Demystifying the modes on guitar: It doesn't get any simpler than this

This was the 7th Fret Science YouTube video, originally published on March 9, 2023. Along with the next video in the sequence, it was meant to replace and expand on the original "Smokin' Fast Modes" video. As of December 2025, this one has been viewed 82k times, making it my 12th most popular video.

Original video description: What are the major scale modes? How do they relate to the pentatonic scale? What on earth is "brightness ordering"? All this and more are explained herein! [Note to subscribers: this is an expanded and remastered version of an earlier video]

Errata: at around 5:42, the diagram at the top of the screen is showing a natural 5th rather than a flat 4th, and at around 8:00, the Aeolian scale is built on the 6th scale degree, not the 3rd