Practicing Modes.
A great finger-stretching exercise too!
When playing eighth-notes and sixteenth-notes, always remember to use alternate picking. It will absolutely improve your technique.
The “A Lydian” Mode.
Check out the first three lessons in this series: “A Ionian”, “A Dorian” and “A Phrygian”
The “Lydian” mode is Major scale with a “sharped 4th” (#IV). This means that it is exactly like Ionian mode except that the “IV” is raised one half step.
Below is the key of “E major”, but the root note starts at the “A” note. This means that “A” is the 4th note in the key of “E major”. It also means that this is called the “A Lydian” mode.
Four notes have changed from the “A Ionian” mode. The “A Lydian” has moved the
“C” up one half step to “D#”, the “D” up one half step to the “D#”, the “F” up one half step to the “F#”, and the “G” up one half step to the “G#”. The rest of the notes in this mode are all natural.
Look at it as the “E major” scale, but instead playing the scale as:
E - F# - G# - A - B - C# - D#
the root note is “A”:
A - B - C# - D# - E - F# - G# (The D# is the #IV in this mode).
The notes in this exercise all exist between frets 4 and 7. Think of it as a four-fret frame. Every finger will play at least three notes in this scale.
Below is another way to look at the exact same scale as above, only from the perspective of the “Roman numerical” placements on the fretboard.
Notice, the “Lydian” mode structure has raised four notes one half step from their major positions in the “Ionian” mode. So, just like the Ionian mode, the Lydian mode is also a “Major” scale.
I - II - III - #IV - V - VI - VII
Again, study this scale and mode structure, because it will be important to know as we move on to other modes in the next articles.
Here is how you practice this scale.
Make sure you set your metronome at 60-70bpm to start. As you get better with the scale, slowly increase the tempo until you can play it clean and correct at 90bpm. Remember to use the proper finger placements for technique.
Stay tuned for more articles on modes and scales coming soon.
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Dave