ArpeggiosEN

Scale

D♭ dorian ♯4

Harmonic minor modes

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

Notation

4412♭3♯456♭71

Fretboard — frets 0–24

D♭ dorian ♯4 — frets 0 to 24, 88 notes, roots in orange♭3♯456♭712♭3♯456♭712♭3♭712♭3♯456♭712♭3♯456♭7♯456♭712♭3♯456♭712♭3♯42♭3♯456♭712♭3♯456♭716♭712♭3♯456♭712♭3♯45♭3♯456♭712♭3♯456♭712♭30123456789101112131415161718192021222324
D♭ dorian ♯4 — frets 0 to 24, 88 notes, roots in orange♭3♯456♭712♭3♯456♭712♭3♭712♭3♯456♭712♭3♯456♭7♯456♭712♭3♯456♭712♭3♯42♭3♯456♭712♭3♯456♭716♭712♭3♯456♭712♭3♯45♭3♯456♭712♭3♯456♭712♭30123456789101112131415161718192021222324

Degrees

DegreeNoteIntervalSemitonesRole
1D♭perfect unison0The root — the tonal centre every other note is heard against; land on it and the sound resolves.
2E♭major second2The major second — a bright neighbour a whole step above the root; in sus2 it replaces the third, so the chord commits to neither major nor minor.
♭3F♭minor third3The minor third — the dark counterpart of the major third; it turns a shape minor and colours m, m7 and the minor scales.
♯4Gaugmented fourth6The augmented fourth — the tritone; lydian, lydian dominant and maj7♯11 use it to lift the sound off the ground.
5A♭perfect fifth7The perfect fifth — the root's strongest companion; it anchors every triad and stacked-seventh quality.
6B♭major sixth9The major sixth — the hopeful note that separates dorian and m6 from their darker cousins; it sits a whole step above the fifth.
♭7C♭minor seventh10The minor seventh — the dominant's engine; a whole step under the root, it turns a triad into a 7 chord and drives the resolution.

About this scale

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.

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.