B♭ dorian
B♭ natural minor with one note raised: G. Seven notes: B♭ C D♭ E♭ F G A♭. The same notes as A♭ major, centred on B♭.
A♯ and B♭ are the same pitch. This scale is written as B♭ dorian because that spelling needs fewer accidentals than A♯ dorian.
- Parent key
- A♭ major Same notes
- Colour note
- G The raised 6th
- Repeating chords
- B♭m – E♭ i – IV
Across one chord in different positions. Down one place, every chord of the mode. | ||||
| iVampB♭mB♭ · D♭ · F | ||||
| iiCmC · E♭ · G | ||||
| ♭IIID♭D♭ · F · A♭ | ||||
| IVVampE♭E♭ · G · B♭ | ||||
| vFmF · A♭ · C | ||||
| vi°G°G · B♭ · D♭ | ||||
| ♭VIIA♭A♭ · C · E♭ |
What makes it dorian
Natural minor, with the 6th raised
One note separates B♭ dorian from B♭ natural minor: G♭ becomes G. Over the same root, that turns B♭m – E♭m into B♭m – E♭.
- B♭
- C
- D♭
- E♭
- F
- G♭
- A♭
- B♭
- C
- D♭
- E♭
- F
- G
- A♭
Hear the difference
One chord that says dorian
B♭m6 holds G, the colour note. Play it to hear those notes together.
The brightness ladder
Seven modes on B♭
From brightest to darkest, each row lowers one note of the row above. Dorian is row 4 of seven.
↑ Brighter
- B♭ lydianB♭CDEFGA♯4
- B♭ ionian (major)B♭CDE♭FGA—
- B♭ mixolydianB♭CDE♭FGA♭♭7
- B♭ dorianB♭CD♭E♭FGA♭♭3 ♭7
- B♭ aeolian (natural minor)B♭CD♭E♭FG♭A♭♭3 ♭6 ♭7
- B♭ phrygianB♭C♭D♭E♭FG♭A♭♭2 ♭3 ♭6 ♭7
- B♭ locrianB♭C♭D♭E♭F♭G♭A♭♭2 ♭3 ♭5 ♭6 ♭7
Darker ↓
Jam along
Three drills over the vamp
Play over the repeating B♭m – E♭ chords with a metronome. The neck highlights the notes to aim for, with G ringed.
- The vamp, with a clickB♭m – E♭, two bars each, in frets 3–6. Strum on the beat.80 bpmLevel 1
- Scale over the vampUp the scale and back down, one note a beat, while B♭m – E♭ sounds. Stay in frets 3–6.80 bpmLevel 1
- Land on the colour noteOver E♭, aim for G. It is the note that makes it dorian.80 bpmLevel 2