Learning Guitar Scales

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A lot or rock or blues fans when learning guitar scales and especially when learning modes for guitar, make their first mode that they want to learn "Dorian mode", that's because it's used a lot in this type of music. As we explained before, modes are just variations of the major scale, you just have to start from a different note rather then the root note.

The Dorian mode is the 2nd mode of the major scale after the Ionian mode (the major scale itself), so if you know how to play the major scale all over the guitar neck then you can play all the other modes. If you want to know what is the major scale of a specific Dorian mode you are playing, you just move back one whole step or two half steps: If you are playing the D Dorian mode, then its major scale is C major scale.

Dorian mode is most used in minor keys in addition to aeolian mode (natural minor scale), sometimes you can play it all over the chord progression, or just over 1 or 2 chords, it is also considered as a minor mode or scale so you can use it also with minor chords.

Dorian mode has these intervals: (1 - 2 - b3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - b7), with these intervals it appears that it combines the major and minor pentatonic guitar scales (it has all the notes in both of them). So when minor and major pentatonic guitar scales are used with a chord progression, you can use the Dorian mode as well. The Dorian mode of the G major scale is the A Dorian mode.

Major scale   G - A - B - C - D - E - F# - G

Dorian mode  A - B - C - D - E - F# - G - A

The whole and half step formula of the Dorian mode is: wh-h-wh-wh-wh-h-wh

The second mode (Dorian mode), we begin with the second note A

E---------------------------------------------------------------
B---------------------------------------------------------------
G---------------------------------------------------------------
D---------------------------------4---5---7-------------------
A------------------------5---7---------------------------------
E----------5---7---8------------------------------------------

Is you want to move to the next level of guitar playing you have to understand the modes for guitar when learning guitar scales, because they will make your playing very rich especially when you're writing your own songs.

See also: All Modes For Guitar


1- The Ionian mode "The major scale" (The first mode).
2- The Dorian mode (The 2nd mode).
3- The Phrygian mode (The 3rd mode).
4- The Lydian mode (The 4th mode).
5- The Mixolydian mode (The 5th mode).
6- The Aeolian mode "The natural minor scale" (The 6th mode).
7- The Locrian mode (The 7th mode).