'Learn The Modes!' is Horrible Advice - This is A Better Skill

You have probably seen people giving the advice like "learn all the modes if you want to play jazz" or "first learn the modes all over the neck and then check out a 2 5 1"

Most of the time this advice is probably given with a good intention but what this makes you study is not going to help you play any better or set you on a path to make music, so the question is really if it is a good goal or advice at all? Maybe you shouldn't really worry about modes at all.

That's what I want to discuss in this video, and I will give you something else to study that is a lot more useful for your playing (and which will make you able to play modes anyway....)

0:00 Intro
0:25 Modes - Are they solving the problem you want to solve?
0:49 What Skills to Develop
1:26 #1 How Modes Are Taught
2:12 The Pentatonic Modal approach
2:42 #2 How Does It Fit With The Music
3:36 Characteristic notes of a mode and the chords you use it on.
4:39 Understanding Chord Progressions?
5:10 #3 What Is Missing - Where do they fail
5:34 What to do instead.
6:28 That is actually playing modes
6:42 #4 A Better Solution
7:40 Rows of notes don't make you a better improviser
7:55 Like the video? Check out my Patreon Page.

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Edited by Luciano Poli

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[JensLarsen]

This is a topic that I run into often and that I feel is holding a lot of people back. What do you think?
Content:
0:00 Intro
0:25 Modes - Are they solving the problem you want to solve?
0:49 What Skills to Develop
1:26 #1 How Modes Are Taught
2:12 The Pentatonic Modal approach
2:42 #2 How Does It Fit With The Music
3:36 Characteristic notes of a mode and the chords you use it on.
4:39 Understanding Chord Progressions?
5:10 #3 What Is Missing - Where do they fail
5:34 What to do instead.
6:28 That is actually playing modes
6:42 #4 A Better Solution
7:40 Rows of notes don't make you a better improviser
7:55 Like the video? Check out my Patreon Page.

[medicinecircus]

I think you’re exactly right about learning modes.
I’ve always had a tough time memorizing modes and giving them a lot of attention because the endeavor seems aimless.
What you’re suggesting in this vid make a lot more sense to me.

[DreamPurpleFloyd]

When I started learning jazz I focused a lot on scales and I had a hard time using them in improv. For the last months I've been focusing on learning triads and connecting them and I can't tell you how much it improved my soloing. It also turns out a lot of famous themes are built around triads, with a few embelishments ; once you see it it's way easier to paraphrase the themes!

[kimhroberts]

I finally started working with the CAGED method a couple of weeks ago... with this little gem I just leveled up big time as a guitarist... just arpeggiate! Mind blown. Too simple. Thanks for sharing!

[Themoses]

Jens, this video is packed with so much great and practical advice. It's so easy to become confused with all these different scales and modes, especially if they're not helping your playing to be more musical. Making music is the whole point!

[AllanDawsonMuso]

Very thought provoking video, Jens. I work in rock but I have the same outlook. I never really write solo's, I just improvise them during the recording. When I do this I always try to stay away from sounding like I'm just using scales, preferring instead to deliver something that sounds expressive and conversational.

[augustosj]

I recently found this out by accident while i was improvising over a rather simple chord progression. I tried turning off the backing track and continue improvising while only imagining the chords in my head as they progressed. It taught me how important it is to play the notes in the chords compared to the whole scale, in order to hear what chords the improvisation follows. This video emphasized on that as well.

[sanjinadum]

This way of thinking makes Jazz so much more approachable and of course easier to understand. Thanks a lot, great video. Loved it!

[Tmidiman]

I agree with much of what you’re saying. Some people glorify theory over music. Like a child learning a language, first they learn to communicate, much later they learn how to spell and the theory behind language.

[bobchurunkle]

Every lesson you post has my full interest, so so refreshing to hear your lessons from the melody angle rather than "OK you want to play A lydian, well here's the scale of E major, off you go, , " a little bit like putting arm bands on a child putting him/her in the pool and saying just move your arms and legs about, there you are you're swimming, , , I think you've got a unique way of teaching and I for one have realised ive been wearing armbands in the pool of music for over 40 years of playing 👍thank you for your insights, valuable lessons

[tdavis]

What Jens is explaining is the reason I dreaded having to learn modes. I have learned more from this guy in the last 2 months than the previous 15 years, and I've just started!

[aliray]

Instant follow. You’re so knowledgable it’s refreshing to hear someone who is “beyond the modes” as now I know them and love them, I’ve found the limits within, so I wanna go further

[JazzRockswithAdam]

I agree that for jazz improvisation thinking modes and scales isn’t practical to simply play them for improvising. It’s good info to know as a “back drop” of note choices to choose from. Nailing chord-tones in strategic places and decorating them in the language of jazz is much better. Mostly it’s how it’s taught in many colleges and conservatories is what’s the problem. There can be a practical application, but it’s harder to conceptualize. So they usually teach it in a simple way that’s not very practical. The chord-tones are the pillars. It’s the notes between the chord-tones from different choices of scales and modes that give us different flavors (or colors), so one has different options of different sounds to choose from. That’s how any scale should be looked at.

[robertnewell]

A great explanation of shortcomings of the 'mode per chord' approach. I once asked the great English jazz guitarist Adrian Ingram about this, and he said that if you know the major scale your already know the modes and that learning them again separately was redundant knowledge. The other great piece of flawed jazz teaching is the chord/scale approach, suggesting that each scale should be used over its associated chord (see for example Jamey Aebersold). There's a reason why people talk about playing OVER the changes or THROUGH the changes. That reason is what you are talking about here, outlining the harmonic movement through creating lines which reflect that. 'Mode per chord' and chord/scale approaches don't help with doing that, and also present an incredibly cumbersome memory burdon. Let's hear a good solo using these approaches over Cherokee.

[alexhoward]

Jens I wanted to say how grateful I am for your channel. I hope you realize how important your contribution to the world of music is! Jazz guitarists all over the world will be referring to your videos for years to come!

[koho]

I am just taking a first step into this realm, learning chord tones, and trying to move them with the chord progression. This advice gives me confidence that this is a good place to put my energy, without being distracted by bells and whistles that I can add later. I can't overstate how helpful this is. Thank you, Jens!!

[legoblox]

Also if you do decide to learn modes down the line. Don't learn them like this:
C Ionian, D Dorian, E Phyrgian, F Lydian, etc
Learn them like you should learn any other scale. Pick a mode and learn it in 12 keys. (Dorian as an example)
C Dorian, F Dorian, Bb Dorian, etc etc around the circle
That way you really internalize the sound of the scale, which is more important than the scale itself.

[lyndaszabomusic]

I knew this in university, i knew it made no sense to just think in terms of modes. As soon as i saw the title... i liked! Youre the BEST Jens

[stinemusiclessons]

This is a great lesson, Jens! Thanks 🙏

[ricktoney]

yes i agree because modes teaches you all the right notes..why would you want that when you play jazz!!!