Chords in E dorian ♯4

Em · F♯ · G · A♯° · Bm · C♯° · D+

The course explains what this page shows in Lesson 19 · Harmonising the scale.

The chords in E dorian ♯4

  1. iEmEm7
  2. IIF♯F♯7
  3. IIIGGmaj7
  4. iv°A♯°A♯°7
  5. vBmBmMaj7
  6. vi°C♯°C♯m7♭5
  7. VII+D+D+maj7

The chords of E dorian ♯4 are Em, F♯, G, A♯°, Bm, C♯° and D+. With a seventh added they become Em7, F♯7, Gmaj7, A♯°7, BmMaj7, C♯m7♭5 and D+maj7.

If you stack every other note of E dorian ♯4, starting from each degree in turn, these are the chords you get. Nobody chose them: each one is built from the scale's own notes, arranged in thirds.

Every chord, where it lives

iEmIIF♯IIIGiv°A♯°vBmvi°C♯°VII+D+
Open5113511♭313♯5♯5
Fret 113♯5
Fret 22fr1♭35152fr15132fr1♭51♭32fr133♯5
Fret 33fr1♭3♭353fr15133fr1♯513♯5
Fret 44fr151♭354fr135154fr1♭351
Fret 55fr151♭35fr13515
Fret 66fr131356fr1♭51♭3
Fret 77fr15137fr131357fr151♭37fr13♯51
Fret 88fr15138fr1♭31♭58fr13♯5
Fret 99fr1♭3519fr1♭3♭3♭59fr1♭35159fr1♭51♭3
Fret 1010fr1♭3♭3510fr1♯513
Fret 1111fr135111fr1♭51♭311fr151♭3511fr1♭31♭5

The grid places seven chords across twelve home frets on 5-string bass.

Read down a column to find one chord all over the neck. Each shape appears once, in the row for the fret it starts on. No single position puts every chord of this key within reach, so no rows are marked in the margin.

Shapes for each chord

Em i
5152fr1♭35155fr151♭3
F♯ II
2fr15134fr135154fr13516fr13135
G III
13133fr15135fr13515
A♯° iv°
6fr1♭51♭36fr1♭5♭311fr1♭51♭39fr1♭3♭3♭5
Bm v
5157fr151♭34fr1♭351
C♯° vi°
1♭31♭5♭32fr1♭51♭31
D+ VII+
13♯5♯513♯513♯53fr1♯513♯5

These are the most playable shapes for each chord, starting from the lowest position. Every shape fits within the reach of one hand, so none of them needs a finger you do not have.

Progressions in E dorian ♯4

Three chord
  1. iEm
  2. iv°A♯°
  3. vBm
EmiA♯°iv°BmvEEF♯GA♯BBC♯D+2+3+1+2+1

One of the six lines between these chords is flat: that note belongs to both chords, so it stays where it is. No voice moves more than three semitones.

Every one of these chords comes from E dorian ♯4.

Axis
  1. iEm
  2. vBm
  3. vi°C♯°
  4. iv°A♯°
EmiBmvC♯°vi°A♯°iv°EDEEGF♯GA♯BBC♯C♯−2+2−1+1+3+2

Three of the nine lines between these chords are flat: those notes belong to both chords, so they stay where they are. No voice moves more than three semitones.

Every one of these chords comes from E dorian ♯4.

Doo-wop
  1. iEm
  2. vi°C♯°
  3. iv°A♯°
  4. vBm
EmiC♯°vi°A♯°iv°BmvEEEF♯GGA♯BBC♯C♯D+2+3+1+2+1

Four of the nine lines between these chords are flat: those notes belong to both chords, so they stay where they are. No voice moves more than three semitones.

Every one of these chords comes from E dorian ♯4.

ii–V–I
  1. II7F♯7
  2. vmaj7BmMaj7
  3. i7Em7
F♯7II7BmMaj7vmaj7Em7i7C♯BBEDDF♯F♯EA♯A♯G−2−2−2−3

Four of the eight lines between these chords are flat: those notes belong to both chords, so they stay where they are. No voice moves more than three semitones.

These are the third and the seventh of each chord on their own. Together they decide whether a chord is major, minor or dominant, which is why they are called guide tones. If you play only these two notes, you can still hear the chords change. If you play only the root and the fifth, you cannot. Two of the four lines between these chords are flat: those notes belong to both chords, so they stay where they are. No voice moves more than three semitones.

F♯7II7BmMaj7vmaj7Em7i7EDDA♯A♯G−2−3

Every one of these chords comes from E dorian ♯4.

Rhythm changes
  1. i7Em7
  2. viø7C♯m7♭5
  3. II7F♯7
  4. vmaj7BmMaj7
Em7i7C♯m7♭5viø7F♯7II7BmMaj7vmaj7DC♯C♯BEEEDGGF♯F♯BBA♯A♯−1−2−2−1−1

Seven of the twelve lines between these chords are flat: those notes belong to both chords, so they stay where they are. No voice moves more than two semitones.

