Essential Modal Scales for Guitarists

How the Guitar Modal Scale Workout Started

Back in the 1990s, I was teaching guitar lessons at Lentine’s Music in Akron, Ohio. I was teaching 6 days a week and playing gigs at night on the weekends. Before the internet, before cell-phones, before YouTube lessons… you had to take lessons in person from an actual person.

I have a lot of great memories from those years. Consequently, at one point I had over 70 students per week and a waiting list of another 20-30 people waiting for cancellation spots. As much as I’d like to think I was good at my job, the truth is; I was learning just as much from my guitar students as they were learning from me.

As a result, I still feel that way today.

The Modal Scale Exercise for Guitarists

This ‘Modal Workout’ started off as a hand written scribble on some music paper that I handed out to advanced students as a challenging exercise.

The ‘workout’ provided the additional benefit of memorizing sequences and shapes in a key. Very useful for building improvisational skills along with a strong technical foundation on guitar.

When I started my website, one of the first things I offered to the wonderful guitarists who joined my email list was this Guitar Modal Workout. A simple 2 page PDF.

No instructions, no explanation, no text; just the same exercise I was handing out to students over 25 years ago.

The funny thing was, people still loved it!

Last week I was doing some website maintenance and noticed something that struck me. The little Modal Workout I started back in the 90s had gotten over 20,000 downloads. (!!!)

I finally got around to organizing it a bit better and with more explanation and thoughts on Guitar Modal Scales in general. I took a few excerpts from my online guitar lessons and included them here as accompaniment to fill things out.

There is much to explore down the modal theory rabbit-hole. I offer only the tip of the iceberg in this little guide. As always, I encourage you to take your own studies deeper and beyond what you can get from any one source.

The Guitar Modal Workout Book

Here’s what you can get in the new Guitar Modal Workout:

• 45 Page, Full Color eBook (PDF works on any device)
• Explanation of the Major Scale.
• Circle of Keys Explained.
• What a mode is and how to build them in any key.
• How modes and chords relate to each other on the guitar fretboard.
• All 7 Mode Shapes (block shapes).
• 3 note-per-string shapes.
• Melodic Minor Mode shapes.
• Harmonic Minor Mode shapes.
• How modes overlap on the guitar neck.
• How to build sequences across modal scales.
• The original Modal Scale Workout.
• The updated 2020 Modal Scale 2.0 Workout.
• TAB and Standard Notation.
• The Modal Workout is now available in paperback!

Practicing modal scales on the guitar

Working on modal scales is a great way to improve your understanding of music theory and expand your improvisation skills. Here are some exercises you can try:

1. Learn the Modes: Start by learning the seven modes of the major scale – Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, and Locrian. Each mode has a unique sound and characteristic that you can explore.

2. Practice Scale Patterns: Practice playing each mode in different positions on the fretboard using scale patterns. Start with one mode at a time, ensuring you can play it smoothly and accurately before moving on to the next.

3. Scales Sequences: Try playing the modes in different sequences such as thirds, fourths, fifths, or in a zig-zag pattern. This will help you become more fluent in moving between different modes.

4. Modal Interchange: Experiment with modal interchange by switching between modes within a progression. This can help you understand how different modes create unique harmonic colors.

5. Guitar Jam Tracks: Practice playing modal scales over backing tracks or loops in different keys. This will help you improvise and develop your ear for modal sounds.

6. **Use a Metronome**: Practice your modal scales with a metronome to improve your timing and precision. Start slow and gradually increase the tempo as you become more comfortable. Remember to focus on both technique and musicality while practicing modal scales. Consistent practice and experimentation will help you internalize the sounds of each mode and incorporate them into your playing effectively.