A dorian chordson the mandolin

Main chords: Am (i), G (♭VII), D (IV)

The scale: A B C D E F♯ G

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

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

Common progressions

• i – ♭VII – i: Am – G – Am (Am-G-Am, the dorian rock)
• i – ♭VII – IV – i: Am – G – D – Am (the major IV is the dorian colour)
• i – ♭III – ♭VII – i: Am – C – G – Am (up to ♭III (C in A dorian) 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 A dorian

1. i Am2 2 3 0
2. ii Bm4 0 2 2
3. ♭III C0 2 3 0
4. IV D2 0 0 2
5. v Em0 2 2 0
6. vi° F♯dim2 4 3 2
7. ♭VII G0 0 2 3

Other modes on A

Other dorian keys

A dorian in other tunings

All Mandolin GDAE chords · A dorian sheet (PDF) · Printable chart (PDF) · The app