ArpeggiosEN

Scale quality

dorian

Dorian is the second degree of the major scale: start the major pattern on its second note and you get a minor scale with a raised sixth. That single note is the whole character — minor but hopeful, dark at the third and bright at the sixth. It is the scale of the m7 chord, the default sound for a minor vamp, and the colour behind countless jazz, funk and folk melodies. Because the sixth is major, the tritone sits between the third and sixth rather than in the usual dominant place, so the scale floats instead of pulling. Listen for the raised sixth against the minor third.

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

Notation in C♯

representative key
4412♭3456♭71

Fretboard — frets 0–12

C♯ dorian — frets 0 to 12, 45 notes, roots in orange♭3456♭712♭3♭712♭3456♭756♭712♭342♭3456♭716♭712♭345♭3456♭712♭30123456789101112
C♯ dorian — frets 0 to 12, 45 notes, roots in orange♭3456♭712♭3♭712♭3456♭756♭712♭342♭3456♭716♭712♭345♭3456♭712♭30123456789101112

All 17 keys

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Same family

How to practise this scale

  • Hold the raised sixth over a minor vamp and let it ring.
  • Compare it with aeolian and hear exactly what the sixth changes.
  • Improvise over a static m7 chord and land on the sixth.
  • Play the scale from the second degree of a major scale you know.