Pentatonics to the Modes

28 gamessecondary path

Fill the two 3-semitone gaps in the major or minor pentatonic to form any of the major modes, and see how shifting a single note moves you between them. Explore the feeling each mode produces by varying only those two tones, until you can identify and play them confidently.

Why

  • Add two notes to a pentatonic and you have a mode — the bridge from safe to expressive playing

  • Every mode uses the same set of triads, tetrads, and pentatonics; choosing a different root changes the role of every other note

The path

  1. Major Pentatonic: Root Shuffling
  2. Minor Pentatonic: Root Shuffling
  3. Lydian: Root Shuffling
  4. Ionian: Root Shuffling
  5. Mixolydian: Root Shuffling
  6. Dorian: Root Shuffling
  7. Aeolian: Root Shuffling
  8. Phrygian: Root Shuffling
  9. Lydian: Range Shifting
  10. Ionian: Range Shifting
  11. Mixolydian: Range Shifting
  12. Dorian: Range Shifting
  13. Aeolian: Range Shifting
  14. Phrygian: Range Shifting
  15. Lydian: Anchored
  16. Ionian: Anchored
  17. Mixolydian: Anchored
  18. Dorian: Anchored
  19. Aeolian: Anchored
  20. Phrygian: Anchored
  21. Lydian: Full Range
  22. Ionian: Full Range
  23. Mixolydian: Full Range
  24. Dorian: Full Range
  25. Aeolian: Full Range
  26. Phrygian: Full Range
  27. All Modes: Anchored
  28. All Modes: Full Range

On the instrument

Major Modes on the Instrument