C dorian
C natural minor with one note raised: A. Seven notes: C D E♭ F G A B♭. The same notes as B♭ major, centred on C.
- Parent key
- B♭ major Same notes
- Colour note
- A The raised 6th
- Repeating chords
- Cm – F i – IV
Across one chord in different positions. Down one place, every chord of the mode. | ||||
| iVampCmC · E♭ · G | ||||
| iiDmD · F · A | ||||
| ♭IIIE♭E♭ · G · B♭ | ||||
| IVVampFF · A · C | ||||
| vGmG · B♭ · D | ||||
| vi°A°A · C · E♭ | ||||
| ♭VIIB♭B♭ · D · F |
Light up
What makes it dorian
Natural minor, with the 6th raised
One note separates C dorian from C natural minor: A♭ becomes A. Over the same root, that turns Cm – Fm into Cm – F.
C natural minor
- C
- D
- E♭
- F
- G
- A♭
- B♭
C dorian
- C
- D
- E♭
- F
- G
- A
- B♭
Hear the difference
One chord that says dorian
Cm6 holds A, the colour note. Play it to hear those notes together.
The brightness ladder
Seven modes on C
From brightest to darkest, each row lowers one note of the row above. Dorian is row 4 of seven.
↑ Brighter
- C lydianCDEF♯GAB♯4
- C ionian (major)CDEFGAB—
- C mixolydianCDEFGAB♭♭7
- C dorianCDE♭FGAB♭♭3 ♭7
- C aeolian (natural minor)CDE♭FGA♭B♭♭3 ♭6 ♭7
- C phrygianCD♭E♭FGA♭B♭♭2 ♭3 ♭6 ♭7
- C locrianCD♭E♭FG♭A♭B♭♭2 ♭3 ♭5 ♭6 ♭7
Darker ↓
Jam along
Three drills over the vamp
Play over the repeating Cm – F chords with a metronome. The neck highlights the notes to aim for, with A ringed.
- The vamp, with a clickCm – F, two bars each, in frets 2–6. Strum on the beat.80 bpmLevel 1
- Scale over the vampUp the scale and back down, one note a beat, while Cm – F sounds. Stay in frets 2–6.80 bpmLevel 1
- Land on the colour noteOver F, aim for A. It is the note that makes it dorian.80 bpmLevel 2