B dorian chordson the Irish bouzouki, GDAD tuning

Common progressions

• i – ♭VII – i: Bm – A – Bm
• i – ♭VII – IV – i: Bm – A – E – Bm (the major IV is the dorian colour)
• i – ♭III – ♭VII – i: Bm – D – A – Bm (up to ♭III and home through ♭VII)

Basis: A count of 686 session tunes found A and E dorian 19%, against 3% for E and B minor (Brendan Power forum), so minor-sounding tunes are mostly dorian; the IV is major, and ♭VII leads home.

The seven chords in B dorian

1. i Bm4 4 2 0
2. ii C♯m6 6 7 6
3. ♭III Dx 0 0 4
4. IV E1 2 2 2
5. v F♯m2 4 4 4
6. vi° G♯dim1 0 2 0
7. ♭VII A2 2 4 2

Other modes on B

Other dorian keys

B dorian in other tunings

All Irish bouzouki GDAD chords · Printable chart (PDF) · The app