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The Aeolian Mode

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This course is a detailed examination of the Aeolian mode, also known as the Natural Minor scale. This is in important mode to know as it has a wide variety of uses and serves as a reference point for many of the other minor modes.

The initial focus of this course is the A Aeolian mode, which belongs to the home key of C major. You’ll first learn to play it all over the fingerboard using the 'content over patterns' method, after which there are a series of bass grooves that put the mode to use. Some of the later exercises utilise the Aeolian mode from other keys. By the end of this course you should be very familiar with the sound of the Aeolian mode and feel confident using it in your own lines.

As you work through this material, you might find the following courses useful (all included in the monthly subscription cost):

Don’t forget to hit the Download Resources button above to get the PDF worksheet and audio files for this piece (available to subscribers only).

This course is 55 MINUTES long and contains the following videos, each of which can be selected from the video player above:

1. Introduction to the Aeolian Mode

This course covers the basic theory behind the Aeolian mode (also known as the natural minor scale) and discusses how and where it is commonly used.

2. Playing the Aeolian Mode

This lesson will get you playing the A Aeolian mode all over the fingerboard. Here, the focus will be on the notes themselves, not on any restrictive fretboard patterns.

3. Exercise #1

This exercise is a rock riff that sounds great with a pick. This is a simple line that ascends through the mode in the first two bars, culminating in a long turn-around figure.

4. Exercise #2

This exercise is a slap and pop groove that makes use of the A Aeolian mode. Note that the sliding figures in the second bar really reinforce the tonality of the mode.

5. Exercise #3

This exercise is a slow tempo reggae groove that uses the A Aeolian mode. When playing this line, it’s important to play all hammer-ons and slides as written.

6. Exercise #4

This exercise is a sixteenth note rock bass part that is similar in style to Chris Wolstenholme’s bassline on the Muse classic ‘Hysteria’.

7. Exercise #5

This exercise looks complex, but it’s played at a very slow tempo. This is a chordal line and as you play, you can afford to allow all notes to ring into one another.

8. Exercise #6

This exercise is a rock bassline that uses the D Aeolian mode (D-E-F-G-A-Bb-C-D(. Remember, the Aeolian mode is exactly the same as the natural minor scale.

9. Exercise #7

This exercise is a melodic line played in the middle register of the bass. This line uses the B Aeolian mode (B-C#-D-E-F#-G-A-B).

10. Exercise #8

This exercise is a slow-tempo groove that utilises the E Aeolian mode (E-F#-G-A-B-C-D-E). Watch out for the complex fill in the fourth bar of the line.

11. Exercise #9

This sixteenth note-based line uses the C Aeolian mode (C-D-Eb-F-G-Ab-Bb-C). Open strings are used here to facilitate some of the position shifts.

12. Exercise #10

This exercise is a Latin bassline that once again uses the E Aeolian mode (E-F#-G-A-B-C-D-E). There are some very challenging position shifts in this line.