn alternate finger patterns for the same scale. Learn how to play C Major scale using multiple different fingering patterns. This will give you different 'paths' you can take to walk up and down the fretboard from one chord to the next. Learn to play: Another One Bites the Dust, Stand By Me, You Really Got Me, Cream - Sunshine of your love. No shortage of videos out there was tabs for beginner bass songs.
Learn the notes of the fretboard..I wish Ida done that early on..learn them like the back of your hand...itll make learning everything else easier. Learn songs from every genre of music...and most importantly..in my opinion is get out and jam with other musicians...I can play melodies on bass all day ..literally but even after 25 years of playing and being in bands I still have a hard time at jam sessions..I manage but it would've been easier had I did what I told you earlier in my bass playing "career "
I wish this video existed when I first started learning modes
I always felt like D Dorian is "C major from D to d"
How It clicked for me was treating a pentatonic scale like the "Meat'n'potatoes" and then adding the 4 and 7 (for the major modes) or 2 and 6 (for minor) as the spices... works for all but locrian but.. you know... it's locrian.
The way I learnt them was as each seperate pattern of the major scale. Problem is remembering all the patterns
It’s moments like this I’m glad I skipped theory and went straight to gigging. 😉
Ok in the practice example E Lydian and E Dorian. E Lydian is the A maj scale starting on the 5th scale note and the E Dorian is the D maj scale starting on the 2nd scale note? Or was he playing the Lydian and Dorian modes of the E maj scale?
😵🤒.........😂... Nope ! This is your first proposition , the good scales : E lydian is A Maj starting on the 5th and ..... 😉
@@relaxmax6808 you didn’t answer my question. But thanks for replying.
Scott, what is your favourite out of all the basses you’ve ever played or own(ed)? Cheers!
When discussing Cmaj7 as base chord, you referred to ii as D Dorian. When you switched to Emaj7 as base, all modes were E___ (eg E Dorian). Which is the accepted convention?
Thanks!
Someone correct me if I'm wrong but from what I understood, at the start, Scott was only in the key of C when he was introducing the different modes. When he started talking about how to practice the modes, he used E as the base note but he didn't mean you're always in the key of E. So if you're practicing E Ionian, you're in the key of E. If you're practicing E Dorian, you're actually in the key of D.
Basically, the idea is your I chord is always the Ionian, the II chord is always the Dorian and so on and so forth.
@@dokgu , thanks. I was just discussing with my teacher who explained as you do.
@@carltonadams2174 well I'm glad I didn't give the wrong information. I'm new to modes and they have always confused me.
"The modes" .. I hear this so often. I wish it would be reframed as "modes of the major scale".. there are so many mode families and thousands of modes within them 🤔
Instructions were unclear, now I am Victor Wooten.
guess I must be an idiot then.. coz this was a eye opener ! :P
I'm confused on how to play the modes starting with the root positions . I need help
Whatttttttttttttt was that you did with the LOCRIAN......wow
I’m waiting for someone to record a spirited Locrian jam.
Dear Scott , could you tell me what "modes" mean exactly in french pls
All this time I was wondering what do modes mean, meanwhile I’ve always been playing them without knowing
modes scale derive from greek's music, the names is from every region they came from except mixolydian
One of my students once came up with an acronym for remembering the modes in order;
I
Don’t
Phucking
Like
Making
Acronyms
Lol
Obviously doesn’t work with younger students ha but great for the adults!
The Flydian mode.... when one space is not enough!! Lol.
8:30 he went from just doing the classic scale to modes on the entire fretboard ! There is a part missing ! Can't follow that I'm lost.
LODES of MODES!!!!
Still confused as how to use them
Scott, are you aware that back in the olden days of the church, the locrian mode was banned or at least frowned upon and anything musical that was centered on this mode. Basically anything with flat 5 in it was omitted (AKA “devil tone”) There are still some authors of music theory books that continue to omit this information.
It would be awesome if you could cover the history of the modes to include where they got their names. Anyway, Great job with these videos, you’re truly a talented player!!
just practice E Ionion and i'm like, sorry what should i practice now? till here was all good 😞
Made a little more sense the 2nd listen
i still feel like a MODAL idiot!!!! LOL
Why is everbody saing Phygian as frigian? There is no R... am i Missing something?
