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"Dorian Mode For Guitar -- How To Use The Dorian Scale For Soloing"

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Learning the Dorian mode is easy and natural. You can use it to play solos and melodies, usually in minor keys. The Dorian scale is similar to the minor scale, which you may already know.

Scales and modes for guitar -- What are guitar modes?

Think of guitar modes like scale patterns on the fretboard. You don't have to know a ton of theory to start using guitar modes in your solos. Learning modes will add flavor and uniqueness to your guitar solos.

There are seven modes total. Each mode works well in either a minor key or a major key, but with a few adjustments.

The adjustments that create the modes are based on the chords used in the song, so think of modes as a unique scale that works perfectly with the specific chords being used.

Guitar scale charts -- The Dorian mode

If you already know the minor scale for guitar, learning the Dorian scale will be a breeze! They are exactly the same except for one little note...

In other words, it's almost the same pattern. You just have to change one note in the pattern to get the Dorian mode from the minor scale.

Normally, a purely minor scale in the key of D minor has these notes: D - E - F - G - A - Bb - C.

Well, to create the Dorian mode, we have to adjust one of those notes. See the Bb? It's the sixth note down, the sixth scale degree. Raising that note up one fret gives us the Dorian scale, which is D - E - F - G - A - B - C.

Let's simplify things with some tabs...

First, we'll look at the purely minor scale in the same key:

Click tablature to enlarge:

Here is the Dorian scale in the tenth position. This position will be good for soloing and playing Dorian-style phrases.

See the notes that are different from the pure minor scale? See the notes that are the same?

Click tablature to enlarge:

How to use the Dorian scale

The Dorian shape in this root position lends itself well to some cool phrases that can be used for solos, which wouldn't be available in the pure minor scale.

Without complicating things too much, let's add the "blue" note from the minor pentatonic blues scale.

Click tablature to enlarge:

Notice how both your second and third strings use frets 10, 12, and 13?

We can use those frets together to create some cool Dorian-style licks in a minor key:

Click tablature to enlarge:

Using the same-fret/adjacent-string idea some more, we can look for other places that use the same frets, but different strings. How about the third and fourth strings?

Let's create some triplet patterns using 9, 10, and 12 on the third and fourth strings, and continue the idea through to the second string:

Click tablature to enlarge:

How about a more challenging lick?

Click tablature to enlarge:

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