20 Various Guitar Riffs Exploring Modes

This lesson supplements the 3 Note Per String Scale Shape Madness one.

The person who requested the 3 NPS lesson followed up with more details for further examples. That's what this lesson is about!

The first group of examples demonstrates going from C Ionian into B Harmonic minor, and then finishes up with E Melodic minor.

To transition from scale to scale in this first example, I used a note that is in adjacent scales. In other words, the last note I used in the C Ionian phrase is also a note in the B Harmonic minor scale. The last note I used in the B Harmonic minor scale is also a note used in E Melodic minor.

The next example uses the same transition idea of shared notes.

The last example of combining Ionian, Harmonic minor, and Melodic minor uses finger tapping.

All three scales contain the notes for an E minor chord - E, G, and B. An E minor triad will be tapped/arpeggiated as the start and transition for each scale.

The next three riffs demonstrate going from B Phrygian into F# Locrian. These examples are in the key of G/Em. Because the tonal center focuses on B, and then F#, different mode sounds can be heard even though you are playing in just one key.

This example could use some explaining on how to approach playing it.

No distortion!!! It will NOT sound good unless it's clean.

You will be holding down a B minor chord shape for the first half of the example, and then an F# diminished chord shape for the second half of the example. You'll be tapping notes near each chord shape to do something I like to call "chord tapping". 

Watch the video posted at the end of this lesson to see a demonstration of how it's done.

The rest of the riffs/examples demonstrate climbing multiple octaves for all seven modes in the key of G.

The following video demonstrates all the riffs/examples for this lesson.

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