A mode is a scale in which the tonal center has been displaced. It is simply playing a major scale in any given key and beginning and ending on the same note an octave apart which is not necessarily the root of the key. For instance if you play D to D in the key of C using the same accidental rules (as in this case no sharps or flats) it is a Dorian Mode. Dorian begins on the 2^nd note in any major scale and finishes on the same note an octave apart. To comprehend then implement these improvisational scales is an important lesson and the melodic basis for many great jazz artists. We can construct a scale starting on any note, arrange the whole steps and half steps in the same manner and it will always sound like a major scale. In other words, it is the arrangement of the whole steps and half steps that give a scale its characteristic sound. Ultimate Scales & Modes for Guitar by Sal Salvador distributed by Santorella Publications, explains this intervallic concept in detail.

Scales and modes are an important part of the playing styles of Al DiMeola, John Scofield, Joe Pass, Carlos Santana, Yngwie Malmsteen, Joe Satriani, B.B. King, Robert Cray, Stevie Ray Vaughan and so many others that to list them would be an impossible task. Ultimate Scales & Modes for Guitar by Sal Salvador is a methodic approach to learning all these scales and modes by using exercises with examples from so many of these great guitarists.

Each scale and mode is shown in five different fingerings followed by a series of exercises designed to help you to develop a feel for playing through them and applying them to your own music. They are written in the key of C for ease of learning, but should be practiced in all keys. We also list the most important chords over which the scale or mode can be played. There are so many possibilities and Sal has written them all in standard notation and tablature just for you in Ultimate Scales & Modes for Guitar.  Here’s an example of what you’ll learn;

Ionian Mode (Major Scale) • Dorian Mode • Phrygian Mode • Lydian Mode • Mixolydian Mode • Aeolian Mode • Locrian Mode • Harmonic Minor Scale • Jazz Melodic Minor Scale • Lydian Dominant Scale • Super Locrian Mode • Minor Pentatonic Scale •Major Pentatonic Scale • Blues Scale • Diminished Scale • Whole Tone Scale • Spanish Phrygian Scale • How To Determine The Appropriate Scale • The Appropriate Mode • Major Scales In All Keys • Harmonic Minors In All Keys • Harmonized Jazz Minors In All Keys