Guitar scale · harmonic & melodic
C# Dorian b5 Scale
Mode 2 of Harmonic Major: Dorian with a lowered 5th.
Tap any note to hear it.
C# Dorian b5 Scale tab: all 5 positions
Each tab climbs from the low E string to the high e string. Play it up, then back down.
e|---------------------------------------9-11-12-| B|---------------------------------11-12---------| G|-------------------------9-11-12---------------| D|-----------------9-11-13-----------------------| A|---------9-10-13-------------------------------| E|-9-11-12---------------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------------------11-12-14-15-| B|-------------------------------------12-14-------------| G|----------------------------11-12-15-------------------| D|-------------------11-13-14----------------------------| A|-------------13-14-------------------------------------| E|-11-12-14-15-------------------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------------------14-15-| B|----------------------------------14-16-17-------| G|----------------------------15-16----------------| D|----------------13-14-16-17----------------------| A|-------13-14-16----------------------------------| E|-14-15-------------------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------------------18-19-| B|----------------------------------17-19-20-------| G|-------------------------16-18-20----------------| D|----------------16-17-20-------------------------| A|-------16-18-19----------------------------------| E|-18-19-------------------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------------------18-19-21-| B|-------------------------------------19-20----------| G|----------------------------18-20-21----------------| D|----------------------20-21-------------------------| A|----------18-19-21-22-------------------------------| E|-18-19-21-------------------------------------------|
How to play C# Dorian b5 on guitar
Find the root first: C# is at fret 9 on the low E string and fret 4 on the A string. The blue notes on the diagram are every C# on the neck; the gold ones are the rest of the scale's home chord (♭3, ♭5, ♭7), the safest notes to land on at the end of a phrase.
Learn it one box at a time. Position 1, the E shape, sits at frets 9–13. Once it's under your fingers, move to position 2 (the D shape) and play the notes the two boxes share, then keep going up the neck. After all five, the scale joins up into one pattern across the whole fretboard.
Degrees
| Degree | Note |
|---|---|
| 1 | C# |
| 2 | D# |
| ♭3 | E |
| 4 | F# |
| ♭5 | G |
| 6 | A# |
| ♭7 | B |
Chords in C# Dorian b5
Stack every other note of the scale and you get these seven chords. They are the chords that sound "at home" in C# Dorian b5; tap one to see its shapes.
| Degree | Chord | 7th chord | Function |
|---|---|---|---|
| i° | C#dim | C#m7b5 | Tonic |
| ii | D#m | D#m7 | Supertonic |
| ♭iii | Em | Em(maj7) | Mediant |
| IV | F# | F#7 | Subdominant |
| ♭V+ | Gaug | Gmaj7#5 | Dominant |
| vi° | A#dim | A#dim7 | Submediant |
| ♭VII | B | Bmaj7 | Leading tone / subtonic |
Fretwise · Free on iPhone & Android
Practise C# Dorian b5 anywhere, even offline.
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Questions
- What notes are in the C# Dorian b5 Scale?
- The C# Dorian b5 Scale has 7 notes: C#, D#, E, F#, G, A#, B.
- What chords are in the C# Dorian b5 Scale?
- The chords of C# Dorian b5 are C#dim (i°), D#m (ii), Em (♭iii), F# (IV), Gaug (♭V+), A#dim (vi°), B (♭VII).
- What is the formula of the dorian b5 scale?
- 1 2 ♭3 4 ♭5 6 ♭7, which is the step pattern W H W H W+H H W (W = whole step, H = half step).
- Where do I play C# Dorian b5 on the guitar?
- The root C# is at fret 9 on the low E string and fret 4 on the A string. Position 1 (the E shape) covers frets 9–13, and four more positions connect it up the neck.