E♭ dorian
E♭ natural minor with one note raised: C. Seven notes: E♭ F G♭ A♭ B♭ C D♭. The same notes as D♭ major, centred on E♭.
D♯ and E♭ are the same pitch. This scale is written as E♭ dorian because that spelling needs fewer accidentals than D♯ dorian.
- Parent key
- D♭ major Same notes
- Colour note
- C The raised 6th
- Repeating chords
- E♭m – A♭ i – IV
Across one chord in different positions. Down one place, every chord of the mode. | ||||
| iVampE♭mE♭ · G♭ · B♭ | ||||
| iiFmF · A♭ · C | ||||
| ♭IIIG♭G♭ · B♭ · D♭ | ||||
| IVVampA♭A♭ · C · E♭ | ||||
| vB♭mB♭ · D♭ · F | ||||
| vi°C°C · E♭ · G♭ | ||||
| ♭VIID♭D♭ · F · A♭ |
What makes it dorian
Natural minor, with the 6th raised
One note separates E♭ dorian from E♭ natural minor: C♭ becomes C. Over the same root, that turns E♭m – A♭m into E♭m – A♭.
- E♭
- F
- G♭
- A♭
- B♭
- C♭
- D♭
- E♭
- F
- G♭
- A♭
- B♭
- C
- D♭
Hear the difference
One chord that says dorian
E♭m6 holds C, the colour note. Play it to hear those notes together.
The brightness ladder
Seven modes on E♭
From brightest to darkest, each row lowers one note of the row above. Dorian is row 4 of seven.
↑ Brighter
- E♭ lydianE♭FGAB♭CD♯4
- E♭ ionian (major)E♭FGA♭B♭CD—
- E♭ mixolydianE♭FGA♭B♭CD♭♭7
- E♭ dorianE♭FG♭A♭B♭CD♭♭3 ♭7
- E♭ aeolian (natural minor)E♭FG♭A♭B♭C♭D♭♭3 ♭6 ♭7
- E♭ phrygianE♭F♭G♭A♭B♭C♭D♭♭2 ♭3 ♭6 ♭7
- D♯ locrianD♯EF♯G♯ABC♯same sound as E♭ locrian♭2 ♭3 ♭5 ♭6 ♭7
Darker ↓
Jam along
Three drills over the vamp
Play over the repeating E♭m – A♭ chords with a metronome. The neck highlights the notes to aim for, with C ringed.
- The vamp, with a clickE♭m – A♭, two bars each, in frets 3–7. Strum on the beat.80 bpmLevel 1
- Scale over the vampUp the scale and back down, one note a beat, while E♭m – A♭ sounds. Stay in frets 3–7.80 bpmLevel 1
- Land on the colour noteOver A♭, aim for C. It is the note that makes it dorian.80 bpmLevel 2