C# Dorian scale
- Notes
- C# D# E F# G# A# B
- 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
- Also written
- Db Dorian: Db Eb Fb Gb Ab Bb Cb
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 C#4 to C#5, the root in blue-green.
Intervals from C#
| Note | Degree | Interval | Semitones |
|---|---|---|---|
| C# | 1 | root | 0 |
| D# | 2 | major second | 2 |
| E | b3 | minor third | 3 |
| F# | 4 | perfect fourth | 5 |
| G# | 5 | perfect fifth | 7 |
| A# | 6 | major sixth | 9 |
| B | 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 | C#m | C# E G# | |
| ii | D#m (same notes, spelled Ebm on its chord page) | D# F# A# | |
| bIII | E | E G# B | |
| IV | F# | F# A# C# | |
| v | G#m | G# B D# | |
| vi° | A#dim | A# C# E | |
| bVII | B | B D# F# |
Seventh chords
Same notes, different home note
C# Dorian uses exactly the same notes as D# Phrygian, E Lydian, F# Mixolydian, G# natural minor, A# Locrian and B 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 B 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, A becomes A#. It has the same notes as B major, played from its 2nd note, C#. The raised 6th turns the chord on the 4th note major (F# instead of F#m), and the i–IV vamp, C#m 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. Db Dorian is the same sounds written from Db; 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.