Dorian mode

theoryDOR-ee-an mohdfrom Greek

A musical mode with the pattern of whole and half steps W-H-W-W-W-H-W, sounding like a natural minor‍‍‍‌‍‌‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‍‌‌‍‍‌‍‍‌‌‍‌ scale with a raised sixth degree.

In Depth

The Dorian mode is built on the second degree of the major scale — playing all the white keys on a piano from D to D produces D Dorian.‍‍‍‌‍‌‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‍‌‌‍‍‌‍‍‌‌‍‌ Its intervallic structure differs from the natural minor scale (Aeolian mode) by a single note: the sixth degree is raised by a half step, giving the Dorian mode a uniquely bittersweet quality that is neither fully major nor fully minor. This raised sixth creates a characteristic major chord on the IV degree, adding warmth to an otherwise minor-sounding scale. The Dorian mode is one of the most versatile and widely used modes in Western music. In medieval church music, it was the first and most important mode. In jazz, it is the primary mode for ii-V-I progressions — Miles Davis's "So What" is built entirely on Dorian scales. In rock and pop, Dorian colors countless songs from "Scarborough Fair" to Daft Punk's "Get Lucky." The mode's balance between the darkness of minor and the warmth of the raised sixth gives it an emotional ambiguity that composers and songwriters find endlessly useful.

Did you know?

Miles Davis's "So What" from Kind of Blue — the best-selling jazz album of all time — is built on just two Dorian modes a half step apart, proving that modal simplicity can produce music of extraordinary depth.

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