Welcome to my Harmony and Theory Bible series.
These articles will aim to teach you how to approach theory and harmony,in a fun and creative way. Here you will find everything from beginners' areas like intervals, chords, scale construction and modes, to more complex harmony analysis and soloing approaches. Whether you are total beginner or somebody looking to recap on some knowledge, this is the place for you.
In today’s article we are focusing on the 2nd mode of the major scale – Dorian mode
Dorian Mode
Last time we discussed Ionian mode and its harmony. Today we are focusing on the Dorian mode which is original major scale/Ionian played from the 2nd scale degree! We will cover formula of this mode as well as cadences (chord progressions) that describe Dorian mode. By the end of this article you will have improvisation example of my approach over D Dorian mode. Let’s get started now.
D Dorian mode is C major scale played from the 2nd scale degree. For example, C major scale has following notes: C, D, E, F, G, A, B and C (as octave!). D Dorian mode in C major scale is the 2nd mode starting from the 2nd scale degree. We therefore end up with C major scale starting on the 2nd note - D E F G A B C and D. Notice how D Dorian mode has different order of half and whole steps. This is what essentially makes each mode unique and interesting! D Dorian mode is associated with minor type chord (minor triad or minor7th chord) simply because these chords exist on 2nd scale degree of any major scale! Mode itself has very bright sound and is used in all styles of music. Very important thing to remember here is to associate Dorian mode with minor type chords. Why? Simply because it is mode built on 2nd scale degree of major scale and when we harmonise Dorian more into 3 or 4 note chords, our chord on that same scale degree is minor triad or minor 7th chord (see the picture below). So remember, every time you see a minor chord - minor6th, minor7th or minor9th chord with tensions 9, 11 or 13 (in modal situations 13 works great), you can play Dorian mode!
Let’s now move onto construction formulas of Dorian mode.
Here are 3 types of formulas for Dorian mode:
- Interval formula from Root of the mode: Root, Major 2nd, Minor 3rd, Perfect 4th, Perfect 5th, Major 6th, Minor 7th and Octave.
- Formula using whole and half steps: Root, W, H, W, W, W, H and W.
- Formula using numbering system: 1, 2, b3, 4, 5, 6, b7 and 8 (same as 1).
Dorian Cadence
In one of the previous articles we have covered importance of cadence. For those of you who missed that, short and quick version is following: Cadence is a chord progression that describes the given scale or mode. We have also covered 3 chord families where everything falls in. Those families are Tonic, Subdominant and Dominant. Any chord from major scale falls under one of those 3 chord families. In order to have a strong cadence, we have to use chords that contain Tonic, Subdominant and Dominant sound. If we want to just have simplified version of the cadence we would have Tonic and Dominant sound. When you think about Tonic functioning chords, your ear should tell you it feels like "home harmony". Subdominant functioning chords go a little but out while Dominant functioning chords are really out there and have tendency to resolve back to Tonic functioning chords. Think of those 3 chord families as different levels of consonance and dissonance. The Tonic being most consonant and pleasant, to the Subdominant which is in the middle, while the Dominant is the most dissonant of all.
One final thing worth mentioning is: Every mode has characteristic note or notes! Those notes must be contained in the chord progressions (cadence) as they give a complete sound to the given scale or mode. Dorian mode has major 6th and major 9th as characteristic notes. How do we know this? Well simply by checking interval formula for all minor type modes! Dorian, Phrygian and Aeolian mode are all minor type modes (minor triad is assigned to all of them!). Difference between those modes lies in the type of 6th or 9th they have! Dorian has major 6th and major 9th; Phrygian has minor 6th (or b6) and minor 9th (or b9) while Aeolian has minor 6th (or b6) and major 9th (or 9). All other notes in those modes are common or the same! For example, difference between C Dorian and C Aeolian is the fact that one has A (major 6th) while the other has Ab (minor 6th). By using this method, we came to know characteristic note(s) of the mode!
Now we will look at D Dorian cadence using Tonic type chord and chord containing tensions with characteristic note(s) of the mode. Characteristic note of D Dorian mode is B so our characteristic chord should contain B in it. Another important note (not as important as major 6th in the mode though) is the 9th which is E note. By following that rule, we should try to use B and E notes in our characteristic chord. Here are a couple of examples using Tonic type chord with characteristic chord.
Example 1a (3 part harmony)
//: D min / G maj ://
Example 1b (4 part harmony)
//: D min7 / G7 ://
Both examples 1a and 1b use Tonic type chord first (D min chord describes that we are using some sort of minor mode in D) while the chord with characteristic notes gives us the rest of important information of that mode (G maj or G7 both contain B note which is major 6th from D – essential note for D Dorian mode). Let’s look at two more examples now:
Example 2a (3 part harmony)
//: D min / E min ://
Example 2b (4 part harmony)
//: D min7 / E min7 ://
Here we see how E min or E min7 both contain B and E notes (major 6th and major 9th) which fully describe the sound of our D Dorian mode along with D min or D min7 chord. Notice how these were all chord progressions using only two chords! Feel free to mix them up or extend them by adding some simple chord substitution (inserting Fmaj7 in place of D min7 chord for example).
Improvisation and Assignment
Now we reach the final chapter of the article. I have included some examples of my improvisation using the D Dorian mode.
Notice how I used example 1b as a backing track and improvised using the D Dorian mode. A perfect assignment for all of you is to:
- Transcribe my improvisation and analyze what I did
- Record your own improvisation, transcribe it and analyze what you are doing right or wrong
I hope you enjoy my example.
With all this information I will leave you to enjoy audio examples of D Dorian cadences and my improvisation. Study each cadence carefully and try to apply it to your playing/improvising/accompanying/composing.
Feel free to leave comments, ask any questions or simply share your opinion regarding this article. I will be happy to respond and help everybody!
Have fun studying this material and I will see you in part 7 where we will focus on the E Phrygian Mode!
Pedja Simovic
www.facebook.com/home.php#!/predrag.simovic
Related articles:
Harmony and theory bible (part 5) - Ionian Mode
Harmony and theory bible (part 4) - Major Scale modes
Harmony and theory bible (part 3) - Major Scale
Harmony and Theory Bible (part 2) - Chords (Triads and 4 Note Chords)
Harmony and theory bible (part 1) - Introduction to intervals and chromatic scale
Leave a comment