Three Note Per String Ionian Scale for Supercharged Solos

Discussion in 'Beginner's Q&A Forum' started by ronnieanand, May 6, 2005.

  1. ronnieanand

    ronnieanand n00bier th@n th0u

    Hi,
    I am a fan of 3 note per string scale patterns. It's really useful for fast triplet runs, great for legato and anything that requires a fast runs. Based on the feedbacks and response I might continue this as a series of scale patters in various modes. To begin with I will go with the Ionian Mode or the Major Scale pattern. This is moveable shape scale pattern, so you could play it anywhere in the neck. It's pretty straight forward and I guess most of you are using it.

    E --------+------+------+------+--1---+-------+--2--+--3--+------+------+
    B --------+------+------+------+--6---+-------+--7--+--R--+------+------+
    G --------+------+------+--3--+--4---+-------+--5--+------+------+------+
    D --------+------+------+--7--+--R---+-------+--2--+------+------+------+
    A --------+------+--4--+------+--5---+-------+--6--+------+------+------+
    E --------+------+--R--+------+--2---+-------+--3--+------+------+------+

    Try this legato lick on this scale and you will have a great legato. I will give it on the high E string but repeat the same shape across all strings.

    E ----h3---p1---h2--h3--p2--p1
    B -----------------------------------

    Okay, the tabbing was a bit different. Instead of the Fret position, I had given the finger position. 1 for the first finger, 2 for the second finger and 3 for the third finger. Common sense will tell you which fingers to use. h was for hammering and p was for pull off.

    The interval formula for IONIAN Scale = WWH - W - WWH
    W = Whole Step or Full Step or 2 Frets.
    H = Half Step or 1 Fret.

    Finally feedbacks please. Only you will decide whether I continue this or not.
     
    dennis likes this.
  2. dennis

    dennis The Bhangra King

    great article...reps for u.

    ronnie...cud u give some licks on any of these scales.
    (i know the 3 front 2 back, 4 front 3 back etc. etc.)

    also i dint get the legato lick..u wudnt happen to have it on powetab etc.??
    as in what is p1??-- do i pull of the 1st note of the scale on the string to an open string??..confused here

    lastly..i got some doubts about modes..do help me out here:

    1. K..we got 7 modes with various greek names
    for EG. C Ionian - c d e f g a b c ..cool
    then D lydian?? - d e f g a b c.
    question- i can see that there wud be a different chord progression, eg. for C ionian it wud be C Dm Em etc. wheres in the 2nd case it wud be D Em Fm..hence a different sound.

    BUT, with regards to soloing how do modes make a difference...as in when i solo inthe key of C major,...i use the notes in the major scale ....obviously i wudnt be sticking to whatever sequence the mode tells me.....so, finally cutting it short..how do modes figure in soloing

    2. K..so suppose I have a D lydian backing riff/chord progression and wanna solo over it...which key do i use...C major right??

    Phew, that was a long post
    Thanx in Advance
     
  3. ronnieanand

    ronnieanand n00bier th@n th0u

    Okay, I agress that tab was confusing. Let me assume a A Major scale and I will give the entire pattern.

    E ----h10-----p7-----h9-----h10-----p9-----p7
    B ----h10-----p7-----h9-----h10-----p9-----p7
    G ----h9-----p6-----h7-----h9-----p7-----p6
    D ----h9-----p6-----h7-----h9-----p7-----p6
    A ----h9-----p5-----h7-----h9-----p7-----p5
    E ----h9-----p5-----h7-----h9-----p7-----p5

    Hope this is clear. And remember NO PICKING or the guitar police might knock at your door. It might be difficult. Get it on one string and work your way through the entire scale.

    Another Lick for Dennis, the Metal Messaiah.

    E ----h10-----p7-----h9-----h10-----p9-----p7
    B ----h10-----p9-----p7-----h10-----p7-----h9

    Half of it is the same as the first one.

    There was small mistake in your question. There's no D Lydian mode in C Major Scale. Sorry for pointing. D Lydian has the name notes as A Major Scale and not C Major Scale.

    This is the order of the modes and STRICTLY follow the order.

    C Ionian
    D Dorian
    E Phrygian
    F Lydian
    G Mixolydian
    A Aelioan (Minor Scale)
    B Locrian

    One very important thing. Do you conisder C Major and A Minor sounding the same even though they are of the same notes. These two are two different Scale which two different sounds. Similarly dont look at modes are part of the same scale, consider them as different scales. A D Dorian could be played over D Minor and E Phrygian over E Minor. Another interesting thing is, some of the modes can be played over a different chord progression to colour your solo.

    The difference between and Ionian scale and Mixolydian scale is only a Flattened seventh when it's a Mixolydian scale. Now play a Major Chord and play the same root's Mixolydian scale over it. It'd still go well and will also give a slightly different flavour.

