A few years ago I released 2 in-depth videos on the modes for bass guitar. They were both 45 minutes long (which is LONG for a Youtube bass lesson). So here we have a quick outline of what the modes are with a brief tip on how you can apply them.
Modes Explained In Record Time
Modes are scales created by playing the major scale starting from a different degree.
There are seven different modes in a major key:
Ionian
Dorian
Phrygian
Lydian
Mixolydian
Aeolian
Locrian
If we take the C major scale as an example and start from the root, we get the C Ionian mode:
C D E F G A B
If we start this scale from the second degree we get the Dorian mode.
D E F G A B C
Start from the third and you get the Phrygian mode and so on…
E F G A B C D
Here are the seven modes of C major:
Mode 1 – C D E F G A B
Mode 2 – D E F G A B C
Mode 3 – E F G A B C D
Mode 4 – F G A B C D E
Mode 5 – G A B C D E F
Mode 6 – A B C D E F G
Mode 7 – B C D E F G A
In reality, we refer to these modes by their Greek name rather than a number. Here are the names again:
Mode 1 – Ionian
Mode 2 – Dorian
Mode 3 – Phrygian
Mode 4 – Lydian
Mode 5 – Mixolydian
Mode 6 – Aeolian
Mode 7 – Locrian
Practising Modes
As an exercise, we can play the C major scale starting from the 3rd fret of the A string, and then work up through each mode.
Try this exercise in other keys so you can apply the modes to any song you come across. A good order to practice this in is the cycle of fourths.
Applying Modes
The most important thing to learn when it comes to modes is the chord associated with each scale. An arpeggio can be created from any scale by taking every other note. If we do this to every note in the C major scale then we get all the chords in the key of C major:
I – C Major
ii – D Minor
iii – E Minor
IV – F Major
V – G Major
vi – A Minor
vii – B Diminished
We can also extend these triads to make them 7th chords:
I – C Major 7
ii – D Minor 7
iii – E Minor 7
IV – F Major 7
V – G7
vi – A Minor 7
vii – B Minor 7b5
Using this set of chords, we can label chord progressions by number:
C | Am | Dm | G
I | vi | ii | V
Note: When we write about chords, we use Roman numerals to represent the numbers. We use uppercase numerals for major chords and lowercase numerals for minor chords.
Now we have numbered the chords, we can match each one to a mode:
I – C Major 7 – C Ionian
ii – D Minor 7 – D Dorian
iii – E Minor 7 – E Phrygian
IV – F Major 7 – F Lydian
V – G7 – G Mixolydian
vi – A Minor 7 – A Aeolian
vii – B Minor 7b5 – B Locrian
The modes can be applied over the relevant chord to give you a pallet of notes within the key that you can use to create melodies and basslines.
If we take the chord sequence from earlier, we can now see what modes we can apply over each chord:
I – C Major – C Ionian
vi – Am – A Aeolian
ii – Dm – D Dorian
V – G – G Mixolydian
As another exercise, try improvising around this chord sequence using the relevant modes. Notice how each mode has a unique sound and gives a slightly different flavour to the song.
Mark, thank you so much for sharing your knowledge of the bass guitar. I am on disability and really appreciate the chance to learn to play so one day i can be in the band at church.
i hope you are doing well bro keep it ip
Excellent lesson as always Mark….a video wall chart…haha…..many thanks for your work and expertise…a pleasure to watch.
Naming and numbering scale degrees has so many advantages…learning the modes (fingering shapes) in all keys is a great way to learn the fretboard, and then life on the bass becomes much more simple, not to mention coping with the question…”I don’t want to play the root note all the time….what can I play over this”. Please keep up the great work.
My brother thank you so much.
Hello Mark, I can not find pdf to download this lesson….
Excellent
I’ve found this very interesting, thank you.
Thiz was really helpful!
gonna be much better than before.
Thankz much🙏💪
Explained perfectly! One of the best examples.
Where’s the Barbarian Mode and what is it? I heard Dave LaRue Mention it in a Youtube video where it’s an Interview by SweetWater.
Before that, I never heard of it. Perhaps he meant B Locrian?