Jazz Guitar Lessons: Modes of the Major Scale
One of the keys to jazz improvisation is getting comfortable with the modes of the Major Scale: Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, and Locrian.
In the key of C, for example, the Dorian mode would start one full step up, making D the first degree of the scale. This is called D Dorian. The rest of the scale would follow the original pattern for C, meaning that half steps would fall on the third and the seventh note in the scale, rather than the fourth and eighth.
The Phrygian mode moves the first degree up two steps, making E Phrygian, and so on up through the modes to Locrian.
In using these modes to play over chord progressions in the key of C, you can stack thirds within the mode to create triads (chords outlines created by adding a third up from the root and then a third up from the third).
You can also stack fourths and fifths and create arpeggios of the modes in the scale as you play over chords in the key of C.
In the above video, Andreas Oberg plays the scales, triads, arpeggios, stacked intervals and chromatics for each of the modes in the key of C as an exercise to get comfortable playing the modes over chords.
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These modes and the various approaches to the modes are a key part of becoming a facile jazz improv guitarist and they are all taught at Andreas’ ArtistWorks Jazz & More Guitar School. There are several free jazz guitar lessons available here for you to explore.
Related Jazz Guitar Blogs:
- Jazz Guitar Lesson on Ghost Notes
- Jazz Guitar: Pentatonic Jazz Guitar Scales
- Cool Jazz Guitar Licks from Andreas Oberg
- Jazz Guitar with Chuck Loeb: The 6 Positions
- Jazz Guitar: Approach Notes & Neighbor Tones
- Jazz Guitar Lesson on Constructing Arpeggios
- Guitar Lessons with Martin Taylor: Improvising over Jazz Chords
- Guitar Lessons with Andreas Oberg: Jazz Comping