D♭ dorian ♯4 scale on 5-string bass

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

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

On the staff

D♭E♭F♭GA♭B♭C♭D♭

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

This is one octave of the D♭ dorian ♯4 scale, written on the bass 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 ♯4 scale has these flats

  1. D♭1
  2. T
  3. E♭2
  4. S
  5. F♭♭3
  6. T+S
  7. G♯4
  8. S
  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+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 D♭ 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 D♭ 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 D♭, five 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♭.
  • A♭ — the fifth. The pattern needs a semitone from G, but G to A is only a tone, 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 ♯4 scale is written with D♭, E♭, F♭, A♭, B♭ and C♭. D♭ 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 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♭F♯4GA♭7C♭CD♭3F♭F♯4GA♭7C♭CD♭3F♭F♯4GA♭7C♭CD♭3F♭F♯4GA♭7C♭C1D♭2E♭F♯5A♭6B♭1D♭2E♭F♯5A♭6B♭1D♭2E♭F♯5A♭6B♭1D♭2E♭F♯5A♭6B♭C0C1C2C3C4

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

D♭ dorian ♯4 scale on the whole neck

BEADG123456789101112131415C♭♭7D♭1E♭2F♭♭3G♯4A♭5B♭6C♭♭7D♭1F♭♭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♭♭3G♯4A♭5B♭6C♭♭7D♭1E♭2F♭♭3G♯4A♭5B♭6

65 notes of the D♭ dorian ♯4 scale are marked across five strings.

This is every place the notes of the D♭ dorian ♯4 scale fall on the 5-string bass, 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
BEADG23456712♭3♯456♭712♭3♯456♭71
Position 2 — starts on the 2
BEADG4567892♭3♯456♭712♭3♯456♭712
Position 3 — starts on the ♭3
BEADG5678910♭3♯456♭712♭3♯456♭712♭3
Position 4 — starts on the ♯4
BEADG8910111213♯456♭712♭3♯456♭712♭3♯4
Position 5 — starts on the 5
BEADG9101112131456♭712♭3♯456♭712♭3♯45
Position 6 — starts on the 6
BEADG1112131415166♭712♭3♯456♭712♭3♯456
Position 7 — starts on the ♭7
BEADG121314151617♭712♭3♯456♭712♭3♯456♭7

The D♭ dorian ♯4 scale has seven playable positions, at frets 2–6, 4–8, 5–9, 8–12, 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

BEADG234567891012♭3♯456♭712♭3♯456♭712♭3TAB24534674675689689

The climb runs from fret 2 to fret 9 and plays seventeen 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.