A♭ dorian ♯4 scale on ukulele

A♭ · B♭ · C♭ · D · E♭ · F · G♭

The course explains what this page shows in Lesson 24 · Modes.

The notes

  1. A♭1
  2. B♭2
  3. C♭♭3
  4. D♯4
  5. E♭5
  6. F6
  7. G♭♭7

The A♭ dorian ♯4 scale is A♭, B♭, C♭, D, E♭, F, G♭.

You may also see it called Ukrainian dorian · Romanian minor · 1 2 ♭3 ♯4 5 6 ♭7.

On the staff

A♭B♭C♭DE♭FG♭A♭

On a treble staff, the A♭ dorian ♯4 scale is written A♭ B♭ C♭ D E♭ F G♭.

This is one octave of the A♭ dorian ♯4 scale, written on the treble clef. Guitar and bass music is written an octave higher than it sounds, and the small 8 under the clef is the sign for that.

Why the A♭ dorian ♯4 scale has these flats

  1. A♭1
  2. T
  3. B♭2
  4. S
  5. C♭♭3
  6. T+S
  7. D♯4
  8. S
  9. E♭5
  10. T
  11. F6
  12. S
  13. G♭♭7
  14. T
  15. A♭8

A scale is a pattern of steps, and this one is T S T+S S T S T: a tone, a semitone, a tone and a half, and so on. S stands for a semitone, the distance of one fret or one key. T stands for a tone, which is two semitones. T+S stands for a tone and a half, which is three semitones. The pattern is what gives A♭ dorian ♯4 its sound, and it stays the same whichever note you start on.

The second rule is that a seven-note scale uses each letter name once, from A to G, so its seven notes take seven different letters. That is why A♭ dorian ♯4 is spelled the way it is, rather than with whichever accidental looks tidier.

Together, the two rules leave no room for choice. If you walk the pattern up from A♭, four letters cannot keep up:

  • B♭ — the second. The pattern needs a tone from A♭, but A♭ to B is only a tone and a half, so B has to fall to B♭.
  • C♭ — the flat third. The pattern needs a semitone from B♭, but B♭ to C is only a tone, so C has to fall to C♭.
  • E♭ — the fifth. The pattern needs a semitone from D, but D to E is only a tone, so E has to fall to E♭.
  • G♭ — the flat seventh. The pattern needs a semitone from F, but F to G is only a tone, so G has to fall to G♭.

None of those accidentals was a choice. Once you pick the note to start on, the pattern decides the rest, and a key signature is a record of the result.

The A♭ dorian ♯4 scale is written with A♭, B♭, C♭, E♭ and G♭. A♭ has its accidental because that is the key, and the other notes need theirs because the T S T+S S T S T pattern of steps cannot be spelled from A♭ with plain letters.

The pattern of steps is the part of a scale that never changes. The letter names take sharps or flats to fit that pattern, and a key signature is a record of those sharps or flats.

On the piano

C♯4DE6FGA♭3C♭C♯4DE6FGA♭3C♭C♯4DE6FGA♭3C♭CC♯5E♭♭7G♭1A♭2B♭C♯5E♭♭7G♭1A♭2B♭C♯5E♭♭7G♭1A♭2B♭C3C4C5C6

The keyboard shows the same seven notes as a shape you can see. The coloured keys are the A♭ dorian ♯4 scale, and you can click any key to hear it.

A♭ dorian ♯4 scale on the whole neck

GCEA123456789101112131415A♭1B♭2C♭♭3D♯4E♭5F6G♭♭7A♭1B♭2D♯4E♭5F6G♭♭7A♭1B♭2C♭♭3D♯4E♭5F6G♭♭7A♭1B♭2C♭♭3D♯4E♭5F6G♭♭7B♭2C♭♭3D♯4E♭5F6G♭♭7A♭1B♭2C♭♭3

36 notes of the A♭ dorian ♯4 scale are marked across four strings.

This is every place the notes of the A♭ dorian ♯4 scale fall on the ukulele, with each note's name and its scale degree. The roots are marked so you can find your bearings.

Position by position

Position 1 — starts on the 1
GCEA12345612♭3♯4566♭712♭3♯4
Position 2 — starts on the 2
GCEA3456782♭3♯456♭712♭3♯45
Position 3 — starts on the ♭3
GCEA456789♭3♯456♭7112♭3♯456
Position 4 — starts on the ♯4
GCEA789101112♯456♭712♭3♭3♯456♭71
Position 5 — starts on the 5
GCEA891011121356♭712♭3♯456♭71
Position 6 — starts on the 6
GCEA1011121314156♭712♭3♯4♯456♭712♭3
Position 7 — starts on the ♭7
GCEA111213141516♭712♭3♯4556♭712♭3

The A♭ dorian ♯4 scale has seven playable positions, at frets 1–5, 3–7, 4–8, 7–11, 8–12, 10–14 and 11–15.

Each shape starts on a different degree of the scale and fits inside five frets, so your hand can play all of it without moving.

One climb up the neck

GCEA1234567891012♭3♯456♭712♭3♯456♭7TAB13423564675689

The climb runs from fret 1 to fret 9 and plays fourteen notes.

This is one path from the lowest root to the top of the neck, and it plays each note once, never on two strings. It takes a different number of notes on different strings. The widest stretch on any one string is four frets.