When you play a major scale starting on the second note and ending on the same second note one octave higher, you form a new scale called the Dorian mode. Using the C-Major scale as an example, when it starts on the second note D, the scale is called D Dorian because it starts on D; and it's called the second mode because D is the second note on the C-Major scale. For the modes discussed in this book, I'll give the two most common and useful fingerings for each one. Each is two octaves long, one starting on the sixth string and one on the fifth string.

The Dorian mode is actually a scale by itself and doesn't have to be tied to a parent scale. It's actually quite difficult to discuss modes in relation to parent scales because you have to think backwards to find out where they come from, which can be tedious. When you look at the notes of the D-Dorian mode (D, E, F, G, A, B, C), you may notice that it greatly resembles a D-minor scale (D, E, F, G, A, B, C). The difference is that in the D-Dorian mode, the note B is not a B as it is in the D-minor scale. All the other notes are the same. Because it's so close to being D minor, we can describe D Dorian as a minor mode with a raised sixth note. That really is the simplest way to think about modes—altered major and minor scales—rather than thinking about where they come from. So the formula for Dorian is: Start with the minor scale and raise the sixth tone one half step. Now you can make the fingerings simply by taking the two-octave minor scale fingerings and raising the sixth note one half step. To form the D Dorian from the sixth string you get FIGURE 10-1. From the fifth string you end up with FIGURE 10-2.

As you can see, the D-Dorian mode is almost exactly like a D-minor scale, which helps illustrate that you can use the Dorian mode in place of a minor scale. That raised sixth tone gives you a little color and uniqueness that you normally don't hear in the world of plain major and minor. Modes are like flavors: Major and minor are vanilla and chocolate, and modes are the more exotic flavors. Try recording yourself playing a D-minor chord and play the D-Dorian mode over it to see if you like it. “Moondance” by Van Morrison is a popular tune that is based on the Dorian mode.

All of the mode shapes presented in this chapter are based on moveable scale shapes. Even though I discuss modes only from C Major, you can move the shapes around the same way you moved them in other chapters.