Modes Are Stupid And You Don't Need Them.

Modes are stupid. FIGHT ME! Lol, today I'm making a response to a comment I made about hating modes in one of my past videos so buckle UP baby! Please be kind to one another in the comments section (yes, even be nice to the jazz police lol). Ok, modes DO have some utility and are important to know and understand. They will help deepen your harmonic and melodic senses as well as help organize and reach new sounds. They're kind of great. But they also are stupid. Just watch the video and you'll see what I mean. Also, I'm serious about that steak recipe. Please let me know.

I don't like modes, but if you want to learn them check out my masterclass "all About Modes" which takes you from beginner to modal pro! Learn how to apply modes in your soloing and composition, as well as modal interchange and more. Get the class here:

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Hey there! It's The Donut Doctor. I'm a Grammy nominated guitarist, producer, and educator based in Los Angeles, CA. If you're here, you're clearly a guitar nerd; Welcome! I've made it my mission to share as much of my knowledge as possible with the guitar community and help inspire as many people as possible (all while having fun in the process!)

[lennylaisin]

You should try reverse sear. It’ll give you a lot more temperature control (in my opinion).

~ 250-275 F for 30-40 mins. Take it out, let rest for about 5 minutes. Then sear on a hot pan for 60 secs a side. Use your thermometer for your desired temp. But you seem like someone who likes to freestyle.

[stevenking]

A lot of this stuff, I think of it as looking under the hood of your car. You don't need to know everything that's going on under there in order to drive the car. But if something ever breaks down, the more you know how things work the better.

[cvidtbs]

The misunderstanding does not stem from the practical use of what are called ‘modes, ’ but rather from a semantic approximation caused by the improper use of this term to describe what, in a tonal context, are simply the seven HEPTACHORDS—subsystems OF THE SAME MODE (major or minor)—which are, in fact, nothing more than the seven tetrads plus the diatonic passing tones between the chord tones.

[Chris-MusicTheoryAndFretboard]

I agree and here is what I think is happening.

Teachers need an organized and logical way for telling their students what notes to play over what chord. Modes can be a strategy to accomplish this goal. However, everyone got confused with this strategy thinking that they are playing modally. No, the strategy was originally designed to play chord changes over a tonal song. Nobody is doing "modal mixture" when using "modes" to play the changes (unless the song actually does have modal mixture - but I'm talking about a diatonic progression).

Then another strategy presents itself - you could just think in one scale and focus on the chords (assuming the chord progression is diatonic). Then the people who spent years and years and years memorizing modes are pissed off because this is a simpler strategy and in the end they all claim "Well you're still just playing modes anyway. So we win!"

So there's really two things happening as I see it: 1) actual modal playing and 2) using modes as a strategy to create a melody over either tonal and modal progressions.

[andrewclarkeguitar]

This is a brave video to make 😂 But I agree, they're far less practical than the internet will have you believe.

[derrickmickle]

Modes aren't stupid, but the way they are usually taught is. Agree with you that harmony is the way into understanding modes and immediately applying them to your playing. Learn the modes by hearing the harmonic environment the chords of that mode create helps you see their best and most useful application: creating moods. Modes = moods 

The biggest mistake is learning the modes in the order they appear in a scale (Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, Locrian). Learning them in bright-to-dark order (Lydian > Ionian (Major) > Mixolydian > Dorian > Aeolian (Natural Minor) > Phrygian > Locrian) is easier to retain and apply. It helps you see the tonal relationships between the modes. 

There are major-sounding modes (Lydian, Ionian, Mixolydian). There a minor-sounding modes (Dorian, Aeolian, Phrygian). And there's a diminished-sounding mode (Locrian). 

The modes of the major scale are also just one-note tweaks of a major or minor scale. Lydian is a major scale with a #4. Mixolydian is a major scale with a b7. Dorian is a minor scale with #6. Phrygian is a minor scale with a b2. Locrian is the odd ball: a minor scale with a b2 and a b5.

I've already gone too deep in the weeds for a comment already, so let me stop with this: modes aren't stupid but their importance is overstated by guitarists. Ask most pro players of other instruments about the importance of modes in their playing and you'll almost always get a blank stare. After spending three years going deep down the modes rabbit hole, I ultimately had a "did I shave my legs for this?" moment. While modes expanded my tonal palette, I finally realized that modes are not a silver bullet to better playing or more original music. More importantly, they had limited application to the music most guitarists will play, including me. Unless you are an aspiring jazz or fusion player, it is not worth the time and effort to learn anything beyond the basics of modal harmony, focusing on a handful of modal chord progressions for each mode that you review and practice regularly so that you can be ready to apply them when you need to.

