Infusing Your Playing with Modes and Scales

M

midgod07

Active member
Been playing for awhile and HATE the idea of playing boxes and scales . . . What recommendations do you have for sprinkling new and different modes and scales into your playing? I just tend to get stuck playing up and down a scale. Frustrating.
 
To keep my ear fresh I watch TV and figure out every piece of music. Shows, movies, commercials, absolutely everything in real time. Unfortunately the political season is over....by far the best music available. Dark oppressive themes with interesting harmonic content.

TGP section on this topic has a number of excellent teachers that are regulars. You will get much more interactive responses there.
https://www.thegearpage.net/board/index.php?forums/playing-and-technique.30/
 
kmanick said:
Frank Gambale has a DVD "Modes mystery no more" that really helped me understand how to play modally back in the day.
Still some of the best explanations and examples I've seen to date
Click to expand...
This is a great one . Frank also pulls licks out of the modes no one else does . For me I just made my self love buying books like these
 
midgod07 said:
Been playing for awhile and HATE the idea of playing boxes and scales . . . What recommendations do you have for sprinkling new and different modes and scales into your playing? I just tend to get stuck playing up and down a scale. Frustrating.
Click to expand...
Honestly, I would say stop looking at it from a perspective of modes and scales. Even if you know the box, scales etc, use that as a guide of what notes you want to "get" to, or arrive at, but the journey inbetween those notes is the "outside the pattern/box" you need to think about.

Whenever I get in these ruts, i just watch a Marty Friedman lesson because his way of exploring the notes and choices we all use, it is what makes us unique to one another. I would say explore and express what you want to hear, with what notes are inside your head that you enjoy hearing.


When I come up with phrasing and leads, i usually have something in my head that I want to play/express, but HOW i get to and forth back with these note selections is key to fundamentally sound different than up and down scales. Don't think scales, fk the rules and fk the scales.. use what sounds GOOD TO YOUR ears.
 
stephen sawall said:
To keep my ear fresh I watch TV and figure out every piece of music. Shows, movies, commercials, absolutely everything in real time. Unfortunately the political season is over....by far the best music available. Dark oppressive themes with interesting harmonic content.

TGP section on this topic has a number of excellent teachers that are regulars. You will get much more interactive responses there.
https://www.thegearpage.net/board/index.php?forums/playing-and-technique.30/
Click to expand...
That’s really interesting. I find myself doing that too, but then don’t always remember what I play. I also have a hard time “unboxing” myself. I swear learning scale boxes is more curse than help.
 
CLUBTURBO said:
Well Out Of 4 Scales
Major
Minor
Harmonic minor
Melodic minor

The Harmonic Minor
Stands Out The Most.

The Rest Along Witn
The 7 Modes All
Use The Same
Notes, Short Of
The Fingering Order.

Learning One Scale
Really Well On The
Guitar Like The Hermonic
Is More Revealing About The Rest
Of The Scales / Modes.

Not To To Hard
Click to expand...
I know a few scales I am just at this point struggling not to play them in a scalar fashion. Keep it interesting. Hard to do
 
lessarti said:
Honestly, I would say stop looking at it from a perspective of modes and scales. Even if you know the box, scales etc, use that as a guide of what notes you want to "get" to, or arrive at, but the journey inbetween those notes is the "outside the pattern/box" you need to think about.

Whenever I get in these ruts, i just watch a Marty Friedman lesson because his way of exploring the notes and choices we all use, it is what makes us unique to one another. I would say explore and express what you want to hear, with what notes are inside your head that you enjoy hearing.


When I come up with phrasing and leads, i usually have something in my head that I want to play/express, but HOW i get to and forth back with these note selections is key to fundamentally sound different than up and down scales. Don't think scales, fk the rules and fk the scales.. use what sounds GOOD TO YOUR ears.
Click to expand...
This is exactly what my teacher tells me. But, you do need some basic vocabulary lessons to speak!
 
CLUBTURBO said:
Lets See What Else
I Can Type Out .......

Some Sort Of Musical
Rhythm As I Was Learning
Early On Was Rough.

But My Muscles Needed
Consistency To Develop
Without Injury.

I Could Play Hours On End.
But My Muscles Always
Gave Up Early' Few Hours
And I Could Barely Grip The Neck.

I Then Learned Formal Hand
And Forarm Exercises To
Preserve My Future Ability To Play.

Berkeley College of Music
Has Some Good Information
On This Subject In Print.

And Then Using Some
Formal Rhythm Device
To Play Along With So
My Muscles Would
Not Get Stuck In A
Non-rhythmical Pattern.

Memory Of Scales And
Chord Progressions
Across The Neck Are
100% Essential.

Remember.
We Have 7 Notes Only.
And Maybe 5 Chords Per
Scale To Learn. Simple.

2 Scales A Week?
Two Chord Progressions?
Always Using Diffrent Rhythm
From A Rhythmic Device?

This' Is How Randy Rhodes
Trained Himself To Learn.

The Steve Vai Way Was By
Brute Force More Or Less.
The 30 Hour Work Out?

I Learned Some Of It?
But I Had To Apply Things
To Piano As I Was A
Music Major In JC.

If Only Knowing Two Scales?
And A Few Chord Progressions?

Do Them Very, Very Well.
I Mean Really Good Too.
Click to expand...
I like this. Really good advice. I just need to train my brain to think a different way.
 
I would like to get good enough where I can play what’s between my ears without thinking too hard about it.
 
It's going to depend on the chord progression, try playing the chord fragments or arpeggios in a non linear way, not straight up & down or try different modes over a single chord vamp.
 
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