Guitar Modes

Want to know what guitar modes are and how to play them? You’ve come to the right place

The diagram in this article is one of the best images/patterns I’ve come across for all guitar modes in the one spot

It is very much worth our while to learn these guitar modes by heart as they are extremely useful for improvisation

The white circles are the root note i.e. they are where you start to get the scale of the required key signature

What are Guitar Modes

Guitar Modes are essentially next level guitar scales that come in extremely useful when trying to improvise especially when key signatures change

For example you can use the Ionain mode for any major chords, the Dorian mode for any minor chords and the Mixolydian for any dominant 7th chords e.g. Ionain mode for G major, Dorian for E minor and Mixolydian for B dominant 7 just to name a few.

You can also use guitar modes in the same key signature for example in the key of C you may use the Ionian for the C major chord, the Dorian for the Dm and the Mixolydian for the G7.

Regarding the other modes I’ll let you do some research and see what are the chords and keys where these modes are applicable.

You may also want to do some further research on the Dorian and Mixolydian modes as yes they can be used for minor and 7th chords but what other chords can they be used with?

I know I’ve only touched on a few examples and there are way more applications of modes then what’s been mentioned in this article.

If you have any further questions or are still confused please reach out via the comments section below

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