Jazz Piano Lesson: Dorian Tonality

Lesson Goal: To quickly internalize Dorian Tonality common practice scale and chord material in all keys… by ear, intellect, eye, and muscle…

Prerequisites

Basic music reading skills… the LOVE of music… and the discipline to study and practice.

Why Study Dorian Tonality?

Because Dorian Tonality is widely used in both Modal Jazz and Jazz Blues. Perhaps the most famous Dorian Mode piece is Miles Davis’ “So What”.

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C Dorian Scale Theory & Ear Training

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C Dorian Scale & C Minor 7th Chord

It’s crucial to understand that the Dorian Scale (1-2-b3-4-5-6-b7) / Do-Re-Me-Fa-So-La-Te) and Tonic Minor 7th Chord (1-b3-5-b7) / Do–Me–So–Te) are inseparably interrelated.

Here’s one way for getting the Minor 7th Chord Harmony and Dorian Scale Melody into your ears, intellect, eyes, and muscles…

Notice how it sounds and feels right… and makes musical sense for the chord tones 1, b3, 5, and b7 to fall on downbeats!

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C Dorian & C Mixolydian Compared

Me gives the Dorian Scale its minor flavor, while Mi gives the Mixolydian Scale its major flavor. So, it makes musical sense to think of the Dorian Scale as the minor version of the Mixolydian Scale and the Mixolydian Scale as the major version of the Dorian Scale.

Listen to the C Dorian Scale…

Listen to the C Mixolydian Scale…

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C Dorian Scale Solfege Ear Training

Reading, playing, and singing the Solfege Syllables out loud is an extremely effective way to tune up your ears and to internalize the unique sound-feeling of each note in the scale with respect to the key center Do. Make sure to do this slowly enough for the unique sound-feeling of each Solfege Syllable to make a meaningful impression on your mind’s ear.

C Dorian Scale: Linear, Ascending…

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C Dorian Scale: Linear, Descending…

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C Dorian Scale: Do-X-Do, Ascending…

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C Dorian Scale: Do-X-Do, Descending…

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Note: While it’s possible to continue by singing a bunch of other musical patterns, the 80:20 Rule teaches us that a more efficient approach is to get your ear training material directly from the music that YOU want to play!

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Dorian Harmony

C Dorian “Super Chord” in Stacked 3rds

A useful way to think about Dorian harmony is to stretch out the Dorian Scale into a seven-note “super-chord” in stacked thirds…

This is yet another example of how scales and chords are complementary views of the same musical stuff… and of how knowing your scales helps you know your chords and vice versa!

Hint: Think of this a basic Cm7 chord with color tones built from a D Minor Triad stacked on top.

Improvisation Idea: With the root C in the bass, you can play any of the notes above in any combination (single notes, thirds, triads, and seventh chords) to playfully express yourself in a Dorian Tonality in a wide variety of ways. For example…

Study-Practice: Using your knowledge of scales and chord structure (and your ears of course), play the above in the keys you want to play in. In doing so, you will build an immense chord vocabulary using your ears, intellect, eyes, and muscles!

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C Dorian “Super Chord” in Stacked 4ths

A useful way to think about Dorian harmony is to expand the Dorian Scale into a seven-note “super-chord” in stacked fourths…

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This is yet another example of how scales and chords are complementary views of the same musical stuff… and of how knowing your scales helps you know your chords and vice versa!

Improvisation Hint: With the root C in the bass, you can play any of the notes above in any combination (single notes and chords) to playfully express yourself in a Dorian Tonality in a wide variety of ways. For example…

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Dorian Triads

Dorian Triads (triads derived from the Dorian Scale) are a tasty way to play over the tonic minor seventh chord in a Dorian Tonality…

Do you see how scales and chords are complimentary views of the same musical stuff? Knowing your scales helps you know your chords and vice versa!

Don’t fuss over how each chord is named. Just absorb the sound, visuospatial pattern on the keyboard, and the shape of your hand into your musical mind.

Improvisation Hint: With the root C in the bass, use these triads to create a “chord-melody” in your right hand. For example…

Study-Practice Notes:

Notice that each chord has the very same characteristic triad “shape”.
Feel free to revoice the triads into other shapes to suit your own taste.
Transpose to all other dorian keys you expect to play in.

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Dorian Scale Theory, All Keys

Downloadable PDF showing the notation, key signature, keyboard layout, letter names, scale degrees, and solfege syllables in 12 keys…