C♯ Dorian scale on guitar
Every note of the C♯ Dorian scale — C♯ D♯ E F♯ G♯ A♯ B — with the step pattern, what it sounds like, where it's used, and famous songs built on it. All scales are free in the interactive fretboard tool.
The scale on the neck
Here's C♯ Dorian over the first 12 frets of the guitar (standard EADGBE tuning). The pink notes are the root (C♯); tap any note to hear it, or play the whole scale ascending.
Press Make it interactive and the same scale opens across all 24 frets, with every other tuning and capo position, and with each note labelled by its interval from the root (R, 2, ♭3…) instead of by name. The numbers are the same in every key, so what you learn here transposes straight to G or E. (Note: the root shows there as R, not as C♯.)
The notes
Each note is labelled with its scale degree relative to the major scale — that formula (1 2 ♭3 4 5 6 ♭7) is the scale's fingerprint, identical in every key.
The step pattern
W–H–W–W–W–H–W — W is a whole step (two frets), H a half step (one fret), and 1½ a step and a half (three frets). Start on any C♯on the neck, walk that pattern up one string, and you've played C♯ Dorian.
How it's built
C♯ Dorian is the 2nd mode of the major scale. What makes it different: A minor scale (♭3 ♭7) but with a bright, natural 6th — only one note different from natural minor, and that one note changes the whole mood.
Because it's a mode, C♯ Doriandoesn't invent any new notes: it borrows every note of B major and simply treats C♯ as home. Play the notes of B major but start, stop and resolve on C♯ — that shift of gravity is the entire trick. (More in the guide to modes.)
What it sounds like & where it's used
The sound: Minor, but hopeful and cool rather than gloomy; a little jazzy, a little funky.
Where you'll hear it: Jazz, funk, modal rock, Celtic and English folk tunes — the go-to “sophisticated minor”.
Famous music built on this scale
the definitive Dorian piece: its main sections sit entirely in D Dorian.
the whole groove vamps in A Dorian — Am7 to D9, the classic Dorian pair.
the centuries-old melody is pure Dorian; that natural 6th is its wistful lift.
Dorian in every key
Other scales on C♯
Song and artist names are mentioned for identification and educational commentary only — we don't reproduce lyrics, tabs or recordings. Scales and their formulas are shared facts of music theory.
See C♯ Dorian across the whole neck — colored by interval, with fingerings and audio, on guitar, bass and ukulele. Every scale and all 12 roots are free in the interactive tool.
Open C♯ Dorian on the fretboardFrequently asked
What notes are in the C♯ Dorian scale?
C♯ Dorian contains 7 notes: C♯, D♯, E, F♯, G♯, A♯, B.
What is the formula for the dorian scale?
The interval formula is 1 2 ♭3 4 5 6 ♭7, which is the step pattern W–H–W–W–W–H–W (W = whole step, H = half step, 1½ = a step and a half). Start on C♯ and apply those steps to get C♯, D♯, E, F♯, G♯, A♯, B.
When should I use C♯ Dorian?
Jazz, funk, modal rock, Celtic and English folk tunes — the go-to “sophisticated minor”. Sound-wise: Minor, but hopeful and cool rather than gloomy; a little jazzy, a little funky.