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Learning to play in key all over the neck

Atomic

Member
Joined
Jun 13, 2003
Messages
5
Location
Long Island, New York
Try this modal approach is called modes of G major. You can reapply this to any key.
This example has the three the note per string mode scales I worked out, the reason for three note per sting, apart from the obvious ease to play and memorize, was that each mode would overlap with the mode previous and the mode following it so moving between them was a sinch.

For example take a song in e dorian. Dorian is the second mode (major dorian phrygian lydian mixolydian locrian) you can sound in key by say starting in e dorian but running up the fingerboard on the d string and playing in the g lydian, or f# phrygian, or any of the modes of d major which has you covered for the entire fingerboard.

Practice these modes in sequence like I have in the tab, practice going up in one mode and coming down in another from the note you land on at the end of the first mode. Practice changing between modes half way through them.

One way that I have found very useful is to set your metronome going at say 80bpm, start in B dorian and just play up the scale for four beats two notes per beat, for the next four beats move to Bb dorian and play up the scale, the switch back to B dorian, when you get to the top come back down constantly switching between B and Bb every four beats.

Hope you find this useful

I know I left out the modes of harmonic and melodic minors but I think this is a good place to start.

G major
|------------------------------------------------|
|-------------------------------------5--7--8----|
|----------------------------4--5--7-------------|
|-------------------4--5--7----------------------|
|----------3--5--7-------------------------------|
|-3--5--7----------------------------------------|


A dorian
|------------------------------------------------|
|-------------------------------------7--8-10----|
|----------------------------5--7--9-------------|
|-------------------5--7--9----------------------|
|----------5--7--9-------------------------------|
|-5--7--8----------------------------------------|


B phrygian
|------------------------------------------------|
|-------------------------------------8-10-12----|
|----------------------------7--9-11-------------|
|-------------------7--9-10----------------------|
|----------7--9-10-------------------------------|
|-7--8-10----------------------------------------|


c lydian
|------------------------------------------------|
|------------------------------------10-12-13----|
|----------------------------9-11-12-------------|
|-------------------9-10-12----------------------|
|----------9-10-12-------------------------------|
|-8-10-12----------------------------------------|


d mixolydian
|------------------------------------------------|
|------------------------------------12-13-15----|
|---------------------------11-12-14-------------|
|------------------10-12-14----------------------|
|---------10-12-14-------------------------------|
|10-12-14----------------------------------------|


e aolean
|------------------------------------------------|
|------------------------------------13-15-17----|
|---------------------------12-14-16-------------|
|------------------12-14-16----------------------|
|---------12-14-15-------------------------------|
|12-14-15----------------------------------------|


f# locrian
|------------------------------------------------|
|------------------------------------15-17-19----|
|---------------------------14-16-17-------------|
|------------------14-16-17----------------------|
|---------14-15-17-------------------------------|
|14-15-17----------------------------------------|
 
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