F♯ dorian
F♯ natural minor with one note raised: D♯. Seven notes: F♯ G♯ A B C♯ D♯ E. The same notes as E major, centred on F♯.
- Parent key
- E major Same notes
- Colour note
- D♯ The raised 6th
- Repeating chords
- F♯m – B i – IV
Across one chord in different positions. Down one place, every chord of the mode. | ||||
| iVampF♯mF♯ · A · C♯ | ||||
| iiG♯mG♯ · B · D♯ | ||||
| ♭IIIAA · C♯ · E | ||||
| IVVampBB · D♯ · F♯ | ||||
| vC♯mC♯ · E · G♯ | ||||
| vi°D♯°D♯ · F♯ · A | ||||
| ♭VIIEE · G♯ · B |
What makes it dorian
Natural minor, with the 6th raised
One note separates F♯ dorian from F♯ natural minor: D becomes D♯. Over the same root, that turns F♯m – Bm into F♯m – B.
- F♯
- G♯
- A
- B
- C♯
- D
- E
- F♯
- G♯
- A
- B
- C♯
- D♯
- E
Hear the difference
One chord that says dorian
F♯m6 holds D♯, the colour note. Play it to hear those notes together.
The brightness ladder
Seven modes on F♯
From brightest to darkest, each row lowers one note of the row above. Dorian is row 4 of seven.
↑ Brighter
- F♯ lydianF♯G♯A♯B♯C♯D♯E♯♯4
- F♯ ionian (major)F♯G♯A♯BC♯D♯E♯—
- F♯ mixolydianF♯G♯A♯BC♯D♯E♭7
- F♯ dorianF♯G♯ABC♯D♯E♭3 ♭7
- F♯ aeolian (natural minor)F♯G♯ABC♯DE♭3 ♭6 ♭7
- F♯ phrygianF♯GABC♯DE♭2 ♭3 ♭6 ♭7
- F♯ locrianF♯GABCDE♭2 ♭3 ♭5 ♭6 ♭7
Darker ↓
Jam along
Three drills over the vamp
Play over the repeating F♯m – B chords with a metronome. The neck highlights the notes to aim for, with D♯ ringed.
- The vamp, with a clickF♯m – B, 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 F♯m – B sounds. Stay in frets 2–6.80 bpmLevel 1
- Land on the colour noteOver B, aim for D♯. It is the note that makes it dorian.80 bpmLevel 2
Dorian on every root
Pick a root
Other modes of E major's notes