Overview

Dorian is the second mode of the major scale — constructed by starting the major scale on its second degree. It is a minor mode (minor third, minor seventh) distinguished from the natural minor (Aeolian) by a raised sixth scale degree. This raised sixth is what gives Dorian its characteristic soulful, hopeful quality: darker than major, but less resigned than pure minor.

Formula

Whole – Half – Whole – Whole – Whole – Half – Whole (W–H–W–W–W–H–W)

Compared to natural minor (Aeolian): identical except degree 6, which is raised by a semitone.

Characteristic sound and the Dorian lift

The raised 6th creates the signature chord move known as the Dorian lift: i → IV (minor tonic to major subdominant). In Bb Dorian:

This move is ubiquitous in soul, funk, and soulful house music, where it produces a sense of emotional opening or yearning.

Relationship to parent major scale

Dorian is a mode of the major scale, not a separate scale. Bb Dorian uses exactly the same pitches as Ab major — it is the Ab major scale played starting on Bb. This means a track in Bb Dorian shares its full diatonic note pool with a track in Ab major or F minor, enabling smooth Harmonic mixing across those keys.

Parent scale relationships:

Use in house music

In a 3-track set structured as F minor → Bb Dorian → Ab major, Bb Dorian occupies the emotional middle position: more open than F minor’s chromatic darkness, not yet fully resolved into Ab major’s brightness. The Dorian lift (Bbm → Eb) functions as the set’s emotional pivot. See House music for the full worked example.

See also: Relative major and minor, Circle of fifths.

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