sksac:
It could just be that you froze up (all of us do that from time to time).....or it could be that you don't fully understand how to apply the "modal patterns that you have been learning". I feel this is the hardest thing for all guitar players (and musicians in general) to understand when trying to play "the modes" over a given chord progression / song. It certainly was for me.
The most important thing to know prior to delving into the modal scales are a solid understanding of key signatures. Like it or not, without that fundamental basic knowledge "the modal patterns" that one learns will not be able to be applied correctly.
Playing a solo in each of the modes during a particular song is truly just an alteration of the Major scale of the
KEY that the song is being played in, but ALL modes within that given key contain the exact same notes as the major scale in that given key....they just start and stop on the appropriate note of whichever mode you wish to play. The "modal patterns" are simply the "best" way to finger the variations on the guitar of the particular Major scale of the key the song is being played in to achieve that particular mode.
Sounds confusing....I know and that is not my intent, but the bottom line is.....understanding how to apply the modes is really the hard part, and it is nearly impossible to do without some fundemental knowledge of key signatures and the basic diatonic structure of all Major keys....Maj, min, min, Maj, Maj, min, diminished. You may already know all of this...I don't know.
If all else fails, just jam a solo during your session by playing other notes...scales...and use your ears to what sounds good to you!! Who cares what mode is being played as long as it sounds good to you....right?
I hope this wasn't TMI, and best of luck.