This diagram again follows only the guide tones, the third and seventh of each chord. Two of the six lines between these chords are flat: those notes belong to both chords, so they stay where they are. No voice moves more than three semitones.

Em7i7C♯m7♭5viø7F♯7II7BmMaj7vmaj7DBA♯A♯GEED−3−1−3−2

Every one of these chords comes from E dorian ♯4.

Twelve-bar blues
  1. I7E7
  2. I7E7
  3. I7E7
  4. I7E7
  5. IV7A♯7
  6. IV7A♯7
  7. I7E7
  8. I7E7
  9. V7B7
  10. IV7A♯7
  11. I7E7
  12. V7B7
E7I7A♯7IV7E7I7B7V7A♯7IV7E7I7B7V7DC𝄪DD♯C𝄪DD♯EE♯EF♯E♯EF♯G♯G♯G♯AG♯G♯ABA♯BBA♯BB+1−1+1+1−1+2−1−1+2+1−1+1−1+1−1+1

Eight of the 24 lines between these chords are flat: those notes belong to both chords, so they stay where they are. No voice moves more than two semitones. The progression lasts twelve bars, but a repeated chord is not a change, so the ladder shows only the six places where the harmony moves.

This diagram again follows only the guide tones, the third and seventh of each chord. Six of the twelve lines between these chords are flat: those notes belong to both chords, so they stay where they are. No voice moves more than one semitone. The progression lasts twelve bars, but a repeated chord is not a change, so the ladder shows only the six places where the harmony moves.

E7I7A♯7IV7E7I7B7V7A♯7IV7E7I7B7V7DC𝄪DD♯C𝄪DD♯G♯G♯G♯AG♯G♯A+1−1+1+1−1+1

None of these chords belongs entirely to E dorian ♯4: all three of them use notes the key does not contain (G♯, E♯, D♯ and A). No single key contains all of them. Every one is a dominant seventh, and a dominant seventh pulls towards the chord whose root is a fifth below its own, one step anticlockwise on the circle (E7 → A, A♯7 → D♯, B7 → E). A chord drawn dashed, here and on the circle, goes outside the key.

There are six progressions in E dorian ♯4, including Three chord (Em A♯° Bm) and Axis (Em Bm C♯° A♯°).

Each row is one progression. It is written first in roman numerals, which name each chord by the degree of the scale it is built on, and then as the chords those numerals stand for in this key. A dashed outline means the chord borrows a note that E dorian ♯4 does not contain. Under each progression, a diagram follows every note from one chord to the next. A flat line is a note that stays where it is, and a sloped line is labelled with the number of semitones the note moves.

E dorian ♯4 on the circle of fifths

—1♯2♯3♯4♯5♯6♯5♭4♭3♭2♭1♭CAmGIIIEmiD+VII+BmvAF♯mEC♯mBG♯mF♯IID♯mC♯°vi°B♭mA♭FmE♭CmA♯°iv°GmFDmE Dorian ♯42♯

Each step clockwise around the wheel moves up a perfect fifth and adds a sharp to the key signature, or takes a flat away. The small numbers around the rim show each key's signature. E dorian ♯4 has two sharps in its key signature. Its A♯ is not part of the signature, so it is written as an accidental each time it appears.

Why the chords land where they do

The two rings work in pairs. Each minor key on the inner ring is the relative minor of the major key just outside it: the two are built from the same seven notes and share a key signature. C major and A minor are one such pair.

Its two major chords, F♯ and G (the II and III), sit five steps apart on the outer ring rather than side by side. Its two minor chords, Em and Bm (the i and v), sit together on the inner ring. That accounts for four of the seven chords, and no single block contains them.

The other three chords sit apart and are outlined on their own. A♯°, the iv°, is three steps from the nearest chord in the group. C♯°, the vi°, is one step from the nearest chord in the group. D+, the VII+, shares a spoke with Bm.

The wheel is still a map of harmonic distance, but this scale covers more of it than a major key does. Chords that sit close together sound as though they belong to one key, while each of the three that sit apart sounds like a departure. That sense of movement is a large part of this scale's character.

One step, on the neck

On the guitar, a perfect fifth is a shape you already know: the power chord. Play a root, then the note two frets higher on the next string up. Here it starts on E.

BEADG5678910EBF♯

Now think of it as a chain. The B you are already fretting is the fifth of E, and it is also the root of the next chord clockwise. Play the same shape starting from B and you reach F♯. E → B → F♯ is two steps around the wheel, and the same movement repeated up the neck.

Every pair of strings in this tuning is a fourth apart, so the shape stays the same wherever you play it.

E dorian ♯4 has two sharps in its key signature. Its A♯ is written as an accidental. Four of its chords sit close together on the circle of fifths, and three sit apart.

Four of E dorian ♯4's seven chords sit near each other on the wheel, and three sit apart.