How To Hear And Recognize The Modes (For Bass Players)

Imagine this: You’re at a jam session and a guitarist starts noodling away (that shouldn’t be hard to imagine…) and asks you to join in with what they’re doing.

But what you’re hearing doesn’t sound like it’s in a major key, but it also doesn’t sound like a straight-up minor key either.

You realize they’re playing something using one of the modes – but how are you supposed to recognize it, know what to play, and then jump in without a moment’s hesitation?

That’s something that a student of mine asked not so long ago; he wanted to know how to hear the modes, recognize them instantly and be able to jump in and play along.

This is a really great question because if you play for long enough, you’re bound to run into this kind of situation; either playing with others or even just playing along with songs by yourself.

That’s why in today’s video, you’ll learn:

• The ‘shortcut’ to internalizing the sound of the modes (Hint: it’s more than just listening passively)
• The super simple 3-step process you can use to learn the sound of the modes
• Specific things to listen for in each of the modes that ‘gives them away’

Check out the lesson here:

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Of course if the modes seem like magic to you right now or even if you’re a little bit confused about them, make sure to download my Ultimate Guide To The Modes above. It’s a jargon-free confusion-busting guide that shows you exactly what the modes are, where they come from and exactly when and where to use them. It’s completely free too, so just fill out the form above and I’ll send it straight to you.

Now doing all the things I lay out in the lesson is going to be crucial when it comes to recognizing the sound of the modes, but it’s also important that you do this with real-world songs as well. You can get a better sense of exactly how these modes get used and you can start to put your own feelings and labels on to them.

Test yourself out with these songs that use modes:

Red-Haired Boy

Miles Davis – So What

Jefferson Airplane – White Rabbit 

Joe Satriani – War

Scarborough Fair

The Beatles – Norwegian Wood

Carlos Santana – Oye Como Va

Joe Satriani – Flying In A Blue Dream 

Lorde – Royals

Iron Maiden – Remember Tomorrow

Good luck with the lesson, the modes, the songs and of course happy playing!

Cheers,