F♯ dorian ♯4 scale on bass

F♯ · G♯ · A · B♯ · C♯ · D♯ · E

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

The notes

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

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

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

On the staff

F♯G♯AB♯C♯D♯EF♯

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

This is one octave of the F♯ 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 F♯ dorian ♯4 scale has these sharps

  1. F♯1
  2. T
  3. G♯2
  4. S
  5. A♭3
  6. T+S
  7. B♯♯4
  8. S
  9. C♯5
  10. T
  11. D♯6
  12. S
  13. E♭7
  14. T
  15. F♯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 F♯ 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 F♯ 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 F♯, four letters cannot keep up:

  • G♯ — the second. The pattern needs a tone from F♯, but F♯ to G is only a semitone, so G has to rise to G♯.
  • B♯ — the sharp fourth. The pattern needs a tone and a half from A, but A to B is only a tone, so B has to rise to B♯.
  • C♯ — the fifth. The pattern needs a semitone from B♯, but B♯ to C is only 0, so C has to rise to C♯.
  • D♯ — the sixth. The pattern needs a tone from C♯, but C♯ to D is only a semitone, so D has to rise to D♯.

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 F♯ dorian ♯4 scale is written with F♯, G♯, B♯, C♯ and D♯. F♯ 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 F♯ 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

♯4B♯D♭7EFG♭3AB♯4B♯D♭7EFG♭3AB♯4B♯D♭7EFG♭3AB♯4B♯5C♯6D♯1F♯2G♯A♯5C♯6D♯1F♯2G♯A♯5C♯6D♯1F♯2G♯A♯C1C2C3C4

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

F♯ dorian ♯4 scale on the whole neck

EADG123456789101112131415E♭7F♯1G♯2A♭3B♯♯4C♯5D♯6E♭7F♯1A♭3B♯♯4C♯5D♯6E♭7F♯1G♯2A♭3B♯♯4D♯6E♭7F♯1G♯2A♭3B♯♯4C♯5D♯6E♭7G♯2A♭3B♯♯4C♯5D♯6E♭7F♯1G♯2A♭3

48 notes of the F♯ dorian ♯4 scale are marked across four strings.

This is every place the notes of the F♯ dorian ♯4 scale fall on the 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
EADG23456712♭3♯456♭712♭3♯45
Position 2 — starts on the 2
EADG4567892♭3♯456♭712♭3♯456
Position 3 — starts on the ♭3
EADG5678910♭3♯456♭712♭3♯456♭7
Position 4 — starts on the ♯4
EADG8910111213♯456♭712♭3♯456♭71
Position 5 — starts on the 5
EADG9101112131456♭712♭3♯456♭712
Position 6 — starts on the 6
EADG1112131415166♭712♭3♯456♭712♭3
Position 7 — starts on the ♭7
EADG121314151617♭712♭3♯456♭712♭3

The F♯ 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

EADG234567891012♭3♯456♭712♭3♯456♭7TAB24534674675689

The climb runs from fret 2 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.