C Ionian Mode:
C D E F G A B CThe above guitar fretboard diagram displays all of the notes found in the C major scale or C ionian mode. (I will use both terms so that you get used to them being as one).
The scale template used to create the major scale from the chromatic scale is T, T, S/T, T, T, T, ST.
Where T is Tone the distance of two frets & S/T is a distance of 1 fret.
So this is how we find the notes in the C major scale.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
C# D# F# G# A#
C D E F G A B C
Db Eb Gb Ab Bb
T T S/T T T T S/T
C D E F G A B C
So we find that the C major scale has: C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C
How To Create All Major Scales
Form the following Major Scales from the Chromatic Scale:
Rules for creating a major scale:
- Use the major scale template; T, T, S/T, T, T, T, S/T.
- A major scale will have 7 different lettered notes that can be double flat bb or flat b, natural, sharp # or double sharp ##. Scales with bb or ## are not used.
- Apply the scale template to the chromatic scale to form the scale.
The scale list below has been sorted in the order that the sharps & flats appear. So scales range from 0 to 7 sharps or flats. Anything beyond 7 will have bb or ## & are not used.
The order of #'s rule is to take the 5th note & start a new scale with it then sharpen (#) the 7th note. See below.
So use the following C Chromatic Scale to create all of the following major scales.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
C C# D D# E F F# G G# A A# B C
Major Scale Template T T S/T T T T S/T
Note Number 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
C Major Scale C D E F G A B C (None)
G Major Scale G A B C D E F# G (Has 1 #)
D Major Scale D E F# G A B C# D (Has 2 #)
A Major Scale A B C# D E F# G# A (Has 3 #)
E Major Scale E F# G# A B C# D# E (Has 4 #)
B Major Scale B C# D# E F# G# A# B (Has 5 #)
F# Major Scale F# G# A# B C# D# E# F# (Has 6 #)
C# Major Scale C# D# E# F# G# A# B# C# (Has 7 #)
G# Major Scale G# A# B# C# D# E# F## G# (Has 8 #)
D# Major Scale D# E# F## G# A# B# C## D# (Has 9 #)
A# Major Scale A# B# C## D# E# F## G## A# (Has 10#)
E# Major Scale E# F## G## A# B# C## D## E# (Has 11#)
B# Major Scale B# C## D## E# F## G## A## B# (Has 12#)
The order of b's rule is to take the 4th note & start a new scale with it then flatten (b) the 4th note. See below.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
C Db D Eb E F Gb G Ab A Bb B C
Major Scale Template T T S/T T T T S/T
Note Number 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
C Major Scale C D E F G A B C (None)
F Major Scale F G A Bb C D E F (Has 1 b)
Bb Major Scale Bb C D Eb F G A Bb (Has 2 b)
Eb Major Scale Eb F G Ab Bb C D Eb (Has 3 b)
Ab Major Scale Ab Bb C Db Eb F G Ab (Has 4 b)
Db Major Scale Db Eb F Gb Ab Bb C Db (Has 5 b)
Gb Major Scale Gb Ab Bb Cb Db Eb F Gb (Has 6 b)
Cb Major Scale Cb Db Eb Fb Gb Ab Bb Cb (Has 7 b)
Fb Major Scale Fb Gb Ab Bbb Cb Db Eb Fb (Has 8 b)
Bbb Major Scale Bbb Cb Db Ebb Fb Gb Ab Bbb (Has 9 b)
Ebb Major Scale Ebb Fb Gb Abb Bbb Cb Db Ebb (Has 10b)
Abb Major Scale Abb Bbb Cb Dbb Ebb Fb Gb Abb (Has 11b)
Dbb Major Scale Dbb Ebb Fb Gbb Abb Bbb Cb Dbb (Has 12b)
The major scale has 7 notes so we have to draw the line at 7 # & 7 b's.
Major Scale - With Sharps
1# 2# 3# 4# 5# 6# 7#
G D A E B F# C#
Major Scale – With Flats
1b 2b 3b 4b 5b 6b 7b
F Bb Eb Ab Db Gb (Cb)
Once you have learnt this guitar mode click on the lead guitar backing track link to practise.
Free lead guitar backing tracks!
You notice that the notes are colour co-ordinated, for me this is the best way to learn to master the guitar fretboard. For instance at a glance you can see where all of the C notes are in relation to each other.
As a lead guitarist you can play any of the notes over chord progressions drawn out of the C major scale & they will sound great.
Lead guitar Exercise. Practice playing three notes on each of the strings starting on the 6th string up to the 1st string. Then move down the strings using the same notes.
As there are 7 notes in the C major scale this means that as a lead guitarist you can play 7 different patterns all over the guitar fretboard & still be playing the C major scale. As a lead guitarist you will want to play your lead guitar solo's & riffs all over the guitar fretboard.
