ArpeggiosEN

Scale quality

dorian ♯4

Dorian sharp four is the fourth degree of harmonic minor: the dorian shape with a raised fourth, which adds a tritone above the root. The result keeps dorian's hopeful major sixth but introduces a bright, restless edge, so the scale sounds like a minor colour with a question mark in it. It is the scale of the m7 chord when a raised fourth is required, and it appears in jazz lines over minor chords that are heading somewhere unusual. The raised fourth also separates it clearly from the plain dorian sound. Listen for the sharp fourth floating between the minor third and the fifth.

Formula
1 2 ♭3 ♯4 5 6 ♭7
Notes
C♯ D♯ E F♯♯ G♯ A♯ B
Family
Harmonic minor modes

Notation in C♯

representative key
4412♭3♯456♭71

Fretboard — frets 0–12

C♯ dorian ♯4 — frets 0 to 12, 46 notes, roots in orange♭3♯456♭712♭3♭712♭3♯456♭7♯456♭712♭3♯42♭3♯456♭716♭712♭3♯45♭3♯456♭712♭30123456789101112
C♯ dorian ♯4 — frets 0 to 12, 46 notes, roots in orange♭3♯456♭712♭3♭712♭3♯456♭7♯456♭712♭3♯42♭3♯456♭716♭712♭3♯45♭3♯456♭712♭30123456789101112

All 17 keys

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Same family

How to practise this scale

  • Play the sharp fourth and hear it float between the third and fifth.
  • Compare it with dorian and isolate the single raised note.
  • Improvise over a minor chord that needs a restless edge.
  • Play the scale in thirds to hear the tritone above the root.