Saturday, February 5, 2011

Learn Guitar Scales : Amazing Solos Using The Dorian Mode

By Nick Dillon


To understand the Dorian mode it is essential that the major scale or Ionian mode is first understood. The mode is derived from the major scale by simply starting on the second note of the major scale. By making the second note now the root note, and keeping the same interval structure, we create a completely different set of sounding notes known as the Dorian mode. As you learn guitar scales you will find this mode particularly useful for soloing.

If we compare Dorian with the the major scale, we find that Dorian keeps the same notes except for a flattened third and flattened seventh interval. This makes the Dorian mode a minor scale, which will sound very different to the major scale.

As you learn guitar scales and modes you will come across the commonly used natural minor scale. The Dorian mode is very similar to the natural minor scale, with one important difference. The Dorian mode has a major sixth interval - the same as the major scale -compared to the flattened sixth of the natural minor scale. This one difference makes Dorian much brighter and happier sounding compared with the natural minor scale.

As you learn guitar scales for soloing, you will probably start with the minor pentatonic scale. The Dorian mode is an extension of this scale. If we add a major second and major sixth to the minor pentatonic, we create the Dorian mode. Thus Dorian can give you a bluesy sound by emphasising the common pentatonic notes, namely the minor third and flattened seventh.

The Dorian mode can be applied to many different styles of music. In rock, Eric Clapton uses this mode in the classic "Cocaine". There are numerous examples of this mode used in popular music as well as jazz. As you progress with lead guitar and learn guitar scales, it will get easier to identify the different sounding modes and scales, and how they effect the feel or mood of the music.

The Dorian mode can be played over minor chords or seventh chords. Seventh chords tend to sound good because four out of the seven notes are common, making it hard to hit a "bad" note.

As you learn guitar scales and modes, keep an eye out for the second major scale mode; Dorian. Using this mode will take your pentatonic solos up a level giving them a more diverse and colourful sound. You will be truly amazed at what the addition of just two notes to the minor pentatonic scale can really do for your guitar solos.




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