Here are the 7 patterns of the C major scale, as displayed above:
C Major Scale pattern 1:
-----10---12-13-----------NOTES PLAYED--------------------D,E,F
-----10---12-13-----------NOTES PLAYED--------------------A,B,C
---9-10---12--------------NOTES PLAYED--------------------E,F,G
---9-10---12--------------NOTES PLAYED--------------------B,C,D
-8---10---12--------------NOTES PLAYED--------------------F,G,A
-8---10---12--------------NOTES PLAYED--------------------C,D,E
C Major Scale Pattern 2: Or the D Dorian Mode Pattern 1
-------12-13----15--------NOTES PLAYED--------------------E,F,G
-------12-13----15--------NOTES PLAYED--------------------B,C,D
-10----12----14-----------NOTES PLAYED--------------------F,G,A
-10----12----14-----------NOTES PLAYED--------------------C,D,E
-10----12----14-----------NOTES PLAYED--------------------G,A,B
-10----12-13--------------NOTES PLAYED--------------------D,E,F
C Major Scale pattern 3: Or the E Phrygian Mode Pattern 1
----13----15----17--------NOTES PLAYED--------------------F,G,A
----13----15----17--------NOTES PLAYED--------------------C,D,E
-12----14----16-----------NOTES PLAYED--------------------G,A,B
-12----14-15--------------NOTES PLAYED--------------------D,F,F
-12----14-15--------------NOTES PLAYED--------------------A,B,C
-12-13----15--------------NOTES PLAYED--------------------E,F,G
C Major Scale Pattern 4: Or the F Lydian Mode Pattern 1
-----3---5---7------------NOTES PLAYED--------------------G,A,B
-----3---5-6--------------NOTES PLAYED--------------------D,E,F
---2---4-5----------------NOTES PLAYED--------------------A,B,C
---2-3---5----------------NOTES PLAYED--------------------E,F,G
---2-3---5----------------NOTES PLAYED--------------------B,C,D
-1---3---5----------------NOTES PLAYED--------------------F,G,A
C Major Scale Pattern 4: Or the F Lydian Mode Pattern 1
-------15----17-18--------NOTES PLAYED--------------------G,A,B
-------15----17-18--------NOTES PLAYED--------------------D,E,F
----14----16-17-----------NOTES PLAYED--------------------A,B,C
----14-15----17-----------NOTES PLAYED--------------------E,F,G
----14-15----17-----------NOTES PLAYED--------------------B,C,D
-13----15----17-----------NOTES PLAYED--------------------F,G,A
C Major Scale Pattern 5: Or the G Mixolydian Mode Pattern 1
-----5---7-8--------------NOTES PLAYED--------------------A,B,C
-----5-6---8--------------NOTES PLAYED--------------------E,F,G
---4-5---7----------------NOTES PLAYED--------------------B,C,D
-3---5---7----------------NOTES PLAYED--------------------F,G,A
-3---5---7----------------NOTES PLAYED--------------------C,D,E
-3---5---7----------------NOTES PLAYED--------------------G,A,B
C Major Scale Pattern 5: Or the G Mixolydian Mode Pattern 1
-------17----19-20--------NOTES PLAYED--------------------A,B,C
-------17-18----20--------NOTES PLAYED--------------------E,F,G
----16-17----19-----------NOTES PLAYED--------------------B,C,D
-15----17----19-----------NOTES PLAYED--------------------F,G,A
-15----17----19-----------NOTES PLAYED--------------------C,D,E
-15----17----19-----------NOTES PLAYED--------------------G,A,B
C Major Scale Pattern 6: Or the A Aeolian Mode Pattern 1
-----7-8---10-------------NOTES PLAYED--------------------B,C,D
---6---8---10-------------NOTES PLAYED--------------------F,G,A
-5---7---9----------------NOTES PLAYED--------------------C,D,E
-5---7---9----------------NOTES PLAYED--------------------G,A,B
-5---7-8------------------NOTES PLAYED--------------------D,E,F
-5---7-8------------------NOTES PLAYED--------------------A,B,C
C Major Scale Pattern 7: Or the B Locrian Mode Pattern 1
---8---10---12------------NOTES PLAYED--------------------C,D,E
---8---10---12------------NOTES PLAYED--------------------G,A,B
-7---9-10-----------------NOTES PLAYED--------------------D,E,F
-7---9-10-----------------NOTES PLAYED--------------------A,B,C
-7-8---10-----------------NOTES PLAYED--------------------E,F,G
-7-8---10-----------------NOTES PLAYED--------------------B,C,D
C Major Scale 5 Box System
You can also play lead solos using 5 patterns or 5 boxes.
The 5 pattern method only spans 4 or 5 frets, so this method is often useful when playing lead solos around a chord.
