How To Use The Dorian Mode
Take a look at these three songs before we try and use the Dorian Mode…..
This Michael Jackson tune is in the key of D major, yet it starts on the ii chord, which means it’s in the Dorian mode…..
Look closely at the chords: Em9 – (A/B) – B.
This chord progression can be interpreted in a few different ways, but the Em chord and A/B are both solidly in the Dorian mode, as this is a common ii – V chord change.
ii – V chord changes are used all the time in many types of music, but particularly Jazz and R&B music. It’s an instant gateway to that sound.
For the hardcore theory nerds, yes, B major is indeed not part of E Dorian….
This is the main riff to Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky” and this one is in B Dorian.
Why is that? Well it’s in the key of A major and start yet again on the ii….
All of these chords are “diatonic” to the key of of A major or B Dorian: Bm – D – F#m – E.
It’s actually a pretty standard chord progression, and yet it’s also……
A ii (Bm) – V (E) chord change!
It’s not only used in Jazz and R&B though.
Check out the two songs below:
The halo theme took its inspiration from Gregorian chants that apparently used the major 6th interval in the minor scale A LOT.
Look for the C# note, the 2nd fret of the B string. That’s the Dorian note.
Every mode has at least one note that makes it different from the parallel minor or major scale its derived from. By parallel, I mean it’ll have a note of difference from the E minor or E major scale.
I know some of you are chirping for me to explain the idea of turning a minor scale into a Dorian scale, but hold on a second or two….
This great great Alice In Chains song also uses the sound of the Dorian mode by starting on the ii chord.
How do I know this is Dorian? It’s because I know the chords of the A minor scale, and I know that D major is not one of them.
However, G major or A Dorian does have a D major chord in it.
Now that’s four examples right there of Dorian modes in music you may already know quite well.
The reason I haven’t gone into the same boring explanations of modes is that explaining them like others have, as scales, doesn’t do them justice.
Many of you, and many brilliant guitarists, have only reduced this to a scale and take little care for the chords they’re playing over or how they were put together.
That’s why the section before this one attempted to explain how a mode has a different set of chords than the minor or major scale does.
Take A Dorian from the Alice In Chains song:
A Dorian = A – B – C – D – E – F# – G
A Minor = A – B – C – D – E – F – G
A lot of people just stop there, say “That’s it! That’s the mode!” and don’t bother gathering musical examples.
So then you don’t see the connections to the scales, and you do that by breaking down the chords:
Am = A – C – E
G = G – B – D
D = D – F# – A (F# is part of A Dorian, but not A Minor)
That F# changes several chords in this harmonic system, and not paying attention to that is dangerous when using any mode.
And that’s the simplest example of using the Dorian mode! You use it when you encounter a chord progression that uses chords from that mode.
That’s easily said, but it takes practice to do that. You’ll need to learn the ins and outs of major scales, key signatures, and their relative minor keys as well.
You can actually do this in just a few days using something I’ll tell you about at the end of this doc….
But I’m going to reveal more as we talk about the other modes….
To finish up, here’s the breakdowns of the other songs:
Halo Theme
E Dorian scale = E – F# – G – A – B – C# – D
D Major scale = D – E – F# – G – A – B – C#
E Minor scale = E – F# – G – A – B – C – D
Rock With You
Em9 = E – G – B – D – F#
A/B (means B is in the bass) = B – A – C# – E
B = B – D# – F# (D# is not part of the E minor or E Dorian scale, but is part of E major scale)
Get Lucky
B Dorian Scale = B – C# – D – E – F# – G# – A
A Major Scale = A – B – C# – D – E – F# – G#
Bm (i) = B – D – F# (ii in A major)
D (III) = D – F# – A (IV in A major)
F#m (v) = F# – A – C# (vi in A major)
E (IV) = E – G# – B (V in A major)