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The Dorian Mode on Guitar

Soulful, minor but with hope

At a Glance

Formula: 1 2 ♭3 4 5 6 ♭7

Degree: II of the major scale — play a major scale starting from its 2nd note and you are playing Dorian.

Character: Soulful, minor but with hope

Heard in: Jazz, blues-rock, funk, Latin

Examples: So What (Miles Davis), Oye Como Va, Scarborough Fair

Dorian in All 12 Keys

Each page shows the full fretboard, the five CAGED shapes, the diatonic 7th chords and the pentatonic subset. The parent major scale is listed beside each key — that is the scale you are really playing, just starting somewhere else.

C DorianA♯ major C♯ DorianB major D DorianC major D♯ DorianC♯ major E DorianD major F DorianE♭ major F♯ DorianE major G DorianF major G♯ DorianF♯ major A DorianG major A♯ DorianG♯ major B DorianA major

The Other Six Modes

All seven modes share the same seven notes when they share a parent scale. What changes is which note feels like home.

IonianI PhrygianIII LydianIV MixolydianV AeolianVI LocrianVII

Keep Going

How the modes workGUIDE The CAGED systemGUIDE Analyze a chord progressionTOOL Guitar Mode Finder for iPhoneAPP