C Major Scale Box 1
-7-8---10-----------------NOTES PLAYED--------------------B,C,D
---8---10-----------------NOTES PLAYED--------------------G,A,
-7---9-10-----------------NOTES PLAYED--------------------D,E,F
-7---9-10-----------------NOTES PLAYED--------------------A,B,C
-7-8---10-----------------NOTES PLAYED--------------------E,F,G
-7-8---10-----------------NOTES PLAYED--------------------B,C,D
Box 1 uses both the B Locrian & C Ionian Mode Shapes.
C Major Scale Box 2
---10----12-13------------NOTES PLAYED--------------------D,E,F
---10----12-13------------NOTES PLAYED--------------------A,B,C,
-9-10----12---------------NOTES PLAYED--------------------E,F,G
-9-10----12---------------NOTES PLAYED--------------------B,C,D
---10----12---------------NOTES PLAYED--------------------G,A,
---10----12-13------------NOTES PLAYED--------------------D,E,F
Box 2 uses the D Dorian Mode Shape.
C Major Scale Box 3
-12-13----15--------------NOTES PLAYED--------------------E,F,G
-12-13----15--------------NOTES PLAYED--------------------B,C,D
-12----14-----------------NOTES PLAYED--------------------G,A,
-12----14-15--------------NOTES PLAYED--------------------D,E,F
-12----14-15--------------NOTES PLAYED--------------------A,B,C
-12-13----15--------------NOTES PLAYED--------------------E,F,G
Box 3 uses both the E Phrygian & the F Lydian Mode Shapes.
C Major Scale Box 4
---3---5------------------NOTES PLAYED--------------------G,A,
---3---5-6----------------NOTES PLAYED--------------------D,E,F
-2---4-5------------------NOTES PLAYED--------------------A,B,C
-2-3---5------------------NOTES PLAYED--------------------E,F,G
-2-3---5------------------NOTES PLAYED--------------------B,C,D
---3---5------------------NOTES PLAYED--------------------G,A,
Box 4 uses the G Mixolydian Mode.
C Major Scale Box 5
---5---7-8----------------NOTES PLAYED--------------------A,B,C
---5-6---8----------------NOTES PLAYED--------------------E,F,G
-4-5---7------------------NOTES PLAYED--------------------B,C,D
---5---7------------------NOTES PLAYED--------------------G,A,
---5---7-8----------------NOTES PLAYED--------------------D,E,F
---5---7-8----------------NOTES PLAYED--------------------A,B,C
Box 5 uses the A Aeolian Mode shape.
Chords Related To The C Major Scale:
Also you can use the guitar fretboard diagram to work out chord shapes all over the guitar fretboard.
So now, let's have a look at the chords available to you when using the C major scale.
The Importance Of Relationships
Notes in a scale are diatonic (all related through the scale), they are used to create music!
They create the melody, harmony & you will have the opportunity to study types of relationships later.
C Ionian Mode Chord Structure
It is important to learn how to create the ionian mode for two reasons:
- You will want to know what notes you have available to create the vocals, lead riffs & lead breaks in a song
- You will want to know how to work out the chords that you can play to create a song.
C Ionian Mode:
C D E F G A B C - So what chords are available for the C Ionian Mode?
Well shortly we will look at around 70 chords available to you when using the C major scale. Firstly however, let's focus on the 7 essential chords; as this will help you get to grips with modal interchange later.
Here are the 7 basic chords that are derived from the C ionian mode:
C, Dm, Em, F, G, Am, Bdim
All of the chords above have 7th chords also.
So taking the notes from the Ionian mode here's the list of the available 7th chords,
CM7, Dm7, Em7, FM7, G7, Am7, Bm7b5
So now you have 14 chords available to play when using the C ionian mode.
14 Essential Chords Major Scale Keys
Free PDF Download
Click here to download the 14 essential chords in the Key of A MajorClick here to download the 14 essential chords in the Key of C Major
Click here to download the 14 essential chords in the Key of D Major
The bigger picture is that you have
7 notes in a major scale. You can build many chords from each note of the scale.
Let's put this into action. Let's take the C ionian mode & find C shape chords that can be used in composition:
Here's the notes:
C D E F G A B C
These 7 notes can make a host of chords as follows.
Let's just take the C note as the root note and add notes to it.
Chords in C Ionian Mode that start with a C note
C, Csus2, Csus4, Cadd9, C5, C6, C6add9, Cmaj7, Cmaj9,
8---------8------8----------5---5-------7------10------------
5--3------6------5----------5---5-------5--------------------
5--5------5------7----------5---5-------5------9-------------
5--5------5------5------5---5---5-------5------9-------------
-----------------5------3-------5----------------------------
--------------------------------5--------------8-------------
Cmaj11, Cmaj13, Cmaj7sus4, Cmaj9sus4,
10------10------10---------10--------------------------------
--------10------10---------12--------------------------------
10------9-------10---------10--------------------------------
9-------9-------9----------10--------------------------------
---------------------------10--------------------------------
8-------8-------8--------------------------------------------
All of these C shape chords use notes found in the C major scale that is a combination of C, D, E, F, G, A, B,
The CM13 or C Major 13 for instance uses all 7 notes, (more about this later).
