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Modern harmony is in large part compared to the modal system, regarding the development of the scales and the relative harmonization of the chords. It's important to know and to apply the concepts that are by now fundamental in the musical composition and improvisation inherent to the modal system. It is understood that you have learned the theoretic and harmonic parts of this subject. If this in not the case, it is advisable, (I would say obligatory) to study the pages of the site that talk about the modal system.
In the section dedicated to the fingerings of the major scales we have seen how to obtain the fingerings depending on the position. Using this system we can work on the fingerings of modes related to the various types of major and minor scales.

Basic Exercises

The following exercises serve to give practical knowledge of the modal system on the major scale, that for practical reasons will be in C major. Follow the usual suggestions of playing the exercises: use a metronome to obtain the correct rhythm, initially playing slow, then gradually increasing the speed as you become more confident with the execution.

Ex. 1

The first exercise is played in the scale of C major Type 1. The seven modes are played in ascending order one by one, starting from the lowest note of the mode, up to the highest note of the position (the A, 5th fret on the first string), while in the descending sense its the opposite.

Ex. 2

Always in Type 1, develop every mode in order to play starting from the bass root, immediately followed by the descending sequence from the upper octave. The difficulty heree comes from the string changes between the two roots of every mode. This exercise can also be performed on the modes in the lowest positions.

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