And On Another Note;

I suggest most musicians to read up the Circle of Fifths; a Theorem originally constructed by Pythagoras (Theorem Pitagoras in BM for Maths in Secondary School).

What's interesting is that Pythagoras always enjoyed playing around with triangles and circles with a lot of mathematical equations, etc.

Later did I know that he made a theorem regarding the fifths of notes that revolved back and forth to remember what sort of notes involves what sort of sharp or natural minor notes in a certain scale.

Of course, this would be somewhat useless if you were advance into modes and modal progressions, which is on an entirely higher level compared to what they're supposed to do.

I always knew that music had something to do with Maths, that's why I suggested to my students in Penang to brush up their Maths in order to play the guitar right.

Because the guitar isn't like the keyboard; On the keyboard, such as the E - F, and B - C notes, they're semitones away without a sharp or a flat, whereas the rest of it are tossed in with a shitload of black keys - which are the sharpened/flattened note of the note before/after the black keys.

As for the guitars; every fret is a semi-tone. So.. You don't really give a shit because scales can be either remembered in a theorical sense, or do it like many of us do; remember it in terms of structural patterns.

The basic structure (Best written in Courier and via tabs):

CMaj / Amin scale

e|----------------------------------------5-7-8--
B|----------------------------------5-6-8--------
G|------------------------4-[5]-7----------------
D|-----------------5-(7)-------------------------
A|-----------5-7-8-------------------------------
E|-(5)-7-[8]-------------------------------------

Starting from the low E string, consisting of A, B, C
A String, consisting of D, E, F
D String, consisting of G, A (minor root octave)
G String, consisting of B, C (Major root octave), D
B String, consisting of E, F, G
High e string, consisting of A, B, C

Due to the standard tuning, the positioning for the low and the high E string stays the same, just that they're 2 octaves apart.

Believe it or not. That was the only pattern that I flipped through my scales & modes book (which I lost, by the way) that costed me RM38 in 2004, and I've ventured into so many other scales, modes, and patterns.

Since everything's about maths, patters, and finger positions that determines an octave, using the guitar to lay down a series of scales is the fastest way to catch up with plenty of songs in different keys, since it's all about 'transcomposing' the position where you begin from the root keys.

Have a look again; the (x) and [x] have a different role in the scale. The (x) values are the prime/unison note of the minor key; whereas the [x] represents that the scale works as the prime/unison note of the major key.

Meaning the scale above fits for both Am and CMaj key-based songs.

That's just basics.

I've got no idea why I wrote all that nonsense out, but heck, it's something that many poeple would love to read and try and understand regarding how the scale works.

Also, for this scale, if you're interested in Modal changes, then guess what, here's brief summary of theorical nonsense:

The Cmaj scale is a mode for:

• D Dorian Mode (more onto the minor-based)
  
• E Phrygian (more onto the minor-based)
• F Lydian (more onto the Major-based)
• G Mixolydian (more onto the Major-based)
• B Locrian (Not entirely too sure)

Now, I can't remember names and all as I had to refer to a book regarding this, but positioning and all are always fixed if you know where to hop to.

That's from the theorical aspect. But if you were to play about with positionings, using the Fmaj as an example, but trying to find out which note is the gateway to allow you to change to its corresponding mode..

The Fmaj scale:

e|-----------------------------------------3-5-6-
B|-------------------------------(3)-5-[6]-------
G|-------------------------2-3-5-----------------
D|-----------------2-[3]-5-----------------------
A|---------1-3-(5)-------------------------------
E|-[1]-3-5---------------------------------------

The notes would be:
E string - F (Major root), G, A
A string - Bb, C, D (minor root)
D string - E, F (Major root), G
G string - A, Bb, C
B string - D (minor root), E, F (Major root)
e string - G, A, Bb

Theorically, if you were to play a Lydian mode, books would tell you that you should sharpen the 4th note from the unison note in this scale (which is F, so count 3 notes after F would be Bb). Therefore, instead of playing a Bb, you should be playing a B in this mode, eliminating the flattened B note, and changing the mode as a "natural" scale - where it does not have any sharps or flats.

Sounds familiar? The natural scale to most theorists would be the Aminor / CMajor scale.

Now, in my eyes, I don't remember the whole sharpen-the-4th-note-in-the-scale. usually, when I end up playing common Dorian modes to achieve an uncommon common blues-y sound, I just remember what is the scale pattern that I can relate to; to remember things through patterns just makes progression a little bit quicker instead of thinking of..

.. Remember to sharpern the 4th note in this scale. Wait a minute. The 4th note in an FMaj scale would be.. F ... G.... A.... Bb. Oh! It's Bb!

By that time, the spotlight's off you, and it goes back to the whole band.

Here's the secret. Every note in a scale is a possible mode for that key that you're playing in. Using the FMaj scale, and playing a Major chord, requires the usual 1-3-5 notes to strike a chord.

F G A Bb C D E F
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Therefore, the notes that structures a FMaj chord would be F, A and C.

Now, if you were to use the A, and play the Aminor scale according to what I've done above, notice that the B note is natural in that scale.

Automatically, by playing an Aminor scale in an Fmaj-based song, you're already playing a different mode.

But instead of thinking that it is "the Aminor scale", because you're playing in a song that started with an F chord of some sort (probably Faug4), you'll have to refer to the Am scale as a mode - for the F scale, therefore making it the F Lydian Mode.

But remember, modes are best accompanied when the chords complements the mode you're playing in.











So, back to the whole modal-progression. What if you were to play a song in Aminor, but you're playing a sharpened 6th note? If you were to play an Aminor scale, I'm sure you've understood that it has the natural notes, but if the 6th note (F) were to be sharpened, it'll be an F#.

Therefore, it'll leave you to that point where you're actually playing an Eminor / GMajor scale, over an Aminor key or chord progression.

So how's that again from patterns and shortcuts?

Notice that there is an E note in the Aminor, and it's the perfect 5th note from A, so use the E note as the root minor note, and start playing the whole pattern you've saw above when I first explained regarding the Cmaj scale, but shifting it up to the open string / 12th fret, so you'll be playing an Eminor / Gmajor scale.

Like the whole F Lydian mode example, you're playing an Eminor scale over an Aminor key or chord progression.

At this point, don't think you're playing in an Eminor scale, but you're playing the Aminor Dorian Mode.

And shortcuts, to experiment with them would be interesting, so I've explained 2 different examples in detail.

The rest of the modes are just about the same for 7-toned scales. If you're looking at diminished scales, that's a whole different story.











Now, for me to get my fingers running up that guitar neck. Hohoho..