What can scales and modes do for me?

This path of practicing scales all the time can feel like an ebb and flow.

In some moments you might feel incredibly inspired, improving by the second, and excited about simply playing the scale.

Then in other moments, you sit down to practice a scale and just can’t stop asking “Why am I doing this?”

When that moment arises, celebrate! Because that means you are facing the deeper inquiry into your artistic expression. Yay!

But I know that sounds counter-intuitive. Believe me, I am very familiar with this feeling that can steal your inspiration for days, leaving your practice time feeling dry and boring. I’ve certainly been victim to this feeling countless times. And here’s what I’ve learned to turn this dreadful feeling into an ally that can actually help bring you even more success and facility in your guitar playing.

The first step is to take your power back.

It’s easy to fall into the trap of “Why am I doing this…” and finding yourself in an puddle of “I don’t need this, I don’t want to do this, this is pointless, I should learn something else, this isn’t right for me, in fact I don’t wanna practice right now… yadda, yadda, yadda…”

But try to remember that little part of you that brought you here in the first place. There must have been some curiosity, or some hunch that practicing it might be useful for your goals.

So turn the question around: Instead of “Why am I doing this?” try “What can this scale do for me?”

You’ll notice that by flipping the question around, an openness to possibilities suddenly arises.

The power is no longer in the scale and whether you should suffer through it or not.

The power suddenly moves into you, and how the scale can benefit you. You take the lead. And with your curiosity and openness, the content (scale, mode, chord voicing, etc) is no longer the culprit.

So what is the culprit?

It’s the way you are practicing it.

If you are uninspired by say a Mixolydian mode, that doesn’t necessarily mean that the Mixolydian mode is boring. However it might mean that approaching it the same way you approach everything else is not doing it for you.

So what else can you do? Well, depending on your style, goals, interests, and musical voice, you’re going to have to find your own unique way of approaching new information that will benefit your playing.

We practice our Major Scales in every single possible formation we can imagine because it is our reference scale, but other scales and modes don’t need to be approached alike.

Consider each one like its own person: you interact with each uniquely, and each one brings a different part of you out to shine.

If you’re a songwriter, for example, you might want to try to explore a new mode or scale from the perspective of making up new chords. See if you can chose 2-3 scale tones against the bass note of the mode to find a playable voicing.

If you’re into a specific style, see if you can identify the mode in the music you love by focusing on the “characteristic notes” (the notes that make that mode special; for Mixolydian, this would be the b7; for Dorian this would be the Natural 6, etc)

If you’re an improviser, well, go ahead and play it in every which way, backwards, forwards, big intervals, small intervals, chords, melodies, and see what kind of emotions and feelings each mode sparks. Some modes might inspire you to find fast running licks, while others might inspire you to play slow and rubato.

Basically, if you think you have to learn each mode like the major scale, just stop, reset, and start getting creative.

What music do you want to play? What does this mode sound like to you and how can you express that in the way you approach it?

And if you need some factual encouragement to get creative, let’s break down some reasons why practicing a specific mode can serve you, no matter what your goals or interests are:

You’re learning how to alter intervals based on your knowledge of major scales (i.e. in the case of Mixolydian, flatting the 7). This is a skill that serves every musician in any context because keys change and this is the way to navigate it.
You’re developing dexterity by visualizing and executing something new: great for learning how to save your mistakes on stage!
You’re creating your “toolbox” by discerning what should go in it and in which compartments
You’re using the age-old language of music to guide you to your voice, by being open to how musical content asks you to play it.

Maybe a mode makes you think of a sad and dreary theme and your practice session is about transcribing your version of sad and dreary. This is a process that can’t be taught, it can only be discovered, and it’s the very thing that gets you feeling like your instrument is an extension of you.

The trick is to release the goal-oriented thinking that tells you that every minute of practice time must produce a tangible result.

Rather allow the the practice to feel more like a question than an answer. There is a voice inside of you that wants to sing through your guitar, so how can the scale or mode you are practicing invite it to come out?

That’s the part that’s up to you, as you create the right environment –in the way you approach things– for both your expression and the content you practice to come out and dance together.