In the major scale there are 8 notes, from the low root note to the same note an octave higher. By playing the scale you are playing the first mode which is named the Ionian Mode.
Let us take the C major as an example and then go through all of the modes that relate to C. Once you have learned this in one key it should then be fairly easy to transfer the modes to other keys. Also, make sure that you read through this with a guitar in your hand so that you can play through everything that I explain. Music theory can often be very confusing if it is not applied directly to what you are doing with your hands.
So, to re-iterate, by playing the major scale, in this case C, you are playing the first mode, the Ionian Mode. Now move up to the second note of the C major scale. This is a D. Now play through the same notes for the C major scale, but this time make sure that you start on the D and then finish on the D an octave higher. You must note that you are not playing a D major or minor scale, you are playing a mode of D which uses all of the notes in the C major scale. This is the Dorian Mode and it is always the mode that starts on the second note of any major scale.
Now move up to the third note of the C major scale. This is an E. Now, do as we did before when we played from the D. Play all of the notes of the C major scale but start on the E and finish on the E an octave higher. This is now a mode of E and it is called the Phrygian mode. The Phrygian Mode always begins and finishes on the third note of the scale.
Get the gist? For each mode you are using the major scale but starting on a different note. Although the notes are the same, because the start and end places are different from the scale, each run, or mode has a different feel. So far we have played the Ionian, Dorian and Phrygian Modes. Try the modes for the remaining notes in the scale. By starting on the fourth note you will be playing the Lydian Mode, if you start on the fifth you will play the Mixolydian Mode, on the sixth it is the Aeolian Mode and on the seventh it is the Locrian mode.
What sometimes makes this confusing is there are two different ways to learn modes. Here I have outlined what is known as the derivative method for modes as, in my opinion it easier to understand them in term of how they are derived from the major scale. When you have got your head around this try the other method. It is a little more complicated but if you pick a note, say again C, then play all of the modes but starting on a C, so you should play C Ionian, C Dorian, C Phrygian, and so on. This is called the parallel method and is useful in that you can hear the modes as they sound individually without hearing them in relation to the major scale. This can be useful if you really want to get a sense of what each mode feels like.
Keep playing the modes over and over in C major, remembering that the notes o f the C major don't change only the start and finish note. When you are really comfortable try them in the key of G, so that you will play G Ionian, A Dorian, B Phrygian, etc.
For more information on modes, scales and other aspects of music theory visit http://www.guitar4free.com/. There are more written lessons like this one at http://guitar4freenewsandthoughts.blogspot.com/
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