Hello all.... & The best way?

[Dude]

I'd like to say hello. This is by far the very best sight out there for teaching, I've seen em all, and my hat is off to you Stone,your a class act.
I'm 34 and have been playing a year and a half. I know the major and minor pent. scales up and down and have a good grasp of the major (ionian). The minor scale is giving me alittle difficulty, cuz I am so used to the major scale I tend to forget were I am at times on the minor, I figure more practice and more practice will solve this.
I guess my question is... What is the proper order for learning these scales? Modes have eluded me and I am now beginning to get a grasp of them (thanks to your page)
so I of course want to learn them all at once and right now!!!! Should I first learn the Major scale and Minor scale so I can do it in my sleep before moving on to the other Modes? Or can I filter in a little bit of every thing?
I know it works different for each person. What worked best for you? Any sugjestions?
I hope you follow my rambling, I just wanna make the most of my practice time,and I don't really have alot of structure.
Thanks again for the work you have done on this page........

[StoneDragon]

There are several ways to go about it.

If you know the Maj and min pentatonic, then you could try it this way:

Take the maj pentatonic and learn the intervals that you are playing (1 2 3 5 6). In order to turn that scale into three of the modes, all you have to do is add 2 intervals. If you add a 4 and a 7, you get Ionian. If you add a #4 and a 7, you get Lydian. If you add a 4 and a b7, you get Mixolydian. Use the pentatonic patterns that you already know and just learn where to put the new intervals to get the mode.

It's the same with the min pentatonic (1 b3 4 5 b7). If you add a 2 and a 6, you get Dorian. If you add a 2 and a b6, you get Aeolian. If you add a b2 and a b6, you get Phrygian.

The only mode left out is Locrain, but once you know the Phrygian very well, all you have to do is flat the 5 and you get Locrian.

Another way to do it would be to take any one pattern that you know for the major scale (Ionian) and learn to turn it into each of the other modes by sharping or flatting the correct intervals. Once you get that down, then do the same thing with another Ionian pattern.

A third way would be to learn one pattern for each of the modes and practice playing in every key using that one pattern and moving it to different spots on the fingerboard.

Another way to do it would be to think relative. Figure out what the major scale would be to give you the mode you need. A lot of players do it this way.

In other words, if you want to play A Dorian, you can play G major (Ionian) and get the exact same notes. If you want C Mixolydian, then you could play F major and get the exact same notes.

One of the tricks that I used was every day I would pick a mode and key. Everything that I played that day had to be in that mode and key. Since there are seven days in a week and seven modes, it worked out pretty well. It really forced me to explore those modes as well. If I wanted to jam on some chords, then I had to figure out which chords to play in order to be in the right mode. If the key for the day was Bb, then I didn't have any choice.... Bb it was.

[Dude]

Thanks for the response.....
You gave me a lot to examine. I think I will take the realative angle and see how that works.....

[StoneDragon]

Just keep in mind with that approach that you have to really use your ears not your eyes.

You have to find the resolution notes inside the pattern.... otherwise you will end up trying to resolve your lines around the "wrong" notes.

In other words, let's say you are trying to play over a progression that is begging for Mixolydian:

CMaj - BbMaj - Fmaj - F/A - BbMaj - CMaj

C mixolydian would be the scale of choice.

Now... C Mixolydian is the same notes as F Major. the only difference is that you need to resolve your lines around the C note... not the F note! If you think F major, the tendency is to try and resolve to the F note. Instead, you need to resolve to the C note within the F scale.

[Dude]

LOL !!!!!!!!

Funny you say that.....
I've been fighting with that all day http://www.zentao.com/ubb/smilies/smile.gif