Nomad's Modal Magic Show

Skill Building Guitar Course from Michael Ripoll

Learn how to use modes in your playing with Nomad's simple 3 step process! Get the knowledge, apply the knowledge and start playing some sweet solos!

36 Lessons

Complete course with step-by-step lessons and practice examples.

Multi-Camera

Course filmed with 6 cameras for the perfect angles.

92% Appoval

128 of 133 of our members have given this their approval.

Tabs & Info

Download tabs, helpers, JamTracks and docs included with lessons.

Included

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Full Course Breakdown

Hearing a guitar player enter in to modal bliss can seem like magic to those who do not yet have the tools use the modes in their own playing. Modes have been mystifying guitar players of all ages and styles for too long! Nomad's Modal Magic Show will detail a simple 3 step process that, combined with hard work, will have you playing modes in a musical way... And you'll know what you are doing! Once the modes are understood and applied, the magic facade falls away leaving you with simply awesome guitar playing It's not magic after all!

1

Series Intro: Modes Are Not Magic!

The modes may look and sound like magic, but once you have the tools to practice and apply them, they actually become quite approachable. Nomad demystifies the modes in this extensive and fun series. Learn how to apply the modes in any style and in any song!

7:12 Runtime

0.5 Difficulty

2

Learn the Notes!

Before getting too deep into the modal mysteries, Nomad lays down some groundwork. Before you can use the modes, you need to know the notes on the fretboard! Nomad offers up a simple drill to get everyone on the road to note memorization!

6:50 Runtime

2.0 Difficulty

3

Learn Accidental-y

Add sharps and flats into the note learning drill. Take it slow, and take your time! Learning the notes on the fretboard will pay great dividends in all areas of your playing.

9:34 Runtime

2.0 Difficulty

4

The Chomp

Get the hands nice and warm before the scales come. When you're warmed up, you think less about the mechanics of playing and more about the notes and the music.

11:05 Runtime

2.0 Difficulty

5

The Caterpillar

Take on this finger twisting warm up after trying "The Chomp". Add a few more warm ups of your own and then...on to the modes!

6:59 Runtime

2.5 Difficulty

6

The Trilogy

Further laying the groundwork for modal magic, Nomad introduces a way to practice position playing that includes going over the scale, the chord, and the arpeggio. When you're approaching an area of the fretboard, think "S-C-A"!

13:25 Runtime

2.5 Difficulty

7

CAGED and the Fretboard

Now that you've practiced your scales, chords, and arpeggios in open position, it's time to apply "SCA" down the entire fretboard in the key of C. This way of looking at the notes you play will open up many new phrasing ideas as you tackle the modes.

7:08 Runtime

2.5 Difficulty

View this Lesson
8

Greece Wasn't Built in a Day

Before you scale modal mountains, you need to know the patterns! Nomad takes you through basic modal terms and theory and then teaches each modal pattern from a 6th string root.

16:01 Runtime

2.5 Difficulty

9

SCA & Modal Magic

Now apply the "SCA" method you learned with the CAGED major scale patterns to the modal patterns from the last lesson. This is a great way to look at different areas of the neck in a modal context!

9:42 Runtime

2.5 Difficulty

10

Be a Little Cooler

You can only sound so cool with the basic major and minor sounds. Nomad invites you to be just a little cooler by applying the "SCA" method and modal positions to major 7th chords and arpeggios!

9:34 Runtime

3.0 Difficulty

11

Play Them from the 5th String

Now take the same concepts you've been practicing with the modal patterns based on the 6th string and apply them to patterns based on the 5th string. Oh, what fun!

13:26 Runtime

2.5 Difficulty

12

Two String Modal Runs

Breaking out of box patterns is difficult for any guitarist at one point or another. Learning these two string modal runs will help you break out of the box and fly around the neck!

14:07 Runtime

2.5 Difficulty

13

The Rest of the Runs

Nomad finishes demonstrating and explaining the two string runs on the lower two sets of strings. He offers advice on practicing and stresses the importance of naming your notes while you play!

9:00 Runtime

2.5 Difficulty

14

Three Octaves of Fun

Take the two string runs and apply them in three octave sequences! This is another great way to break out of the box as well as familiarize yourself with the notes on the fretboard!

9:33 Runtime

2.5 Difficulty

15

Three Octaves of Arpeggio Fun!

Nomad introduces this new, challenging exercise in which you take each mode in series and play its corresponding arpeggio in three octaves.

7:10 Runtime

3.0 Difficulty

16

Modal Patterns in 3rds

In this next mini series of lessons, Nomad explains how to play the modal patterns in all of the diatonic intervals! In this lesson, we begin with 3rds.

21:34 Runtime

3.0 Difficulty

17

Modal Patterns in 4ths

The fingering of this sequence is tricky! Nomad presents the modal patterns played in diatonic 4th intervals.

11:38 Runtime

3.0 Difficulty

18

Modal Patterns in 5ths

We're working our way up! There are bigger gaps and more stretches here. Make these drills count so that you are dexterous and ready to go when the flood of musical backing tracks comes!

8:07 Runtime

2.5 Difficulty

19

Modal Patterns in 6ths

The 6th interval is one of the most musical and sweet sounding note relationships to be played on the guitar. Combine the 6th with superb modal playing, and you'll come up with some amazing stuff! Get the patterns under your fingers with this lesson!

8:09 Runtime

2.5 Difficulty

20

Modal Patterns in 7ths

This won't be fun, but it will be useful! The 7th interval is awkward and weird sounding at times, but work it into the rest of your playing, and you'll add some nice unresolved spice to your lines.

