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Modes Archives

The Brown’stone: Modes, Triads, & the 2-5-1 (Part 2)
The Brown’stone

The Brown’stone: Modes, Triads, & the 2-5-1 (Part 2)

This week in The Brown’stone on No Treble, Rich Brown shares a fantastic exercise that will help you play almost any progression anywhere on the fretboard.

The Brown’stone: Playing Changes Using The Modes (Part 1)
The Brown’stone

The Brown’stone: Playing Changes Using The Modes (Part 1)

This week in The Brown’stone on No Treble, Rich Brown shows us a great way to play through changes in one position on the fretboard. This lesson will definitely help with soloing, walking basslines, or coming up with your own original basslines.

The Brown’stone: The Modes Made Simple on Bass
The Brown’stone

The Brown’stone: The Modes Made Simple on Bass

This week in The Brown’stone on No Treble, Rich Brown talks about one of his favorite subjects. It’s the one thing he gets asked a lot: THE MODES. This lesson breaks them down in a way that will eliminate all confusion.

Bass & Creativity: Suspended Chords & Modes, Part 1
Bass & Creativity

Bass & Creativity: Suspended Chords & Modes, Part 1

In this “Bass & Creativity” lesson, Olivier Babaz focuses on the beautiful colors made through suspended voicings. He walks through the basics of sus4 & sus2 chords and their most common use.

Bass & Creativity: Alternate Lydian Modes
Bass & Creativity

Bass & Creativity: Alternate Lydian Modes

For this lesson, we'll be looking into some alternate Lydian colors. We will take a look at the colors and applications of the Augmented Lydian and Dominant Lydian, both as full modes and as temporary colors integrated within more usual chord sequences.

Bass & Creativity: Dorian Mode
Bass & Creativity

Bass & Creativity: Dorian Mode

Olivier Babaz is back with his second entry in his “Bass & Creativity” lesson series. In this video lesson, he’s focusing on exploring the sounds, colors, and options through improvisation within the Dorian mode.

Bass & Creativity: Harmonic Sequences
Bass & Creativity

Bass & Creativity: Harmonic Sequences

In this video lesson, we'll practice and explore the harmonic possibilities of combining bass playing with one or two top notes. Follow along with the video and topic outline.

What Fingerings Should I Use for the Modes?
Ask Damian Erskine

What Fingerings Should I Use for the Modes?

A reader sent Damian a note this week saying he's just starting to learn modes on the bass but is struggling with the finger patterns. He asked for help, and Damian decided to make this week’s column a video demonstration on the topic.

Modal Double Stops and Broken Intervals
Ask Damian Erskine

Modal Double Stops and Broken Intervals

This lesson is a bit of a continuation from last week. Again, we’ll be dealing with more ways to internalize the major scale and related modes across the fretboard. Specifically, we’ll be working through a nice double-stop exercise as well as using some brain twisting broken intervallic exercises.

Modal Arpeggio Patterns for Bass
Ask Damian Erskine

Modal Arpeggio Patterns for Bass

We’re continuing our exercise series this week with a lesson on modal arpeggio patterns. Learning modes, scales, and patterns help to open the fretboard up in your mind. You learn the connections, intervals, and relationships of the notes. Some of this sounds more complicated than it is. Hang in there and we will work it all out.

Should I Bother With Modes?
Ask Damian Erskine

Should I Bother With Modes?

Q: First of all thank you very much for your past reply to my question! Lately while working on improvisation and in particular on linear melody through changes, I started asking myself why I should bother with modes. For instance, if there’s a Fmin7 moving to an Amin7 chord and I want to think about those two chords as F...

Creative Bass Lines: Lydian Triad Pairs
Creative Bass Lines

Creative Bass Lines: Lydian Triad Pairs

Today, we dive into something new – superimposing Major triad pairs derived from Lydian Mode Harmony over a Major 7th chord. The examples on the video are over an F Major 7th chord, and I am using a neat little looper for this. It’s a great practice tool. In the video (and transcription) I take you through the basic major...