Eb Dorian
The Eb Dorian mode (also written D#) — Eb F Gb Ab Bb C Db — shown across the guitar neck.
Also written D# Dorian. D# and Eb are the same pitch — Eb is the spelling in common use.
Tap any note on the neck.
Swipe the neck sideways to see the higher frets.
Eb Dorian is the natural minor with one note changed — the 6, C. That single note is what gives the mode its sound: lean on it and the colour is obvious. Leave it out and the melody alone could pass for plain minor — then it is the chords underneath that keep the mode.
What is Eb Dorian?
Eb Dorian is the seven notes Eb F Gb Ab Bb C Db — the notes of Db major started from its 2nd degree, Eb. Same seven notes as the parent, but with Eb as home, so the intervals and the sound are different.
Eb Dorian vs Eb natural minor
6 of the seven notes are the same. The difference is one note, and that is the whole character of the mode:
- 6 is C in Dorian, where Eb natural minor has b6, Cb.
Play Eb natural minor and Eb Dorian back to back over a Ebm chord and listen for C — that is the note to lean on.
Chords in Eb Dorian
Stack the mode in thirds and each degree becomes a chord. The home chord is Ebm; the rest are the chords of Db major, since the notes are the same — what changes is which one the music rests on. Vamp between Ebm and Ab and the mode is unmistakable.
Eb Dorian on the guitar neck
Because Eb Dorian is Db major from its 2nd note, its natural fingering is position 2 of the seven three-notes-per-string shapes of Db major — the shape whose lowest note is Eb. Learn that shape with Eb as home — start and end on it, over a drone on Eb or the vamp above — and you have the mode under your fingers. Play the same shape with Db as home and you hear Db major instead. The other six positions are the fingerings for the other six modes of the same key.
How to practice Eb Dorian on guitar
- Loop position 2 of Db major at 60 BPM, starting and ending on Eb so your ear hears Eb as home rather than Db.
- Hold a Ebm chord (or record one) and play the shape over it. Land on C on the strong beats — that is the sound of Dorian.
- Hear it harmonized in 3rds on the Fretboard: press Play and every note sounds with its partner while the neck lights up.
The tool draws Eb Dorian from its own root: the orange dots are on Eb and the degrees count from it. The notes are its parent key's, Db major; to hear Dorian, start and end on Eb.
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