[michaelvarney.]

I’m fairly certain that you drilled the hell out of the modal scales until they were ingrained into muscle memory, and suspect that it then it made applying arpeggios more natural.

[JeremyAndersonBoise]

I use trigonometry, I use modes. 🤷‍♂️🎸 Modes unlocked the diatonic system for me in a huge way. Was it hard to learn? Sure, like most things worth learning, it was a challenge for a while. Everyone is different and learns differently. Understanding a topic’s theory and the application thereof deeply, for me, opens up my creativity.

[MCGZ_]

Nice presentation! I like your humor around the whole topic :D

[theExdu]

Modes are really just how you identify your tonic. You play in a scale, but what note in that scale do you return to as home? That is what is communicated by the mode, and just that. You need to communicate that - modes aren't stupid. But when you identify your root, it's very often the I or the iv, so you get a lot of people who just say they are playing in a major or minor scale and don't think of it as a mode. Honestly, that's where it gets confusing for people, because they're never told what is going on. Both of those are just the "diatonic" scale, with a different tonic.

Learning the names of modes and thinking that is important is the stupid part. Learning different fingerings for the modes is silly too - you need to be comfortable playing in a scale starting anywhere and ending wherever is musical, and that is how you learn to adjust fingerings. But identify that tonic so fellow musicians know where to go when jamming or songwriting, and you are solid.

[positivityduo]

Tonal centers. Understand how chords work how D minor & G7 are all related to C.
E minor & A augmented are related to C.
So try playing a C scale over any of those cords and check out what you get. It’s kind of like the reverse application of what modes are.

[haroldcampos]

I learned my scales in every diatonic mode before I even learned the notes on the fretboard, it helps. Both things are difficult to do and you have to practice every day for the rest of your life.

[ilmisxx]

Guitarists tend to use modes like it's an on/off switch. It does not have to be that way, use it as a fader, throw in a modal note here and there, even some chromaticism. The important part is to land on strong notes. Also listen to a lot of modal music but not on guitar, might give you interesting phrasing ideas. Regarding a steak, depends on how you like it. I prefer medium rare so 16:15 I usually just salt my steak well, put it into a fridge overnight. When ready to cook I pepper it well and sear on all sides untill it has a good crust, then I add butter, a few slices of garlic and some herbs. Then just baste it witg that aromatic butter both sides and put the wole thing into an oven. The time and temperature depends on thickness and cut of the steak itself. The most important part is to take it off heat and let it rest for around 10 min

[samthomlinsonmusic]

Bro just described why you should learn modes. Dig the tips though.

[Illneverremember]

A mode is the intervallic profile of a scale, it's no big deal. If the key is C major and you are playing over an emin chord, it's going to sound Phrygian. You don't have to think about it.

[greenstrat]

I basically learned the mode shapes as sort of a cheat code to navigate the neck. I guess sometimes you can use them as sort of an altered major or minor scale, but otherwise I don't really think too hard about modes.

[lucasawesome]

Modes are an excellent way to start learning the flavors of the intervals.

[willwork]

Say "I don't understand modes" without saying "I don't understand modes"
Instead of thinking of C Ionion, D Dorian, E Phrygian, F Lydian, G Mixolydian, A Aeolian, B Locrian
Think about C Ionian, C Dorian, C Phrygian, C Lydian, C Mixolydian, C Aeolian, C Locrian
Halo's famous monk theme is Dorian.

[notjazzhenya]

It will be much better and smoother to use the Lydian mode for two parallel maj7 chords 🤠

[jaysilver]

ive only been playing for about 3yrs but I guess I use modes specifically to organize my visualization of where i am in the harmonic context of the changes of some types music. thats kinda how i learned how to see the fretboard.. in whatever position im in, i have a literal visual overlay of the different shapes of whatever context the change warrants like seeing a particular note as different intervals at the same time. learning the concept of modes helped me visualize but there are particular sounds i like to hear when im trying to solo and modes help me contextualize a framework of how to achieve that sound. But in the end, its all about the sound and why you wanna play it, do whatever helps you get there.