Why Modes?
Modes are thought to be complicated. People see a pile of dots on a fretboard and throw up their hands. That is a mistake. Once the concept is understood and Mode #1 practiced and learned, the other four Modes are variations of knowledge already received. The advantages of the modular approach outweigh the considerable effort to learn them.
The idea behind modes is not hard to understand. In Mode #1, the first degree of the scale is played on the top string of the guitar. If it is an A scale, it starts on the A fret, the fifth. In Mode #2, the scale is started with the second degree. What makes the system work is the understanding and application of intervals.
There are five notes in a minor pentatonic scale. In the A minor pentatonic, those notes are A-C-D-E-G-A. If you know the major and minor chords, you already know the first four notes of the minor pentatonic. Play the one. Flat the three, same as any minor chord, play the four, play the five. A-C-D-E. From there, it is a step and a half to the fifth degree, the G!
The same principle applies to the scale in another key.. Start an A scale on the 5th fret of the low string, then simply move up two frets ( a whole step) to play the same pattern & the B minor pentatonic scale. Up another fret (a half step) to play the C minor pentatonic scale.
