Modes on a String
March 31, 2007
One technique I've been working on lately that guitarists overlook frequently is shifting. The ability to execute smooth, precise shifts will take your guitar playing to the next dimension. This exercise is designed to get your shifting chops up to speed by cycling through all seven modes on one string (the B string). The tricky is part is minimizing the amount of string noise caused by shifting as much of possible. For further practice, try this exercise with different keys on different strings. If you're not shure what a mode is or need a refresher, explore the following links:
- A decent introduction (download the PDF)
- An exhaustive discussion