This principle can be used starting from each of the 7 notes in the C major scale, so lets have a look at some of the chords from each note:
Chords in C Ionian Mode that start with a D note
Dm, Dm6, Dm6/9 Dm7, Dm9, Dm/9 Dm11 Dm11, Dm13, Dsus4,
5---10---12----10---12---12---3----------10----10------------
6---10---12----10---10---10---5----8-----12----10------------
7---10---10----10---10---10---5----10----10----12------------
7---9----12----10---10---12---3----10----10----12------------
5--------------12-------------5----------12------------------
5---10---------10---10-------------10----10------------------
Dsus2, D5, D7sus2, D7sus4,
5----------8-------8-----------------------------------------
5----------8-------5-----------------------------------------
7----------7-------7-----------------------------------------
-------7---7-------7-----------------------------------------
-------5-----------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------
Chords in C Ionian Mode that start with an E note
Em, Em7, E7sus4, E5, Em7aug5, Em7m9,
7---7----7-----------10-------10-----------------------------
8---8----5-----------8--------8------------------------------
9---7----7-----------9--------9------------------------------
9---9----7-------9---10-------9------------------------------
7---7------------7------------10-----------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------
Chords in C Ionian Mode that start with an F note
F, Fadd9, F5, F6, F6add9, Fmaj7, Fmaj7dim5, Fmaj9, Fsus2,
1--3----------10--10-------------12---------3------8---------
1--1----------10--10------1------10----------------8---------
2--2----------10--10------2------10---------2------10--------
3--3----------10--10------2------9----------2----------------
3---------3-------10-----------------------------------------
----------1-------10------1-----------------1----------------
Fmaj13, Fmajdim5,
3-------7----------------------------------------------------
3-------10---------------------------------------------------
2-------10---------------------------------------------------
2------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------
1------------------------------------------------------------
Chords in C Ionian Mode that start with a G note
G, Gadd9, G11, Gsus2, Gsus4, G5, G6, G6add9, G7,
3--5------10---10-----3----------12--12----------------------
3--3------10---10-----3----------12--12------8---------------
4--4------10---12-----5----------12--12------10--------------
5--5------10----------5----------12--12------9---------------
5---------10-----------------5-------12------10--------------
----------10-----------------3-------12----------------------
G7sus4, G7add6, G9, G9add6, G11, G13,
3-------3-------10---13------8----12-------------------------
3-------5-------10---12------8----10-------------------------
5-------4-------10---12------10---10-------------------------
3-------3-------9----12------9----9--------------------------
3-------5-------10---12------10---10-------------------------
3-------3------------12--------------------------------------
Chords in C Ionian Mode that start with an A note
A5, Am, Amadd9, Am7, Amaug5, Am9,
----5---7-------5----5-------7-------------------------------
----5---5-------5----6-------5-------------------------------
----5---5-------5----5-------5-------------------------------
----7---7-------5----5-------5-------------------------------
7---7-----------7--------------------------------------------
5---5-----------5------------5-------------------------------
Am11, A7sus4 Asus2, Asus4,
8-----3------12-----5----------------------------------------
8-----3------12-----5----------------------------------------
7-----2------14-----7----------------------------------------
7-----2------14-----7----------------------------------------
7------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------
Chords in C Ionian Mode that start with a B note
Bdim, Bm7b5, Bm7aug5,
7------------7-----------------------------------------------
6-----3------8-----------------------------------------------
7-----2------7-----------------------------------------------
------3------7-----------------------------------------------
------2------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------
So there's a comprehensive list of chords that you can play when playing in the key of C ionian or C major.
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chromatic scale from guitar lessons for beginners
ionian mode from guitar lessons for beginners
dorian mode from guitar lessons for beginners
phrygian mode from guitar lessons for beginners
lydian mode from guitar lessons for beginners
mixolydian mode from guitar lessons for beginners
aeolian mode from guitar lessons for beginners
locrian mode from guitar lessons for beginners
harmonic minor scale from guitar lessons for beginners
melodic minor scale from guitar lessons for beginners
major pentatonic scale from guitar lessons for beginners
minor pentatonic scale from guitar lessons for beginners
blues scale from guitar lessons for beginners
modal studies from guitar lessons for beginners
return to guitar fretboard scales from guitar lessons for beginners
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Essential Guitar Theory
