The Modal Scale Workout 2.0:
An Introduction to Modes and Modal Scale Theory for Guitarists
This ‘Modal Workout’ started off as a hand written scribble on some music paper that I handed out to my guitar students as a challenging exercise. The ‘workout’ provided the additional benefit of memorizing sequences and shapes in a key. Very useful for building improvisational skills and a strong technical foundation.
I finally got around to organizing it in to a full-size book.
I’ve tried to keep this book concise. You should expect the following results:
When I started my website, one of the first things I offered to the wonderful guitarists who joined my email list was this Guitar Modal Workout. A simple 2 page PDF. No instructions, no explanation, no text; just the same exercise I was handing out to students over 25 years ago.
The funny thing was, guitarists loved it!
I finally got around to organizing it a bit better and with more explanation and thoughts on Guitar Modal Scales in general. I took a few excerpts from my online guitar lessons and included them here as accompaniment to fill things out.
There is much to explore down the modal theory rabbit-hole. I offer only the tip of the iceberg in this little guide. As always, I encourage you to take your own studies deeper and beyond what you can get from any one source.
Here’s what you can get in the Guitar Modal Workout:
- Expanded and Revised Edition.
- Explanation of the Major Scale.
- Circle of Keys Explained.
- What a mode is and how to build them in any key.
- How modes and chords relate to each other on the guitar fretboard.
- All 7 Mode Shapes (block shapes).
- All 7 Mode shapes (3 note-per-string shapes)
- All 7 Melodic Minor Mode shapes.
- All 7 Harmonic Minor Mode shapes.
- How modes overlap on the guitar neck.
- How to build sequences across modal scales.
- The original Modal Scale Workout.
- The updated 2020 Modal Scale 2.0 Workout.
- TAB and Standard Notation.
- Full Color, High Resolution PDF.
- Also available in paperback from Amazon.
1 review for The Modal Scale Workout for Guitar
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Timmy O. (verified owner) –
Finally model makes sense!
Verified Purchase – Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸
I can’t believe it but Craig Smith actually did the impossible. I understand modes now. After years of lessons and other books, finally it clicked with me. Great material and exercises and the theory is so simple to me now.