Soloing Through Modes

Okay,so this lesson is gonna show you how to shred through your modes, and use your melodic feel to do solos through them as well.

The first thing you need to know is your modes. If you don't know these, find a chart, (Don't make the mistake of reading it backwards, cuz it'll screw up your uderstanding of them for a long time) and use that. Play throught them in starting in C major on the A string, in a linear fashion until you can remember them all.

Now, you need to know where your fourths and fifths are, and which mode they are in, in relation to the one you are playing. For simplicity sake, we'll use E minor for this lesson.

Here are the modes for, or G major.

G- Major
A- Dorian
B- Phrygian
C- Lydian
D- Mixolydian
E- Minor
F#- Locrian or Hypophrygian
G- Major

And E minor.

E- Minor
F#- Locrian
G- Major
A- Dorian
B- Phrygian
C- Lydian
D- Mixolydian
E- Minor

Okay, lets start. First, lets travel through our fourth. Play E minor scale up to the 7th fret on the D string and finish the run in Dorian mode, like this.


e|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|
B|--------------------7-9-10-----------------------------------------------|
G|----------------7-9------------------------------------------------------|
D|---------7-9-10----------------------------------------------------------|
A|--7-9-10-----------------------------------------------------------------|
E|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|
From here, we can slide up the the twelvth fret on the B string, and come down Phrygian.


e|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|
B|--------------------7-8-10/-12-10----------------------------------------|
G|----------------7-9---------------12-11-9--------------------------------|
D|---------7-9-10---------------------------12-10-9------------------------|
A|--7-9-10-----------------------------------------------------------------|
E|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|
Now, we are on the fifth of the minor, Phrygian. Come down Minor from the 9th fret.


e|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|
B|--------------------7-8-10/-12-10----------------------------------------|
G|----------------7-9---------------12-11-9--------------------------------|
D|---------7-9-10---------------------------12-10-9\-7---------------------|
A|--7-9-10---------------------------------------------10-9-7--------------|
E|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|
This is a full run throught the fourth and fifth of the minor, which is more useful for melodic solos than shredding.

Next, we'll add a feel to this run, up and then down again. I don't put timing down, so I'll put the notes, and you play it how it's sounds good. Hold notes, add bends, trills etc. If you are a beginner with soloing, don't worry about how it sounds, just play until you are comfortable with the run, and add your own touches until it sounds good to you. This is how to develop your own feel to soloing. Do not feel limited to this arrangement of the notes. Play it your own way when you are ready to.


e|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|
B|--------------------8-10-8-7---8-7----8-7-----10/-12-10------------------|
G|------------------9----------9-----7------7-9-----------12-11----12-11---|
D|----9------7-9-10---------------------------------------------10-------9-|
A|--7---10-9---------------------------------------------------------------|
E|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|

e|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|
B|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|
G|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|
D|-10-12-10-9-7------------------------------------------------------------|
A|--------------10-9-7-----------------------------------------------------|
E|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|
Real quick here, we're gonna touch on shredding. Its kinda self explanatory. It' just like soloing, except you need to be thinking a million miles an hour on which mode you are gonna peel through next. I like going throught Fifths personally, and here is one of the first runs I learned. The mode format is:

Minor-->Phrygian-->Locrian(Down)-->Phrygian(Down)-->Mixolydian(Down)-->Phrygian-->Root Minor


e|------------------------------------12-14--------------------------------|
B|---------------------------12-13-15-------15-13-12-----------------------|
G|-------------------9/11-12-------------------------14-12-11\9------------|
D|---------7/9-10-12--------------------------------------------12-10-9----|
A|--7-9-10--------------------------------------------------------------12-|
E|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|

e|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|
B|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|
G|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|
D|---12-10-9---------------------------------------------------------------|
A|10---------12-10-9----------------10-9-7---------------------------------|
E|-------------------12-10-8-7-8-10----------------------------------------|
Thanks for taking a look. Tell me what you think!