People often have a difficult time understanding the point of scales; questioning why they need to learn them, how to practice them, etc. But it seems that few of the people asking these questions actually get satisfying (or comprehensible) answers. Isn’t there some simple way to explain it? Isn’t there some way that a total beginner can see how learning scales will impact their playing and understanding of music?

Yes, there is… now that I did it.

I think I’m going to make a short series of modes videos.

This one addresses something I hear/read quite often that is, in my opinion, just flat out wrong. Any time I hear a guitar player say something to the effect of “The song is in A minor, but I’m soloing in D Dorian.” I just want to slap them and yell “No, you’re not!” in their faces.

Utilizing a particular scale shape that you primarily identify as a root position modal shape doesn’t mean you’re actually playing in that mode. You can be playing in any of the modes of that scale. Just as I showed in my previous modes video, you can access the sound of any of the modes from just one shape. What changes is your phrasing within that shape/fingering. Were you to actually solo over a C Ionian tune with the B Locrian mode, it would sound very strange, as all your phrases would lead towards that B note, and you would be fighting against the song to force a tonal center that nobody else in the band is suggesting.

In this video, I try to illustrate that concept by soloing over an A Aeolian backing track utilizing a shape that many would identify as “D Dorian.” First, I improvise over the track with the tonic A note in mind. Then I try to force a D Dorian sound over the track, ignoring the pull of tendency tones, and just generally playing by myself rather than with the track. Hopefully the video illustrates why it’s important that you always listen to what’s happening behind your solos and craft your phrases accordingly.

Once again, I’ve got a video inspired by a discussion on /r/guitar, where I’ve been hanging out recently. This video was inspired by expressing some deep confusion about the modes and receiving the same crappy explanations that have, sadly, become the standard. “It’s just that scale, but starting on a different note.” This explanation sucks. People seem to use it as a go-to “simple” explanation, but it totally misses the point. Yes, you can figure out the notes/intervals of a particular mode by starting a particular scale from a different note, but that really doesn’t say much about what makes them musically unique and different.

I think that a better, and just as simple, explanation is “the same group of notes, but with a different tonal center.”
I attempt to illustrate that concept in the video below.

Jens Larsen made a wonderful video discussing how, when crafting a solo, it’s more important to focus on creating a great melody than it is to “hit the right notes”. Granted, that’s not to say that the notes don’t matter, but just hitting the “right” notes won’t automatically yield a great solo. A great melodic hook will go much further.

He took a primarily jazz-oriented look at the idea, but I thought it would be helpful to reinterpret the same information for rock/pop players. Basically, it comes down to learning and playing more melodies (which is something that rock and pop players don’t get to do anywhere near as often as jazzers).

You can watch the video below.

Somebody on Reddit’s /r/Guitar forum was asking about muting. Reading the comments, I realized how difficult it is to describe basic muting practices via text only. It’s so much easier to show on video! So I made one.