Dorian
2 - 1 - 2 - 2 - 2 - 1 - 2About Dorian
E dorian is the second mode of D major: E F♯ G A B C♯ D. On guitar it is the most convenient mode there is — the tonic is the lowest string, two sharps fall under the hand, and the shape overlaps with the E minor pentatonic every player already knows.
The notes
E F♯ G A B C♯ D, then E. Compare with E natural minor, which has C where this has C♯. That raised sixth is the definition of dorian, and here it falls at the second fret of the B string — an easy reach from the pentatonic box.
Because the scale shares its notes with D major, playing D major from E gives it directly. That relationship is the fastest way to find any mode without memorising new shapes.
On the fretboard
Open position works entirely: E, F♯, G, A, B, C♯ and D are all available within the first three frets, several of them open. The twelfth-fret position repeats the same layout an octave up.
For soloing, the practical route is the E minor pentatonic with the F♯ and C♯ added. Those two notes convert the box, and the C♯ is the one that must be sounded for the mode to register.
Where it is used
Rock riffs over an Em chord that include an A major or a C♯ — countless songs do this without naming the mode. Modal jazz uses the same scale over Em7 held for bars at a time.
It is also common in English and Irish traditional music, where tunes in E with a C♯ and a D natural are dorian by construction rather than by intention.
Related Scales from Diatonic
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