Guitar Modes
Gettin' Down With The Dorian Mode
In this lesson on guitar modes, I will cover the Dorian mode and how you can apply it to your playing.
In the last lesson on guitar modes I covered the Ionian mode and how it is built from the 1st note of the major scale. The Dorian mode on the other hand, is built starting from the 2nd note of the major scale.
Take a look below....using the C major scale an example....
As you can see, by starting on the 2nd note of the major scale, we can build the D Dorian mode.
You may also notice that the notes in the C Ionian and D Dorian modes are both the same. The only thing that changes is the pattern of whole steps and half steps that it follows.
The half steps fall between the 2nd and 3rd as well as the 6th and 7th notes, in the Dorian mode. Where as, they fall between the 3rd and 4th and the 6th and 7th notes, of the Ionian mode.
Now if you know the D major scale at all, you will know that it has two notes that are sharpened, the 3rd note (F#) and the 7th note (C#). Looking at the scale above, you will see that the F# has now become an F, and the C# has now become a C.
By dropping the F# a half step down to an F, it gives it a minor sound, which means that it will work well over minor chords.
Dropping the 7th note C# a half step down to a C, means that it can also work well over minor seventh chords.
O.k, let's look at the fingering for the Dorian mode starting at the 5th fret......
Click
to listen
One way that might make it faster for you to learn the finger patterns for this guitar mode is to think of the major scale fingering when you are playing. The only difference being is you start on the 2nd note of the major scale instead.
Knowing the major scale pattern, you would start on the D note of the C major scale instead of the root note C, following the same pattern that the major scale uses.
It made it a lot easier for me to learn the guitar modes when I thought about it this way.
Here is the finger pattern for the D Dorian mode, starting at the 5th fret, 5th string.....
The green notes represent the root notes of the mode. If we started on the C note, 8th fret, 6th string, instead of the D note on the 5th fret, 5th string, we would be playing the C major scale. But by starting on the D note (2nd note), we would essentially be playing the Dorian mode.
So you should hopefully be able to see now how the two scales use the same fingering pattern by now, the notes are the same in each scale, the only difference being the relationship of whole steps and half steps that each guitar mode follows.
You can try playing this scale over the following chords to help give you a better understanding of the mood or quality that the Dorian mode has when it is played.
Dmin7, Amin7, G7.
Or try playing it over the dominant 7th chord D7#9 in a progression to produce a blues sound.
By the way, did you known that Santana uses this mode almost exclusively in his playing.
As always, you should memorize the fingering patterns for the Dorian mode every where on the neck to become proficient at using this guitar mode or any other scale for that matter.
Hope this lesson on guitar modes has helped you understand the Dorian mode a little better. Experiment and add the Dorian mode to your list of scales and you will soon be on your way to adding more style and flavor to your playing.
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