STRINGSCALES

F dorian #4 Scale — Guitar Fretboard Visualization

Low E string: F, G, Ab, B, C, D, Eb at frets 1, 3, 4, 7, 8, 10, 11

A string: B, C, D, Eb, F, G, Ab at frets 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11

D string: D, Eb, F, G, Ab, B, C, D at frets 0, 1, 3, 5, 6, 9, 10, 12

G string: G, Ab, B, C, D, Eb, F, G at frets 0, 1, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 12

B string: B, C, D, Eb, F, G, Ab, B at frets 0, 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 12

High E string: F, G, Ab, B, C, D, Eb at frets 1, 3, 4, 7, 8, 10, 11

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F dorian #4

The dorian #4 scale, the fourth mode of the harmonic minor scale, is also known as the ukrainian dorian or romanian minor scale. Dorian's minor-with-a-bright-6th frame gets a raised 4th, producing the klezmer and Eastern European fiddle sound. The #4 pulls up to the 5th while the b3 keeps it minor: instant folk drama over a minor chord.

it consists of these notes and degrees:

F

i

Fm
G

II

Gmaj
A♭

bIII

A♭maj
B

#iv°

Bdim
C

v

Cm
D

vi°

Ddim
E♭

bVII+

E♭aug

Characteristic note: B (#4), the raised fourth over a dorian base, the Ukrainian dorian sound.

Same notes, different mode

F dorian #4 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.

G phrygian dominantAb lydian #9B ultralocrianC harmonic minorD locrian 6Eb major augmented

dorian #4 in all 12 keys, with chords and related scales

tip
  • The klezmer move: bIII (Ab) up to #IV (B), an augmented 2nd inside a minor scale with a bright 6th; practice it as a slide on one string.
  • It is harmonic minor's fourth mode: F dorian #4 (B) equals the harmonic minor a 4th below, so fingerings transfer.
  • Resolve #IV (B) up to V constantly; that pull against the minor 3rd is the Eastern European fiddle sound.
  • Over a m6 or m7 vamp, alternate plain dorian and dorian #4 (B): moving one note in and out keeps a long solo alive.

How to play F dorian #4 on guitar

Root sits at fret 1 on both E strings, which puts an E-shape barre one fret from the nut. Capo fret 1 and everything reads as E, so your open-position vocabulary maps straight onto this key. Open D, G and B sit in the key. Bdim is the #iv and Ebaug the bVII+, giving you two chords that will not settle into a cadence.

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