Eb Dorian scale
- Notes
- Eb F Gb Ab Bb C Db
- Formula
- 1 2 b3 4 5 6 b7
- Steps
- W H W W W H W (W tone, H semitone)
- Also called
- Eb Dorian mode
- Also written
- D# Dorian: D# E# F# G# A# B# C#
Seven notes from Eb up to the next Eb. Each note is written with the letter its degree names, one letter each, so the spelling follows the formula.
Eb Dorian on the piano
From Eb4 to Eb5, the root in blue-green.
Intervals from Eb
| Note | Degree | Interval | Semitones |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eb | 1 | root | 0 |
| F | 2 | major second | 2 |
| Gb | b3 | minor third | 3 |
| Ab | 4 | perfect fourth | 5 |
| Bb | 5 | perfect fifth | 7 |
| C | 6 | major sixth | 9 |
| Db | b7 | minor seventh | 10 |
Eb 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 Eb Dorian
Every other note of the scale stacked on each note. Numerals are measured against the major scale on Eb, so a b marks a chord root a semitone lower than in major.
| Numeral | Chord | Notes | Sound |
|---|---|---|---|
| i | Ebm | Eb Gb Bb | |
| ii | Fm | F Ab C | |
| bIII | Gb (same notes, spelled F# on its chord page) | Gb Bb Db | |
| IV | Ab | Ab C Eb | |
| v | Bbm | Bb Db F | |
| vi° | Cdim | C Eb Gb | |
| bVII | Db | Db F Ab |
Seventh chords
Same notes, different home note
Eb Dorian uses exactly the same notes as C Locrian, Db major, F Phrygian, Gb Lydian, Ab Mixolydian and Bb natural minor. What changes is the note the music keeps returning to, and with it which chord sounds like home.
Same notes as the key of Db major: the chords are the same seven, but with Eb as home.
How Eb Dorian is built
Dorian is the natural minor with a major 6th: against Eb natural minor, Cb becomes C. It has the same notes as Db major, played from its 2nd note, Eb. The raised 6th turns the chord on the 4th note major (Ab instead of Abm), and the i–IV vamp, Ebm to Ab, 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. D# Dorian is the same sounds written from D#; 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.