STRINGSCALES

A dorian b2 Scale — Guitar Fretboard Visualization

Low E string: E, F#, G, A, Bb, C, D, E at frets 0, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12

A string: A, Bb, C, D, E, F#, G, A at frets 0, 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 10, 12

D string: D, E, F#, G, A, Bb, C, D at frets 0, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 12

G string: G, A, Bb, C, D, E, F#, G at frets 0, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 12

B string: C, D, E, F#, G, A, Bb at frets 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11

High E string: E, F#, G, A, Bb, C, D, E at frets 0, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12

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A dorian b2

The dorian b2 scale, the second mode of the melodic minor scale, is dorian with a phrygian flat 2nd: minor with a natural 6th and a dark half-step opening. That combination, shadowed at the bottom and bright in the middle, works over minor 7th chords when plain dorian feels too polite, and over sus4b9 chords in modern jazz.

it consists of these notes and degrees:

A

i

Am
B♭

bII+

B♭aug
C

bIII

Cmaj
D

IV

Dmaj
E

v°

Edim
F♯

vi°

F♯dim
G

bvii

Gm

Characteristic notes: Bb (b2) and F# (natural 6), phrygian darkness below the root, dorian brightness above it.

Same notes, different mode

A dorian b2 uses the same notes as the scales below. Start from a different note and you get a new mode built on the very same note set.

Bb lydian augmentedC lydian dominantD mixolydian b6E locrian #2F# alteredG melodic minor

dorian b2 in all 12 keys, with chords and related scales

tip
  • Keep dorian's bright 6th (F#) and add the dark flat 2nd (Bb): open phrases with bII (Bb) to root, close them on VI.
  • Over a sus4b9 chord, A dorian b2 (Bb) is the textbook modern-jazz choice.
  • It is the second mode of melodic minor; your A melodic minor fingering a whole step down plays it note for note.
  • Use it over a m7 vamp when plain dorian feels too polite; only one note changes, and it changes the mood entirely.

How to play A dorian b2 on guitar

Open A is a root, both open E strings give the fifth, and open D and G fill in a fourth and a minor seventh, so five strings are live before you fret anything. Fretted roots repeat at the 5th fret on both E strings, the 7th on the D and the 2nd on the G. Same fingering equals G melodic minor, ten semitones above the root, so that shape imports directly. Root box gives way at fret 9.

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