9:51
I will never remember those names I get the mode ok but I will have to stick with the numbers.
a very nice lesson too bad I don't understand English well I find it difficult to understand the lesson 😥😥😥😢😢😢
the first mode is " sea eye onion "
You had me screaming eureka with your first chart and then you skipped 27 lessons and I have no idea what’s up
So, is a D Dorian a scale that starts on D but uses only the notes from the C major scale and an E Phrygian seems to be a scale on E that only uses C major notes and so on. But then you move onto an E Dorian, which might be an E scale that uses only D major notes, perhaps, ormaybe not. That was where you lost me, so it's not a foolproof as you might have thought. It's like when you learn a foreign language, you can hear the words, but there's no meaning.
Clearly, I should stick to chemistry and just keep playing along with ZZ Top and Status Quo.
In the dumbest terms I can make it:
1. Find the scale your most comfortable with
2. Take the first (lowest/root) note out of the scale
3. Go up one note higher on the scale
4. Repeat (2&4) until you find yourself an octave higher in the same scale
Hope this helps for any punks like myself who don't speak fancy theory.
Much love and good luck
Nice💪🏾
root is king
You say you can build chords from all the notes of the major scales but then don't say how they are built, you just shoot them out. Disappointing that you miss out that type of detail, and what the purpose of learning them us. That would put me off joining the SBL. The video lasts a long time but sadly I don't find it informative.
Scale C Major harmonized : CM7 Dm7 Em7 FM7 G7 Am7 Bm7b5 . Example : CM7 ( C Major , 7 Major ) , notes are : C (1) + E (3M) + G(5) + B (7M ) ( M is for Major )
A Third Major is composed of 2 tones , a third minor is composed of 1 tone + 1 half tone . Fifth is composed of 3 tones and 1 half .
@@relaxmax6808 That explains how Scotty built the chords. As I said though, it doesn't provide a clear explanation as to what the nodes are and how those chords relate to them. By doing some research I kind of figured it out elsewhere but Scotty isn't thinking about how people with limited music theory will make sense of this.
The easiest way to introduce the modes is to state that they are a sequence of 7 notes from the major scale, and that the Ionian starts from the root note, which is C from the C major scale Dorian from the second note of the scale which is D etc. Instead you launch into chord building and don't say what method is used to build the chords. Sometimes Scotty you need to take a step back and think like somebody who has only limited music theory and wants a simple definition and then how it might be of value to them. By analogy, suppose you are trying to explain a water pump for home heating. What does it do, ( pumps hot water around house through radiators) and how does it work ( electric motor with turning blades) Using that analogy it is almost like you are talking about impeller design, flow rates v rpm setting first instead of explaining that it circulates hot water and is powered by electricity. I know you mean well and applaud your enthusiasm, but it is important to see things from other viewpoints. You adopted a similar approach to the numbers system. If I was explaining it I would have started off by saying that was a method of categorising chord sequences, then gone on to show how it was derived.
You played the same shape for each mode. Now I’m confused.
The modes are within the major scale. Meaning you have the steps whole whole half whole whole whole half right? And when you now start at the second step for example meaning whole half whole whole whole half whole then thats not the major scale anymore because the starting point is a different one. The tonic isn't the first step anymore but the second. Meaning if you have the Ionian mode (which means major basically) in c then that's C D E F G A B. When you now start from the second one that's D E F G A B C and that's the D Dorian mode now. When you do the same thing from the third position meaning you use the E as the tonic you end up with E phrygian. So you'll quickly notice that D Dorian and E phrygian and F lydian and G mixolydian and A aeolian and B locrian use the exact same notes as the c major scale but you're simply using a different starting point (tonic) with each mode.
@@Homanjer Holy Shit thank you. This comment helped more than this entire video.
@@Homanjer good comment
Thanks!
What’s the point of picking a root tone and playing the different modes using that root? Each time you do you’re really changing keys and bringing in the different chromatic tones. Also, I don’t know what lines you’re playing with each of these modes so…. I understand modes, I understand chord construction. I think if I had a bass-less backing track with an established chord pattern and some guide or lines to play over that helps you understand what the modes are doing, that is the final piece of the puzzle for me. But really, the chord tones are what you always focus on anyway.
Wait... What?
I mean, I sort of get it. But not really.