The Dorian scale is a minor scale with a major 6th. That one raised note takes the sadness out of natural minor and leaves a minor sound that's cool, smooth and a little hopeful: the minor of funk, soul, jazz and Latin rock.
Formula
Reference key: A Dorian, the key the diagrams below use.
| Degree | 1 | 2 | b3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | b7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Note | A | B | C | D | E | F# | G |
Intervals: W H W W W H W.
A Dorian uses the same notes as G major. It's the second mode of the major scale: start G major on its 2nd note, A, and make A home.
Sound and character
The b3 makes it minor; the major 6th (F#) makes it bright. Played over an A minor chord, the F# adds a jazzy, slightly unresolved color that natural minor's F can't give you. Lean on it and the whole line sounds less like a blues and more like a groove.
Where it's used
Funk, soul, jazz, fusion, Latin rock and plenty of minor-key blues-rock. It's the default scale for m7, m6, m9 and m13 chords, and for any static minor vamp. Its key chords, built from the scale: Am7 (i), D or D7 (IV, major because of the F#), Bm7 (ii) and G (bVII). The i to IV move, Am7 to D, is the progression that screams Dorian.
How to move it
The root is the amber dot in each position. Slide the whole pattern until the amber dots land on the new root. Move everything up 2 frets for B Dorian, or down 3 frets for F# Dorian (Position 1 then starts at the 2nd fret of the low E).
The Modes chapter introduces Dorian in D; this chapter takes it across the whole neck. Dorian is natural minor with a raised 6th, or minor pentatonic plus the 2 and the 6.
In exercise 2, let the final F# ring against the open A: that's the Dorian color.