The name of a Dorian scale appears. Your task is to draw its 8 notes on the staff. The Dorian scale is the natural minor scale with the 6th raised by a half step: a "brighter" minor, symmetrical, widely used in jazz, folk and modal music.
How to use the exercise: Click (or drag) on the staff to place each note. First choose the accidental with the ♭ ♮ ♯ buttons if the note needs one. Undo removes the last note and Clear restarts the exercise. The notes are sorted automatically from low to high. The magnifier shows the note you are about to place.
The pattern of the Dorian scale
The pattern is W – H – W – W – W – H – W (UK: tone and semitone). It is symmetrical (it reads the same from the top down) and differs from the natural minor only in its raised 6th, which gives it a more open color.
| Degree | Step | D Dorian | A Dorian | E Dorian |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | — | D | A | E |
| 2nd | W | E | B | F♯ |
| 3rd | H | F | C | G |
| 4th | W | G | D | A |
| 5th | W | A | E | B |
| 6th | W | B | F♯ | C♯ |
| 7th | H | C | G | D |
| 8th | W | D | A | E |
The raised 6th, the mark of the Dorian mode
Compared with the natural minor, the Dorian scale raises the 6th by a half step. That makes it the second mode of the major scale: D Dorian uses the white keys (the notes of C major starting on D). Its minor 3rd with a major 6th gives it a character that is both melancholy and bright.
To lock these scales into your fingers, practice them with the online metronome at 60-70% of your target tempo, raising it by 5 BPM each time you play three repetitions without mistakes. The online tuner lets you check your tuning before you start.
Printable worksheet (PDF)
The same exercise on paper, for class: eight Dorian scales to write without a key signature, with each accidental before its note. With a separate answer sheet, with the answers in red.
It goes from easier to harder: first key signatures with few accidentals in treble clef, then more accidentals and the bass clef.
Download the worksheet (PDF A4) Answers
You may print and photocopy the worksheets freely for the classroom. There are also worksheets of this same type for identifying and writing with a key signature, and in the scales index you can create custom worksheets, mixing whichever types you like.