Guitar Scales and Lead Guitar Syllabus

What is the formula and character of the Ionian mode?

Mode 1 of the major scale, identical to it: $1,2,3,4,5,6,7$; bright, resolved, the 'home' major sound.

What is the formula of the Dorian mode and what distinguishes it from natural minor?

$1,2,\flat 3,4,5,6,\flat 7$ (2nd mode of major). It is a minor mode whose raised natural 6th gives it a jazzy, hopeful minor sound versus Aeolian's $\flat 6$.

What is the formula of the Phrygian mode and its characteristic note?

$1,\flat 2,\flat 3,4,5,\flat 6,\flat 7$ (3rd mode). The $\flat 2$ gives its dark, Spanish/flamenco flavor.

What is the formula of the Lydian mode and its characteristic note?

$1,2,3,\sharp 4,5,6,7$ (4th mode). The $\sharp 4$ gives a dreamy, floating major sound; it is major with a raised 4th.

What is the formula of the Mixolydian mode and where is it used?

$1,2,3,4,5,6,\flat 7$ (5th mode) — major with a $\flat 7$. It fits dominant 7th chords; a staple of blues and rock.

What is the formula of the Aeolian mode?

$1,2,\flat 3,4,5,\flat 6,\flat 7$ (6th mode) — identical to the natural minor scale.

What is the formula of the Locrian mode and why is it unstable?

$1,\flat 2,\flat 3,4,\flat 5,\flat 6,\flat 7$ (7th mode). Its $\flat 5$ makes the tonic triad diminished, so there is no stable perfect 5th to resolve to.

Over which chord type is Locrian most commonly applied?

The half-diminished (m7$\flat 5$) chord, e.g., B Locrian over Bm7$\flat 5$ in a minor ii–V–i.

List the seven modes of the major scale in order from mode 1 to mode 7.

Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, Locrian.

Which modes of the major scale are major-sounding and which are minor-sounding?

Major (natural 3): Ionian, Lydian, Mixolydian. Minor ($\flat 3$): Dorian, Phrygian, Aeolian. Diminished ($\flat 3$ and $\flat 5$): Locrian.

How do you choose a mode to play over a single static chord (modal approach)?

Match chord tones to a mode's formula: maj7 → Ionian or Lydian; dom7 → Mixolydian; m7 → Dorian, Aeolian, or Phrygian; m7$\flat 5$ → Locrian; then emphasize the mode's characteristic note.

What mode fits each chord of a ii–V–I in C major (Dm7–G7–Cmaj7)?

D Dorian over Dm7, G Mixolydian over G7, C Ionian over Cmaj7 — all the same seven notes, but with different chord tones emphasized.

What is the difference between 'parent scale' and 'parallel' thinking when applying modes?

Parent-scale thinking finds the one major scale containing the mode (E Phrygian = C major from E); parallel thinking alters the root's own scale (E Phrygian = E natural minor with $\flat 2$).

How is a hammer-on executed?

Pick a note, then sharply 'hammer' a fretting finger onto a higher fret on the same string so the new (higher) note sounds without re-picking.

How is a pull-off executed?

With two fingers fretting the string, pluck the higher note, then flick the upper finger off (slightly pulling the string sideways) so the lower fretted or open note sounds without picking.

What articulation category do hammer-ons and pull-offs belong to, and what notation marks them?

Legato (slur) techniques; written with a slur/tie arc, and in tab as 'h' (hammer-on) and 'p' (pull-off).

What is the difference between a legato slide and a picked (shift) slide?

Legato slide: pick the first note only and slide to the target, one attack for both notes. Picked slide: the destination note is picked again on arrival.

What is a glissando on guitar?

A slide of indefinite start or end point — sliding into a note from no particular fret or sliding off a note toward nowhere specific — used as an expressive scoop or fall.

What is the key physical requirement for a slide to sound clean?

Maintain constant finger pressure on the string throughout the slide so the note sustains; releasing pressure kills the sound mid-slide.

What is string bending and what does a full bend equal in pitch?

Pushing/pulling a fretted string across the fretboard to raise its pitch. A full bend raises pitch a whole step ($2$ semitones); a half bend raises it one semitone.

What is a pre-bend (ghost bend)?

Bending the string to the target pitch before picking, then picking and (usually) releasing the bend down to the fretted pitch — a descending expressive effect.

What is the standard technique for supporting and checking a bend?

Bend with the 3rd finger reinforced by the 1st and 2nd behind it, pivoting from the wrist; check intonation by matching the bent pitch to the same note fretted normally.

What is vibrato on guitar and how is it produced?

A periodic fluctuation of pitch on a held note, produced by rhythmically bending and releasing the string (or rotating the wrist); classical players roll the fingertip along the string.

What two parameters define the character of vibrato?

Width (depth of pitch variation, subtle to over a semitone) and speed (rate of oscillation); good players control both deliberately and keep them even.

What is alternate picking?

Strictly alternating down- and up-strokes (down–up–down–up) regardless of string changes; it maximizes rhythmic consistency and speed on scalar lines.

What is economy picking and how does it differ from alternate picking?

Like alternate picking within a string, but when crossing strings the pick continues in its travel direction (a mini sweep), minimizing motion; alternate picking keeps strict down–up even across strings.

What is legato phrasing in lead guitar?

Producing streams of connected notes mainly with fretting-hand hammer-ons, pull-offs, and slides, picking rarely — yielding a smooth, fluid sound with fewer attack transients.

What is two-handed tapping?

Using a picking-hand finger to hammer notes onto the fretboard, combined with fretting-hand hammer-ons and pull-offs, allowing wide interval arpeggios on one string (popularized by Eddie Van Halen in 'Eruption').

Describe the classic three-note tapping cycle on one string.

Tap a high fret with the picking hand, pull off to a fretting-hand note, hammer onto a higher fretting-hand note, then repeat — a fast triplet arpeggio loop.

What is the most important muting concern when tapping, and a common fix?

Unplayed strings ring sympathetically at high gain; mute them with the picking-hand palm/edge, fretting-hand underside, or a hair-tie/string dampener at the nut.