Originally Posted by: maggior Most methods emphasize the importance of learing to sing the notes and the intervals. Is this really necessary? [/QUOTE]

I think so. You need to know, from the note that you're playing, what the next note is you're going for. Otherwise you're just randomly picking notes from the scale, staying within the pattern, and hoping that what you pick sounds "good". Remember in that info I sent you, I suggested you play the one pattern over the Bm Blues jam, really focusing on the those two extra notes so you could get used to how they sound, and where they might fit?

Here's another thing you can do... have a backing track playing, and just hum or sing a solo over top of it. You don't have to sing well, just as long as you can hear the melody. Now, trying playing it on your guitar. Starting from rock bottom, you play a note, and "hear" the next one before you go to play it... is it:

-Higher or lower than the note you just played? (lets say its higher).

-how high? An octave higher? More? Less than an octave? (its less than an octave).

-ok, less than an octave... stop that backing track if its distracting you... don't forget the note you played, and the note that is in your head... now, does it sound like anything you know? (now that you mention it, the note I'm playing and the note I hear sound just like the first two notes of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star")

-ok, that's a perfect 5th... now FIND that note on your guitar... play it... there you go!

Practicing the intervals will make this easier, I need to work on this too.

[QUOTE=maggior]
Also, is practicing scale patterns a component and/or form of ear training?

In my opinion, not with out droning the root note or using the root as a pedal tone, or playing the scale to a backing track. Just playing the scale itself isn't really going to train your ear; your hands, yes, but not so much the ears. You really need context to hear a mode's distinctive sound, or, at least I find that I do.

I can't remember if I already mentioned this in a previous post, but I have a little drum & bass line programmed into my DR880. It starts in Cmaj. I play a Cmaj riff. Then, the bass switches to Amin. I just keep playing the same riff, and its sounds like I'm playing in Amin, even though only the bass line has changed. Playing "root to root" on any given mode may give you a idea of how that mode sounds, but what you're playing a mode against is really what defines it. Hope that helps!