Play these notes starting on C and you're playing the C major scale (also known as the Ionian mode – the 'first' mode). Start on D and you're playing the second mode (D Dorian, as it happens). By the ...

Emotive and powerful, if you're looking to move listeners with your guitar playing then the Aeolian mode is a great choice. Also known as the natural minor scale, it ...

As we’ve said before, in recent issues, the easiest way to understand modes is to think of them as re-workings of the major scale, simply starting on a note that isn’t the root. The Aeolian mode is no ...