| Con | Details | |-----|---------| | Not exhaustive | Focuses on standard modes – no harmonic/melodic minor modes | | Limited genre coverage | Heavier on rock, blues, fusion – less on jazz or neoclassical | | Scene release | May lack official booklets or supplementary materials from paid version | | Pacing | Some users find it slightly fast for true beginners |
Below are compact, connectable shapes to practice. (Assume standard tuning, root on 6th string.)
Ionian (Major) — Root on 6th string, e.g., G Ionian (root 3rd fret):
Dorian — Root on 6th string, e.g., D Dorian (root 10th fret):
Phrygian — Root on 6th string:
Lydian — Root on 6th string:
Mixolydian — Root on 6th string:
Aeolian — Root on 6th string:
Locrian — Root on 6th string:
(Practice each pattern ascending and descending, then improvise short 4–8 bar phrases.)
Most modal courses fall into two traps: either they are too academic (endless theory with no practical application) or too shallow (just showing a shape and saying "go improvise"). Ziv’s approach strikes a rare balance.
At its core, the Guitar Modes Navigator is a video-based tutorial series combined with downloadable assets (diagrams, backing tracks, and exercises). Roy Ziv, an Israeli guitarist and educator known for his virtuosic yet accessible teaching style, built this course to solve one specific problem: helping guitarists stop thinking about modes in theory and start hearing and seeing them on the fretboard instantly.
The “Navigator” in the title refers to a proprietary fretboard visualization method. Instead of memorizing seven separate scale patterns for each mode, Ziv teaches how to navigate from one mode to another using common anchor points and interval relationships. Roy Ziv Guitar Modes Navigator -TUTORiAL-
For countless guitarists, the concept of "Modes" (Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, and Locrian) represents the great wall between intermediate jamming and advanced improvisation. We know the shapes. We’ve memorized the formula (W-H-W-W-H-W-W). Yet, when it’s time to solo over a chord progression, our fingers freeze, defaulting back to the pentatonic box.
Enter Roy Ziv. A renowned guitarist and educator known for breaking complex theory into digestible, visual patterns, Ziv has released a game-changer for the modern guitarist: The Roy Ziv Guitar Modes Navigator -TUTORiAL-. This is not just another PDF of fretboard diagrams. This is a systematic, biomechanical approach to visualizing and utilizing modes across the entire neck.
In this article, we will dissect exactly what this tutorial offers, why the "Navigator" method differs from traditional teaching, and how you can use it to finally unlock the emotional spectrum of the modes.
The "Navigator" is a visual anchor system. Instead of memorizing seven fingerings for seven modes, Ziv teaches you two primary hand postures: The Anchor Shape and The Stretch Shape. By moving these two shapes across the neck and shifting your root note awareness, you can navigate all seven modes in any key within minutes. | Con | Details | |-----|---------| | Not
Before we look at the tutorial, we need to understand the problem. Most guitarists learn modes via two flawed methods:
Roy Ziv realized that the guitar is a geometric instrument. The Guitar Modes Navigator discards abstract music school jargon and replaces it with a "GPS view" of the fretboard. This tutorial teaches you to see every mode as a unique landscape rather than a shifted version of the major scale.