Modes & Scales

E Dorian

The go-to minor mode for a rock or funk groove.

E F# G A B C# D · 1 2 ♭3 4 5 6 ♭7

E Dorian is the guitarist's favourite minor mode — the same bright natural 6th as D Dorian, now in a key that loves open strings and rock vamps.

Every 3-notes-per-string position

The idea

A minor scale with one bright note

E Dorian is E F# G A B C# D. It is minor (the ♭3, G), but the 6th is natural (C#) instead of flat — the single note that separates Dorian from natural minor.

The ♭3 (G) keeps it minor.
The natural 6 (C#) is the Dorian color.
In E it sits perfectly against the open low E string.

The color tone

The natural 6

Target the C# over an Em groove and the Dorian sound jumps out — brighter and funkier than plain minor, the sound of countless rock and jam-band solos.

The natural 6 (C#) is the note to aim for.
It brightens the minor sound without losing the darkness.
Great over a static Em vamp.

Use it

Where E Dorian lives

Vamp Em–A (i–IV) and you are in E Dorian — the A chord carries the natural 6 (C#). It is the sound of funk, fusion and modal rock.

Em–A (i–IV) is the fastest way to hear it.
The IV chord (A) holds the natural 6.
E Dorian = D major from E (the 2nd mode).

One natural 6th turns plain minor into the funky, hopeful Dorian sound — and E is the key it lives in on guitar.

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