Chord Colors

E♭ Dorian b5 scale

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About the E flat Dorian b5 scale

E flat Dorian b5 is used for jazz solos and moody, unsettled passages. Think of it as a dorian minor with a flat fifth, dark and off balance.

Its notes are E, F, G, A, B♭♭, C, and D. The formula is W H W H 1½ H W. It is the second mode of D Harmonic Major.

Also called Maqam Karcigar.

The open-string note A sits inside this scale. The lowest E on a standard-tuned guitar sits at the 6th fret of the A string. Placed at the first fret, a capo lets E Dorian 5 be played with D-shape fingerings.

Positions

Playable shapes for this scale up the neck. Tap any note to hear it.

CAGED

Five shapes, each anchored to a chord form you already know, the pop and rock default that ties your scales to your chords. The outlined notes are that chord, so you can see the C, A, G, E, and D shapes inside the scale.

D shapeopen
C shapefr 3
A shapefr 5
G shapefr 8
E shapefr 10
3NPS

3NPS stands for 3 notes per string. It lays the scale out in seven even shapes for rock and metal lead, and favors speed because the picking pattern stays consistent across every string.

Shape 1open
Shape 2fr 2
Shape 3fr 4
Shape 4fr 5
Shape 5fr 7
Shape 6fr 9
Shape 7fr 11
7-position system

7 four-fret boxes, one per scale degree, each a single hand position with almost no shifting. The jazz and classical way, from William Leavitt's Berklee method.

Position 1fr 1
Position 2fr 2
Position 3fr 4
Position 4fr 5
Position 5fr 8
Position 6fr 9
Position 7fr 11

Chords in the key of E flat Dorian b5

Expand a chord to see how to play it.

E flat diminished
Position 1 of 4
ii F minor
Position 1 of 4
iii G flat minor
Position 1 of 4
IV A flat
Position 1 of 4
V+ B double flat augmented
Position 1 of 4
vi° C diminished
Position 1 of 4
VII D flat
Position 1 of 4

Seventh chords in E flat Dorian b5

The four-note version of each chord, richer and jazzier.

E flat minor seven flat five
Position 1 of 4
ii F minor seven
Position 1 of 4
iii G flat minor major seven
Position 1 of 4
IV A flat seven
Position 1 of 4
V+ B double flat major seven sharp five
Position 1 of 4
vi° C diminished seven
Position 1 of 4
VII D flat major seven
Position 1 of 4

Progressions in E flat Dorian b5

Tap any chord to hear it, or play the whole progression.

Notes and intervals

1EbE♭Root
2FFMajor 2nd
3GbG♭Minor 3rd
4AbA♭Perfect 4th
5BbbB♭♭Diminished 5th
6CCMajor 6th
7DbD♭Minor 7th
StepsW H W H 1½ H W
Semitones2-1-2-1-3-1-2
Degrees1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Shapes

Chromatic

CC♯D♭DD♯E♭EFF♯G♭GG♯A♭AA♯B♭B

Circle of Fifths

CGDAEBF♯G♭C♯D♭G♯A♭D♯E♭A♯B♭F

Related scales

Dorian b5 in other keys

Modes

The same notes, starting on a different note.

Embed this scale

Paste the snippet into a lesson page, a blog or a forum post. The card links back here.

Eb Dorian b5 scale on guitar shown as colored note dots
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