8:29 Runtime

3.0 Difficulty

21

Modal Patterns in Octaves

This is the last lesson of its kind in this series...We promise! There are not as many notes in this exercise, but there are more awkward stretches and string skipping situations. Get this one down and then comb over the last series of lessons. Combine them for one large practice routine!

7:21 Runtime

3.0 Difficulty

22

Parallel Universe

If you've made it this far, CONGRATULATIONS! You've graduated from the realm of modes in series to modes in parallel! Learn how the two universes are related and start digging into the musical nature of each mode!

13:00 Runtime

2.5 Difficulty

23

Let's Major on the Minors

Continuing in the introduction to your new parallel universe, Nomad shows you the theory behind going from a basic major scale to the two most common minor modes.

5:34 Runtime

2.5 Difficulty

24

Stranger Qualities

Each mode has 'key tones' that give the mode its signature sound. Nomad continues to explore these notes in some of the stranger sounding modes.

14:43 Runtime

2.5 Difficulty

25

Living in Harmony

Just like modes have unique scale tones that define their sound, they also have a chord harmony structure that defines them. When can you play a minor i chord and then go to a dominant IV chord?...when you're playing a Dorian chord progression! Nomad dives into each mode and its respective harmony so that you can identify and write modal chord progressions!

18:20 Runtime

0.0 Difficulty

26

The Reveal

This is where it all comes together! Commit the 3 simple steps shared in this lesson to memory and then practice applying them. You'll be well on your way to modal bliss in no time!

4:01 Runtime

2.5 Difficulty

27

Play Those Modes!

Ok! You've graduated into the realm of real modal understanding! Now it's time to play some real modal music. Cut your teeth on tracks from the first two modes of the major scale: Ionian and Dorian. See how Nomad applies all the aspects of this course over these tracks.

13:25 Runtime

3.0 Difficulty

28

Phun with Phrygian

Nomad walks through the three 'magical' steps while working with a Phrygian track. Watch the b2!

9:50 Runtime

3.0 Difficulty

29

Love Me Some Lydian

Ahh, the ethereal and slightly spooky nature of Lydian... Move right along with Nomad's spoon feeding session with a track and examples for each mode. Pour in to these because after he works through each mode with you, he passes the baton to you in a series of 'modal mystery' examples!

7:19 Runtime

3.0 Difficulty

30

Lydian Has a Cousin

Well, maybe their names sound similar, but their tonalities can sound quite different! Ladies and gentlemen...Let's hear it for Mixolydian! Get jazzy and groovy with this example.

8:19 Runtime

3.0 Difficulty

31

Good Ol' Minor...Aeolian

'Tis one of the most recognizable sounds in guitar history, but with your new found modal knowledge, you are better prepared than ever to tackle this track! Take what you will from Nomad, and then solo away!

6:35 Runtime

2.5 Difficulty

32

Save the Weirdest for Last

The uncommon and just plain strange sounding mode finishes off this segment of the series. You won't use it everyday, or even every month, but knowing how to apply it will round out your modal mystique and make you a better player!

8:05 Runtime

0.0 Difficulty

33

Modal Mystery #1

And now...YOU get to put all your modal knowledge to work in these last lessons! Nomad will play a track and jam over it, and YOU will get out your scribble pad and figure out what is going on modally. At the end of each lesson, you can check your work against Nomad's explanation. Have fun!

8:46 Runtime

3.5 Difficulty

34

Modal Mystery #2

Are you warmed up yet?...Good! You'll learn NOTHING about the track Nomad is to play over. Instead, you must listen and analyze as he plays. See if you can figure out all the modal twists by the time the track ends. Loop it if you have to!

5:07 Runtime

3.5 Difficulty

35

Modal Mystery #3

They're getting trickier! Continue to test your own modal mind with this third example. See how many times it takes you to get it without listening to Nomad's explanation!

7:36 Runtime

3.5 Difficulty

36

Modal Mystery #4

This is the final test (but not the final lesson) in Nomad's Modal Magic Show! Figure it out and then make up your own modal jam to the provided backing track!

6:18 Runtime

3.5 Difficulty

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  • Los Angeles, CA
  • Playing since 1984
  • 133 lessons at JamPlay
Michael "Nomad" Ripoll is a consummate professional in the music industry with a list of credits and accomplishments that span decades. Best known as a masterful guitar virtuoso who has played with a seemingly endless list of the most respected names in the music world, Michael has always strived to exceed the boundaries of a traditional musician’s career by proactively seeking and securing opportunities to excel in other facets of the industry.

While he remains an artist and singer-songwriter first, Michael also operates as the Musical Director for world renowned artist and friend Kenny ‘Babyface’ Edmonds, has launched an innovative online format for guitar instruction, and has even contributed to major motion picture film scores. Working with the likes of Stevie Wonder, Sting, Natalie Cole, the American Idol Tour, the Pussy Cat Dolls, India Arie, and countless others, Michael is regarded as one of the industry’s most sought after session players and touring musicians.

Michael earned the nickname "Nomad" after he started posting pictures and videos of his travels around the globe on his website and YouTube. Follow Nomad everywhere his guitar takes him here at JamPlay and at

ilikenomad.com
Reviews & Feedback 92/100 with 133 ratings
Quinlan

"Don't fret" lmfaooo

AL+1

thank you.

JakeRhodes

Very nice.

bobbo812

great idea for exercises

Tesla77

Great teacher

ailes

Nomad is without a doubt a teacher, a mentor, a professor, a PhD; able to provide understanding of a difficult subject. Thank you

ZoeDorey

should i stick with this and practice for hours or should i move on?

MarinusW

Wonderful guy, lovely to hear him explain the things.

maver

You are a naturally gifted teacher-brilliant