Guitar Modes

Look up any of the seven major-scale modes in any key. Each page has a full-fretboard diagram, the note that gives the mode its sound, matching chords, and song examples.

Need the explanation first?Start with the free interactive modes book →The free 12-chapter modes book explains tonal center with audio, playable fretboards, original tab, short games, and quizzes.

What are guitar modes?

A mode is a scale heard from a particular home note. Play the notes of C major (C-D-E-F-G-A-B) but treat D as home, and you get D Dorian; treat G as home and you get G Mixolydian. Same seven notes, different sounds. What changes is where your phrases resolve and how every other note relates to that center.

The fretboard part is easier than it looks. The fretboard shapes you already know for the major scale work for all seven modes of that key. The work isn’t learning new patterns. It’s learning to hear and target each mode’s characteristic note over a vamp that stays on the new root.

A useful way to organize them is from brightest to darkest. Each step down the list flats one more degree:

Lydian : 4th mode, defined by the raised 4th
Ionian : 1st mode, defined by the major 7th (leading tone)
Mixolydian : 5th mode, defined by the flat 7th
Dorian : 2nd mode, defined by the natural 6th
Aeolian : 6th mode, defined by the flat 6th
Phrygian : 3rd mode, defined by the flat 2nd
Locrian : 7th mode, defined by the flat 5th

Ionian Mode

1st mode of the major scale. Bright, happy, and resolved — the sound of resolution and joy.

C Ionian Db Ionian D Ionian Eb Ionian E Ionian F Ionian F# Ionian G Ionian Ab Ionian A Ionian Bb Ionian B Ionian

Dorian Mode

2nd mode of the major scale. Bittersweet, sophisticated, and groovy — minor but with a hopeful twist.

C Dorian Db Dorian D Dorian Eb Dorian E Dorian F Dorian F# Dorian G Dorian Ab Dorian A Dorian Bb Dorian B Dorian

Phrygian Mode

3rd mode of the major scale. Exotic, dark, and tense — the sound of flamenco and metal.

C Phrygian Db Phrygian D Phrygian Eb Phrygian E Phrygian F Phrygian F# Phrygian G Phrygian Ab Phrygian A Phrygian Bb Phrygian B Phrygian

Lydian Mode

4th mode of the major scale. Dreamy, floating, and ethereal — major with a mystical quality.

C Lydian Db Lydian D Lydian Eb Lydian E Lydian F Lydian F# Lydian G Lydian Ab Lydian A Lydian Bb Lydian B Lydian

Mixolydian Mode

5th mode of the major scale. Bluesy, rocking, and unresolved — major with a laid-back edge.

C Mixolydian Db Mixolydian D Mixolydian Eb Mixolydian E Mixolydian F Mixolydian F# Mixolydian G Mixolydian Ab Mixolydian A Mixolydian Bb Mixolydian B Mixolydian

Aeolian Mode

6th mode of the major scale. Dark, emotional, and melancholic — identical to natural minor.

C Aeolian Db Aeolian D Aeolian Eb Aeolian E Aeolian F Aeolian F# Aeolian G Aeolian Ab Aeolian A Aeolian Bb Aeolian B Aeolian

Locrian Mode

7th mode of the major scale. Unstable, dissonant, and eerie — the darkest of all modes.

C Locrian Db Locrian D Locrian Eb Locrian E Locrian F Locrian F# Locrian G Locrian Ab Locrian A Locrian Bb Locrian B Locrian

Modes make sense in context

Modes are rotations of the scales in the scale library, played over the chords in the chord library. Hear the difference by jamming over free backing tracks, or run modes against monsters in Guitar Quest . The demo runs free in your browser.