C Dorian scale
- Notes
- C D Eb F G A Bb
- Formula
- 1 2 b3 4 5 6 b7
- Steps
- W H W W W H W (W tone, H semitone)
- Also called
- C Dorian mode
Seven notes from C up to the next C. Each note is written with the letter its degree names, one letter each, so the spelling follows the formula.
C Dorian on the piano
From C4 to C5, the root in blue-green.
Intervals from C
| Note | Degree | Interval | Semitones |
|---|---|---|---|
| C | 1 | root | 0 |
| D | 2 | major second | 2 |
| Eb | b3 | minor third | 3 |
| F | 4 | perfect fourth | 5 |
| G | 5 | perfect fifth | 7 |
| A | 6 | major sixth | 9 |
| Bb | b7 | minor seventh | 10 |
C Dorian on the guitar
Standard tuning, high e on top as in tablature, open strings to fret 12. Every dot is a note of the scale; the pattern repeats from fret 12 up.
The seven chords of C Dorian
Every other note of the scale stacked on each note. Numerals are measured against the major scale on C, so a b marks a chord root a semitone lower than in major.
| Numeral | Chord | Notes | Sound |
|---|---|---|---|
| i | Cm | C Eb G | |
| ii | Dm | D F A | |
| bIII | Eb | Eb G Bb | |
| IV | F | F A C | |
| v | Gm | G Bb D | |
| vi° | Adim | A C Eb | |
| bVII | Bb | Bb D F |
Seventh chords
Same notes, different home note
C Dorian uses exactly the same notes as D Phrygian, Eb Lydian, F Mixolydian, G natural minor, A Locrian and Bb major. What changes is the note the music keeps returning to, and with it which chord sounds like home.
Same notes as the key of Bb major: the chords are the same seven, but with C as home.
How C Dorian is built
Dorian is the natural minor with a major 6th: against C natural minor, Ab becomes A. It has the same notes as Bb major, played from its 2nd note, C. The raised 6th turns the chord on the 4th note major (F instead of Fm), and the i–IV vamp, Cm to F, is the Dorian sound.
Miles Davis's "So What" (1959) is built on D Dorian for most of its length, moving up a semitone to Eb Dorian for the bridge.
Played some notes and not sure which scale they come from? The scale finder listens to the piano, a MIDI keyboard or the microphone and ranks all 180 scales.
What this page cannot do
- One spelling per scale. the root is spelled the way that needs the fewest sharps and flats.
- Equal temperament only. Blues and many folk traditions bend notes between these pitches, and Arabic and Turkish maqam scales use quarter tones that a piano cannot play.
- The guitar diagram shows standard tuning only and does not suggest fingerings; any note can be played in several places.
- The sound is a simple synthesised tone made in your browser, not a recorded instrument.