A Dorian Mode on guitar
The Dorian mode is a minor scale with a raised 6th. It sounds jazzy and slightly brighter than the natural minor scale. Great for funk and jazz solos.
The notes of A Dorian Mode
Built on A, the scale degrees spell out like this. The degree is the number you would call that note relative to A:
RiffRoute writes every accidental as a sharp. A sharp and the flat above it are the same fret, so A♯ is B♭ and so on.
Where it lands on the fretboard
Every fret from the open string up to the 12th that belongs to the A Dorian Mode, string by string. Root notes are highlighted.
- Low E: 0, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10, 12
- A: 0, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 10, 12
- D: 0, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 12
- G: 0, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, 12
- B: 0, 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10, 12
- High E: 0, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10, 12
Your anchor points: A is at fret 5 on the low E string and fret 0 on the A string. Start every pattern from one of those and you always know where home is.
Carlos Santana uses this scale constantly. It works beautifully over minor 7th chords.
Chords that fit
These chords from RiffRoute's library use only notes inside the A Dorian Mode, so they will not clash with it:
Same notes, different home
These scales contain exactly the same notes as the A Dorian Mode. The fretboard pattern is identical — what changes is which note you treat as home:
Other A scales
Same starting note, different colour. Switching between these over one A chord is the quickest way to hear what each scale does:
- A Major Scale
- A Natural Minor Scale
- A Major Pentatonic Scale
- A Minor Pentatonic Scale
- A Blues Scale
- A Harmonic Minor Scale
The Dorian scale in other keys
Practise it in the app
A list of frets only gets you so far. RiffRoute shows the A Dorian Mode lit up on a full fretboard, plays it back and lets you practise it against a backing track.