Dorian mode on guitar
The Dorian mode has the formula R 2 b3 4 5 6 b7. In A its notes are A B C D E F# G. Below you see it on the whole neck, its seven positions one by one and the chords it makes, in standard tuning or in Drop D, Drop C, Drop B and DADGAD. Check out all 13 guitar scales.
Position
- 1: frets 5 to 10, 17 to 22
- 2: frets 7 to 12
- 3: frets 8 to 14
- 4: frets 10 to 15
- 5: frets 0 to 5, 12 to 17
- 6: frets 2 to 7, 14 to 19
- 7: frets 3 to 8, 15 to 20
A Dorian
A Dorian is A Natural Minor with the b6 raised by a half step.
Dorian: degrees R 2 b3 4 5 6 b7, notes A B C D E F# G. Natural Minor: degrees R 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7, notes A B C D E F G.
Chords
Notes and formula of the Dorian mode
Degrees: R 2 b3 4 5 6 b7. Notes: A B C D E F# G.
Its formula is R 2 b3 4 5 6 b7, the same in every key: learn it once and you can build the Dorian mode on any root. Players often use it for minor grooves in funk, rock and jazz.
A root on a black key goes by one name here: C# Dorian, never Db Dorian. To find each note on the neck on its own, see every note on the fretboard.
How the Dorian mode differs from A Natural Minor
A Dorian is A Natural Minor with the b6 raised by a half step.
Dorian: degrees R 2 b3 4 5 6 b7, notes A B C D E F# G. Natural Minor: degrees R 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7, notes A B C D E F G.
F# is the note that makes the difference; on the neck above it wears a ring.
Dorian mode positions on the neck
Nobody learns the whole neck at once. The Dorian mode comes in seven boxes with three notes on each string: position 1 starts on your low string with the root, A at fret 5, and each next box starts on the next note of the scale.
Learn one box, then the next, and play across both: together they cover the neck. Where the neck has room, a box comes back twelve frets higher. These are three-notes-per-string shapes, not CAGED.
Position 1, frets 5 to 10
Position 2, frets 7 to 12
Position 3, frets 8 to 14
Position 4, frets 10 to 15
Position 5, frets 12 to 17
Position 6, frets 14 to 19
Position 7, frets 15 to 20
Scales with the same notes as the Dorian mode
Same notes, same frets, another home note: know the Dorian mode on the neck and you already have these under your fingers.
All seven modes side by side: guitar modes.
The Dorian mode in every key
Your song is in F#? Find its row: the notes of the Dorian mode in that key, and the fret where your first box starts. Click the key and the neck at the top jumps there.
| Key | Notes | Position 1 from fret |
|---|---|---|
| C Dorian mode | C D Eb F G A Bb | 8 |
| C# Dorian mode | C# D# E F# G# A# B | 9 |
| D Dorian mode | D E F G A B C | 10 |
| Eb Dorian mode | Eb F Gb Ab Bb C Db | 11 |
| E Dorian mode | E F# G A B C# D | 0 |
| F Dorian mode | F G Ab Bb C D Eb | 1 |
| F# Dorian mode | F# G# A B C# D# E | 2 |
| G Dorian mode | G A Bb C D E F | 3 |
| Ab Dorian mode | Ab Bb B Db Eb F Gb | 4 |
| A Dorian modeon this page | A B C D E F# G | 5 |
| Bb Dorian mode | Bb C Db Eb F G Ab | 6 |
| B Dorian mode | B C# D E F# G# A | 7 |
The Dorian mode in Drop D, Drop C, Drop B and DADGAD
Tune down and the Dorian mode stays the same scale, it just sits on other frets. In Drop D only your low string changes, so every shape on the other five strings stays put. Drop C and Drop B take every string down, so the whole scale shifts, and DADGAD lowers three strings. Here is where its root A sits on the low string in each.
| Tuning | A on the low string |
|---|---|
| Standard | frets 5 and 17 |
| Drop D | frets 7 and 19 |
| Drop C | frets 9 and 21 |
| Drop B | frets 10 and 22 |
| DADGAD | frets 7 and 19 |
In the app
Practice the Dorian mode
Knowing a position is half the job. Turn it into an exercise in the free TabTunix app, play it to a click that speeds up step by step, rate each go, and see on your chart how close you are to your target tempo.
More on how to get a scale under your fingers in how to practice scales, and every other scale under guitar scales.
Questions about the Dorian mode
You know which lick it is. Go get it up to tempo. Free, for Mac and Windows.
macOS 13 or newer