D♭ dorian scale on guitar

D♭ · E♭ · F♭ · G♭ · A♭ · B♭ · C♭

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

The notes

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

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

You may also see it called 1 2 ♭3 4 5 6 ♭7.

On the staff

D♭E♭F♭G♭A♭B♭C♭D♭

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

This is one octave of the D♭ dorian 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 D♭ dorian scale has these flats

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

A scale is a pattern of steps, and this one is T S T T T S T: a tone, a semitone, a tone, 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. The pattern is what gives D♭ dorian 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 D♭ dorian 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 D♭, six letters cannot keep up:

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

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

CD♭3F♭FGA♭7C♭CD♭3F♭FGA♭7C♭CD♭3F♭FGA♭7C♭CD♭3F♭FGA♭7C♭C1D♭2E♭4G♭5A♭6B♭1D♭2E♭4G♭5A♭6B♭1D♭2E♭4G♭5A♭6B♭1D♭2E♭4G♭5A♭6B♭C2C3C4C5C6

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

D♭ dorian scale on the whole neck

EADGBE123456789101112131415F♭♭3G♭4A♭5B♭6C♭♭7D♭1E♭2F♭♭3G♭4B♭6C♭♭7D♭1E♭2F♭♭3G♭4A♭5B♭6C♭♭7E♭2F♭♭3G♭4A♭5B♭6C♭♭7D♭1E♭2F♭♭3A♭5B♭6C♭♭7D♭1E♭2F♭♭3G♭4A♭5B♭6C♭♭7D♭1E♭2F♭♭3G♭4A♭5B♭6C♭♭7D♭1F♭♭3G♭4A♭5B♭6C♭♭7D♭1E♭2F♭♭3G♭4

78 notes of the D♭ dorian scale are marked across six strings.

This is every place the notes of the D♭ dorian scale fall on the guitar, 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 4
EADGBE234567456♭712♭3456♭7112♭3456
Position 2 — starts on the 5
EADGBE45678956♭712♭3456♭7122♭3456♭7
Position 3 — starts on the 6
EADGBE678910116♭712♭3456♭712♭3456♭71
Position 4 — starts on the ♭7
EADGBE789101112♭712♭3456♭712♭34456♭712
Position 5 — starts on the 1
EADGBE9101112131412♭3456♭712♭34556♭712♭3
Position 6 — starts on the 2
EADGBE1112131415162♭3456♭712♭34566♭712♭34
Position 7 — starts on the ♭3
EADGBE121314151617♭3456♭712♭3456♭7♭712♭345

The D♭ dorian scale has seven playable positions, at frets 2–6, 4–8, 6–10, 7–11, 9–13, 11–15 and 12–16.

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

EADGBE91011121314151617181920212212♭3456♭712♭3456♭712♭3456♭71TAB9111214111314161314161815161820171921181921

The climb runs from fret 9 to fret 21 and plays 22 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 five frets.