    Now considering these modes are totally different scale, you could actually play them over totally different chord progression forgetting your Root's Major chord.

    If you want to learn them, do not look at it as C Major Scale but starting in D for Dorian. Look at Dorian as a whole new scale. For learning Minor scales, you never did this, so why for other modes.
     
  4. aysh

    aysh -|h3 ori9in4| (ui!aris-|-

    as ronnie says remember the numbering
    I) Ionian
    ii) Dorian
    iii) Phrygian
    IV) Lydian
    V) Mixolydian
    vi)Aelioan (Minor Scale)
    vii) Locrian

    this goes for any chord progression ure playing..
    "chord number = mode number"

    .. If the progression resolves to the I chord, the best mode to use is Ionian from the same root as the I chord.


    for eg... suppose you are playing the folowing progression I - IV - V - I whose key is C, we wud get Cmaj - Fmaj - Gmaj - Cmaj
    .. then for soloing over the C chord progression, the best mode wud be the C Ionian mode (actually the C major scale itself)..
    for soloing over the F chord, the best choice wud be the F Lydian mode ( becoz lydian is the 4th mode in the series of modes) ..
    and for soloing over the G chord the best mode wud be the G Mixolydian mode.


    another example. Suppose the progression is iii - ii - vi - IV - iii starting with C
    then the progression wud resolve to Cmin - Bbmin - Fmin - Dbmaj - Cmin
    . here the solo over Cmin wud be best done on the C phyrigian mode ;
    over Bbmin the best mode wud be the Bb Dorian ;
    over Fmin the best mode would be the F Aelioan
    over Dbmaj '' '' '' '' Db Lydian

    and so on..
    .. i hope i was clear and more importantly didnt make any mistakes (ronnie ??) . :beer:
     
  5. ronnieanand

    ronnieanand n00bier th@n th0u

    Starting a solo as the same chord is not a requirements. But you need to chose the right note. If the chord is C, you could solo on a E Phrygian or G Mixolydian. If you want to experiemnt, just record the C Major chord alone in a sampler and play the E Phrygian or G Mixolydian. It still goes well. But not all combinations sound good.
     
  6. aysh

    aysh -|h3 ori9in4| (ui!aris-|-

    okeye i didnt know that!!
    i replied based on whatever i know ..

    but is there any standard way to figure out which are the 'other' scales which can be played over a chord like the E Phrygian or G Mixolydian over a C (which u just mentioned)
     
  7. aysh

    aysh -|h3 ori9in4| (ui!aris-|-

    okay i think i got it ... perhaps the notes in the Cmaj chord triad(1-3-5) are the ones whose corresponding numbered modes can be played . eg E and G are the 3rd and the 5th intervals relative to root C so E Phrygian (3rd mode) and G Mexolydian (5th mode) can be played. is that right ?
     
  8. ronnieanand

    ronnieanand n00bier th@n th0u

    Take C Major which C, E, G notes. These notes are called Strong Notes in the Scale and the remaining are called Weak Notes in the Scale. You could start on any of the strong notes even when it doesn't start on that particular note's chord.

    One more thing. Forget this modes and everything. Just replace a Mixolydian scale for a Major Scale. If you are playing a progression in C Major Scale, the easiest thing is C Ionian Scale. Just give a shot at C Mixolydian. It goes well too. The only difference between Mixolydian and Major (Ionian) Scale is a Flatenned Seventh in a Mixolydian Scale. This was a common usage in the late 70s to early 80s, replacing a Mixolydian Scale for a Major Scale.
     
  9. aysh

    aysh -|h3 ori9in4| (ui!aris-|-

    you know much.. thats goood ;)
     
  10. ronnieanand

    ronnieanand n00bier th@n th0u

    Hey Nemo,
    I am just a simple beginner who can hardly hold the pick comfortably.
     
  11. ronnieanand

    ronnieanand n00bier th@n th0u

    Okay, since it's going a little Mixolydian, I thought I'd a post another follow up thread with a Full Mixolydian. Currently I will just write another interesting thing about this.
    For the Mixolydian scale, the first chord or the Root Chord is always Major which also suggests that you can have a Mixolydian Progression of Chords for your riff and solo over it on a Mixolydian scale. For example, make a riff on A Mixolydian Progression and play A Mixolydian Scale over it. Your A would be a Major chord in this case. Check it out. Maybe you could forget Major chords and scales for a while and bring in a slight change by using Mixolydian. By the Mixolydian has a Bluesy feel to it.
     
  12. ronnieanand

    ronnieanand n00bier th@n th0u

    Just Bumping On The Thread to see if anybody would be interested in this old thread...
     
  13. alpha1

    alpha1 I BLUES!

    Read this one too.

    Same comments.
     

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