Modes For 12 Bar Blues

Beyond just hearing them, or knowing how they work, you need a practical application for the modes.

Here is a solution for the 12-bar blues with all Dominant 7th chords. But what comes along with this is a deeper sonic sophistication (because the modes are 7-note scales, vs the pentatonic). Does this increased sophistication suite you? Is it too "jazzy" for you?

00:00 Demonstration
00:27 Thesis
01:33 Introduction
03:33 Lesson
10:15 Wrap Up

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Thanks for watching!
Chris

[EclecticEssentric]

I had not used those particular modes to focus the A tonic throughout the progression. Thanks for the shared wisdom!

MDI (Mixolydian, Dorian, Ionian) is the mnemonic to keep it in the brain queue.

[micksmastercosmo]

More "GOLD" from the master! I have to say my head exploded when you said we weren't in the key of A until we were in the 5th in E, but I held in and now understand. Thanks for another great lesson and more importantly for sharing your knowledge with the community. You have a tremendous teaching gift

[joshpad]

Hi Chris, once more, lots of "aha!" moments here for me. Keep 'em coming!

[mauromantovani]

Every lesson the fog that wraps that guitar fredboard into mistery, slowly starts to open up and become clearer and clearer. Thank you sir for these amazing lessons. It's a light bulb moment every single time.

[christyler]

Oh my gosh, that FINALLY makes sense. I was taught the modes but I could never quite understand how they fit in with the Blues as my teacher was a Berkley guy but not a Blues player. Thank you so much!!

[davidjorgensen]

I've known about the modes for 40+ years but only touched on them superficially until the past couple of years when I decided I needed to up my game. Once you learn the patterns, it's easy to do a vamp in any given mode, but it's waaay more difficult to shift modes between chords in a progression. For blues, I knew Mixolydian was the mode of choice, but until now I'd been approaching it in terms of switching to Mixolydian in the key of each chord root (e.g., for blues in A: A-Mixolydian, D-Mixolydian, E-Mixolydian). But then I had to try to figure out where each pattern in those three separate keys falls around whichever part of the fretboard I was centered at the moment. Your lesson showed me the much simpler path, which is to keep everything in the key of A and then figure out which mode of A matches the notes of Mixolydian in D (A-Dorian) and E (A-Major). Once you flipped that light switch on for me, the connections between the patterns just suddenly leaped off the fretboard!!! Many thanks, man.

[diggeroldmate]

Awesome! I was wondering how that works with three major chords! Brilliant as always.

[willbergman]

Finally, the modal penny has dropped and I see/hear modes being applied and not only explained in a scholastic way. Thank you.

[m.vonhollen]

Over a Blues with 3 Dominant 7 chords, each chord can use all 12 notes in this order: first 3 and b7, then 1-3-5-b7; then 1-b3/3-5-b7; then 1-2-b3/3-4-b5-5-6-b7 (which is Mixolydian combined with the Blues scale); then use b2-b6-7 in chromatic lines that resolve to chord tones. - It took me a lifetime to figure out that all 12 notes can be used over each Dominant 7 chord in a 12-bar Blues with 3 Dominant 7 chords.

[dannyhancock]

With a huge sigh of relief I say thank you for an explanation of modes that I finally get!

[MrScotbar]

Good Lord that was meaty! Such riches served up superbly, but in a wonderfully digestible form. Not arse-kissing, just sincere thanks Chris for the gifts you keep giving us. All the best.

[radcliffsc]

This is great! I just started really digging into modes, and this gives me something to loop and practice to. I was just vamping a chord and trying to do something musical over top of it. Swapping modes in the middle of a progression seems way more practical.

[simondou]

Awesome video I now understand how to practically apply modes in a chord progression.

[timsellsted]

Great lesson @Chrissherland. I'm going to have to watch this one again. :)

[impartialobservers]

I’ve been trying to understand why I couldn’t play modes over I IV V in dom7 blues and this explained it all perfectly - we’re shifting keys! Thank you so much.

[redstep-child]

What a teacher! What a player! Damn good!

[charlesbolin]

If only I could like this more than once, darn like button. Love the way you teach!

[annarakannan]

You are at another level as a teacher. 🙏🙏🙏🙏

[richardallen]

You have again read my mind with what I want to learn.
What a great lesson. Very eye opening. I buckle up before opening any of your lessons. It always a wild ride.

[RealAgno]

my band and I practicing sweet home chicago so this is perfect!