F SHARP AEOLIAN MODE

‘F Sharp Aeolian’ is the 6th mode of the A major scale. The notes in F# Aeolian are:

F# – G# – A – B – C# – D – E

If you have read the post on understanding the aeolian mode, you will know that the aeolian mode contains a ‘flat 3′, a ‘flat 6′ and a ‘flat 7′ (parallel approach). You will also know that it is the 6th mode of the major scale (derivative approach). The aeolian mode is a very commonly used mode and is also known as the ‘natural minor scale’. Let’s briefly look at how to construct F# aeolian using both the parallel approach and the derivative approach.

Parallel Approach:

F# Major has the following notes:

F# – G# – A# – B – C# – D# – E#

If we ‘lower’ the 3rd note (A#), 6th note (D#) and 7th note (E#), we get the following:

F# – G# – A – B – C# – D – E

Derivative Approach:

F# is the 6th note of the A major scale:

A – B – C# – D – E – F# – G#

If we play the A major scale and start on the 6th note we get the following:

F# – G# – A – B – C# – D – E

Let’s look at the F# aeolian mode in the different positions on the guitar fretboard:

Positions Along the Fretboard:

Firstly, let’s look at the open position:

Now let’s look at F# aeolian in the 1st position (lowest fret is 1)

Now let’s look at F# aeolian in the 4th position (lowest fret is 4)

Now let’s look at F# aeolian in the 5th position (lowest fret is 5)

Now let’s look at F# aeolian in the 9th position (lowest fret is 9)

Finally, let’s look at F# aeolian in the 10th position (lowest fret is 10)

That covers the 5 basic positions and the open position of F# aeolian along the guitar fretboard.

For an in depth explanation of the aeolian mode, check out aeolian mode explained.