E Aeolian Mode on the Guitar – 5 CAGED Positions, Tabs and Theory

‘E Aeolian’ is the 6th mode of the G major scale. The notes in E Aeolian are:

E – F# – G – A – B – C – D

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 E aeolian using both the parallel approach and the derivative approach.

E Aeolian Mode Using The Parallel Approach

E Major has the following notes:

E – F# – G# – A – B – C# – D#

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

E – F# – G – A – B – C – D

E Aeolian Mode Using The Derivative Approach

E is the 6th note of the G major scale:

G – A – B – C – D – E – F#

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

E – F# – G – A – B – C – D

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

E Aeolian in the Open Position

Firstly, let’s look at the open position:

E Aeolian Mode Open Position Frets
E Aeolian Mode Open Position Notes

E Aeolian CAGED Positions

Now let’s look at E aeolian in the 5 different CAGED positions along the fretboard.

E Aeolian 2nd Position (Lowest Fret is 2)

E Aeolian Mode 2nd Position Frets
E Aeolian Mode 2nd Position Notes

E Aeolian 3rd Position (Lowest Fret is 3)

E Aeolian Mode 3rd Position Frets
E Aeolian Mode 3rd Position Notes

E Aeolian 7th Position (Lowest Fret is 7)

E Aeolian Mode 7th Position Frets
E Aeolian Mode 7th Position Notes

E Aeolian 8th Position (Lowest Fret is 8)

E Aeolian Mode 8th Position Frets
E Aeolian Mode 8th Position Notes

E Aeolian 11th Position (Lowest Fret is 11)

E Aeolian Mode 11th Position Frets
E Aeolian Mode 11th Position Notes

That covers the 5 basic positions and the open position of Db aeolian along the guitar fretboard. For an in depth explanation of the aeolian mode, check out aeolian mode explained.

Further Reading

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