Most of us begin with the Ionian mode then move on to Dorian and progress up the fretboard in this way until we’ve learned all seven positions of the major scale. While this can be an effective way of learning modes, in this lesson you will learn a shortcut that will allow you to quickly and easily learn all seven modes by starting with Lydian and simply lowering one note at a time until you can play all seven modes on the fretboard.
When learning how to play the seven major modes on the guitar, most of us begin with the Ionian mode then move on to Dorian and progress up the fretboard in this way until we’ve learned all seven positions of the major scale.
While this can be an effective way of learning modes, in this lesson you will learn a shortcut that will allow you to quickly and easily learn all seven modes by starting with Lydian and simply lowering one note at a time until you can play all seven modes on the fretboard.
When learning the modes in this way, by changing one note between each subsequent mode, you will practice them out of the normal order.
Here is the normal order of the major modes for review.
• Ionian
• Dorian
• Phrygian
• Lydian
• Mixolydian
• Aeolian
• Locrian
When working them from the one-note changing perspective, you wind up with this order of modes.
• Lydian
• Ionian
• Mixolydian
• Dorian
• Aeolian
• Phrygian
• Locrian
Start by learning the modes, memorizing them in the new order so you can use the one-note changing method. From there,