E dorian chordson the Irish bouzouki, GDAE tuning

Main chords: Em (i), D (♭VII), A (IV)

The scale: E F♯ G A B C♯ D

Drones: Open G and E ring in E dorian; D and A fit the key too. The courses are G D A E, low to high.

Print it: E dorian on one page (PDF), or the session pack: the chord chart and a page for each session key.

Common progressions

• i – ♭VII – i: Em – D – Em
• i – ♭VII – IV – i: Em – D – A – Em (the major IV is the dorian colour)
• i – ♭III – ♭VII – i: Em – G – D – Em (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 E dorian

1. i Em0 2 2 0
2. ii F♯m2 4 4 2
3. ♭III G0 0 2 3
4. IV A2 2 4 0
5. v Bm4 0 2 2
6. vi° C♯dim0 2 4 0
7. ♭VII Dx 0 0 2

Other modes on E

Other dorian keys

E dorian in other tunings

All Irish bouzouki GDAE chords · E dorian sheet (PDF) · Printable chart (PDF) · The app