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Posted by: The Professor Aug 22 2013, 09:32 AM

In today’s lesson, our first look at various ways that you can explore when soloing over Minor Chords, we’ll be looking at different sounds that come from the Dorian Mode, other wise known as the second mode of the Major Scale.

We will check out triad pairs, arpeggios, pentatonic and full scales, how to build and practice these different melodic ideas as well as how to apply them to your soloing ideas.

The Dorian sound is a great way to bring a Santana Rock, Jazz or Funk vibe to your minor chord soloing ideas, as it is found in many of the memorable solos by legendary players in those genres in this context.

So without further ado, let’s dig into soloing over Minor Chords using Dorian sounds!






The first idea we’ll look at is using two 3-note triads to outline the Dorian sound over a minor chord in your solos.

We’ll be playing a minor triad from the root of the given chord, and so you are playing the 1-b3-5 of that chord when using this triad, as well as a minor triad from the 2nd note of that chord, 2-4-6.

In the key of Am, this would mean playing an Am triad, A-C-E, to produce the Root, flat 3rd and 5th of that chord, as well as a Bm triad, B-D-F#, to produce the 9-11-13 of that same chord.

Here is a fingering to get you started with this triad pair on the fretboard.






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Once you have learned the Triad Pair fingering above, put on the backing track at the bottom of this article and practice soloing over those chords using only their related minor triad pair to bring a Dorian sound to your lines using these fun shapes.






You can also use arpeggios to outline a Dorian sound in your minor chord soloing lines, in particular the m6th arpeggio.

Built from the first, 3rd, 5th and 6th notes of the Dorian Mode, 1-b3-5-6, the m6th arpeggio is a great way to get right to the heart of the Dorian sound as you create lines over minor chords on the guitar.

Here are a few fingerings to check out to get you started with learning how to play m6th arpeggios on guitar.






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Once you have learned one or both of the above m6th arpeggio fingerings, put on the backing track at the bottom of this article and practice soloing over those chords using only their related m6th arpeggio shapes.

Start by sticking to the 6th-string root shapes for each m6th arpeggio, then move on to the 5th-string root, and finally move between both shapes as you navigate the chord changes on the backing track.






You can also use the Dorian Pentatonic Scale to solo over minor chords in order to bring that Dorian vibe to your licks and riffs.

Built by taking the Dorian Scale and leaving out the 2nd and 7th notes, you form the intervals 1-b3-4-5-6, the notes of the Dorian Pentatonic Scale.

This allows you to use the pentatonic sound as it directly relates to the underlying Dorian Scale for the chord you are on.

Here are two examples of the Dorian Pentatonic Scale to help get you started.






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Once you have learned one or both of the above Dorian Pentatonic Scale fingerings, put on the backing track at the bottom of this article and practice soloing over those chords using only their related Dorian Pentatonic Scale shapes.

Start by sticking to the 6th-string root shapes for each Dorian Pentatonic Scale, then move on to the 5th-string root, and finally move between both shapes as you navigate the chord changes on the backing track.






The last approach to bringing a Dorian sound to your major chord soloing ideas is the Dorian Scale itself.

The second mode of the major scale, the Dorian Mode has the interval pattern 1 2 b3 4 5 6 b7, allowing it to outline the m6th arpeggio, with the 9th and 11th thrown in for good measure.

Here are two fingerings for the Dorian Scale that you can check out in order to get started with this scale on the fretboard.






Click to http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_forum/index.php?showtopic=48060






Once you have learned one or both of the above Dorian Scale fingerings, put on the backing track at the bottom of this article and practice soloing over those chords using only their related Dorian Scale shapes.

Start by sticking to the 6th-string root shapes for each Dorian Scale, then move on to the 5th-string root, and finally move between both shapes as you navigate the chord changes on the backing track.






The following backing track was built for you to use with the above improvisational exercises. Here is the chord progression on that backing track so you can work through a number of different keys when soloing over this track. Have fun!

Bm-Em-Am-Dm-Gm-Cm all 4 bars each, listen for the changes!


 Minor_Backing_Track.mp3 ( 4.58MB ) : 708




Do you have any questions or comments about applying Dorian sounds to a Minor Chord? Post your thoughts in the comments thread below.