The Sounds Of The Dorian Mode, Learn the Chords, Scale, Triads and Arpeggios Built From Dorian Options

[The Professor]

As many of us are beginning, or have begun, our exploration of major-scale modes on the guitar, one of the most important things to keep in mind is that each mode of the major scale also produces a triad, arpeggio and two common chord shapes, on top of the fingering for the mode itself.

By learning how to build chords, triads and arpeggios from any mode you learn on the guitar, you are fully preparing yourself to improvise or write a melody line over those chords, as well as understand how the harmonic and melodic sides of the modes come together from a theoretical and musical standpoint.

In this lesson, we’ll be covering the Dorian Mode, how it is built and the chords, triads and arpeggios that go along with this commonly used minor mode.

As a refresher, you can also check out the first article on this series here:

The Sounds of the Ionian Mode


And, here are the chords, mode, triad and arpeggio from the Dorian Mode to use as a reference as you work through each of these devices in more detail throughout the rest of this lesson.

Dorian Chords

Apart from the mode itself, there are two commonly used Dorian chords, one with three notes and one with four.

The three-note chord is a minor triad, built from the first, third and fifth notes of the scale, while the four-note chord is a m7 built from the first, third, fifth and seventh notes of the scale.

So, as was written in the example above, if you are building these chords from the root-note D, you would get:


Dm - D F A or 1 b3 5 (the third is flat as compared to the major triad, just like the 3rd of the Dorian mode is flat compared to the major 3rd of the Ionian mode).

Dm7 - D F A C or 1 b3 5 b7 (again, the 7th is flat as compared to the maj7 chord from Ionian, as the 7th of the Dorian mode is flat compared to the 7th of the Ionian mode).

Not only are these two chords built from the Dorian mode, but they are the most commonly used chord to solo over with this mode.

This means that if you have a minor triad or m7 chord, you could use a Dorian mode to write a melody line or solo over those chords.

When doing so, you will notice that this scale is “brighter” compared to the Natural Minor Scale that you may have already explored in your playing. This is because the Dorian Mode has a natural 6, compared to the b6 of the Aeolian Mode.

Because of this, the natural 6 is considered the “characteristic note” of the Dorian mode, as it makes it stand out against the other minor modes found within the major-scale system.


Further Reading

How to Build Minor Triads


Exercise

Write out the note for each minor triad and m7 chord in all 12 keys.

Post your answers below and I will correct them and give you feedback if you are having any trouble writing out the notes of these triads and chords.

Dorian Scale

The Dorian Mode itself contains 7 notes and is built from the second note of the Ionian Mode/Major Scale.

What I mean by this, is that if you took a C major scale and play it from the second note, you get the Dorian Mode.

So, the C Major Scale is spelled:

C D E F G A B C

And the D Dorian Mode is spelled:

D E F G A B C D

As you can see, the D Dorian Mode has the same notes as C Ionian, it just starts on the second note rather than the root.

You can also build a Dorian Mode from an interval standpoint. When doing this, the Dorian mode consists of the following intervals:

1 2 b3 4 5 6 b7 1

The two flat notes, b3 and b7, and in relation to the Ionian mode, which we use as the base scale for any of the other modes when building them in this manner.

So, if you take a C major scale, as such:

C D E F G A B C

And lower the 3rd and 7th note, you produce a C Dorian Mode.

C D Eb F G A Bb C

As there are two ways of working out the Dorian Mode, a major scale starting on the second note, or using the interval construction above, you can think or either or both when working out this mode for yourself.

There is no right or wrong approach, as long as they allow you to spell out any Dorian mode, either approach is the right one for you.


Further Reading

Dorian Phrases for Beginners


Exercise

Write out the notes of the Dorian mode in all 12 keys.

Post your answers below and I will check them out and post feedback, as well as answer any questions you may have on this scale construction.

Dorian Triad and Arpeggio

As well as having a three-note chord and four-note chord built from the Dorian Mode, you have corresponding triads and arpeggios for each of these harmonic devices.

To make things easy, you can just think of the triad as being the 3-note chord but “picked” in note order and note strummed.

As well, you can think of the arpeggio as the four-note chord “picked” in note order and note strummed.

This means that the Dorian triad is a minor triad spelled R b3 5, D F A in the key of D Dorian as in the above example.

This also means that the Dorian arpeggio is a m7 arpeggio spelled R b3 5 b7, D F A C in the key of D Dorian as in the above tab/notation.

While the triad and arpeggio have the same structure and notes as the three and four-note chords, they act differently because they are played as single-lines rather than as chords.

This means that the triad and arpeggio are the melodic sound of these chords, and the actual chord shapes are the harmonic sounds of these chords.


Further Reading


How to Play Minor Triads on Guitar


Exercise

Write out the triad and arpeggio notes for the Dorian mode, a minor triad and m7 arpeggio, in all 12 keys.

Post your answers below and I will check your work and help with any issues or questions you may have on this subject.



Learning the structures behind each mode that you are learning on the guitar can help shore up your theory knowledge, as well as make it easier for you to apply these modes to your solos and song writing as you learn to relate them to chords, triads and arpeggios.

If you have any questions or comments, post them below.

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net

Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

This post has been edited by The Professor: Feb 28 2013, 12:30 PM