SCALE REFERENCE

A♭ Dorian

A♭ – B♭ – C♭ – D♭ – E♭ – F – G♭1 2 b3 4 5 6 b7

Also written G♯ Dorian — the same pitches spelled the other way.

Minor with a natural 6th — the brightest of the minor modes. The 2nd mode of the major scale; think 'So What', 'Scarborough Fair'.

Notes & degrees
A♭1B♭2C♭b3D♭4E♭5F6G♭b7
NotesAb, Bb, Cb, Db, Eb, F, Gb
StepsW – H – W – W – W – H – W (W = whole, H = half)
Piano
C♭FA♭B♭D♭E♭G♭
Guitar & ukulele — every position (frets 0–12)
357912eFG♭A♭B♭C♭D♭E♭BC♭D♭E♭FG♭A♭B♭C♭GA♭B♭C♭D♭E♭FG♭DE♭FG♭A♭B♭C♭D♭AB♭C♭D♭E♭FG♭A♭EFG♭A♭B♭C♭D♭E♭

Root notes are red. The full map of the scale on the guitar neck; the common box patterns are groups of these notes.

357912AB♭C♭D♭E♭FG♭A♭EFG♭A♭B♭C♭D♭E♭CD♭E♭FG♭A♭B♭C♭GA♭B♭C♭D♭E♭FG♭

The same scale on a ukulele in standard G–C–E–A tuning.

Chords in the key
DegreeTriad7th chord
iA♭mA♭m7
iiB♭mB♭m7
♭IIIC♭C♭maj7
IVD♭D♭7
vE♭mE♭m7
vi°FdimFm7♭5
♭VIIG♭G♭maj7

These are the chords built by stacking scale notes in thirds. Click through for each chord's own diagrams:

iA♭miiB♭m♭IIIC♭IVD♭vE♭mvi°Fdim♭VIIG♭
Other scales on A♭

Core scales & modes

A♭ MajorA♭ Natural MinorA♭ Harmonic MinorA♭ Melodic MinorA♭ PhrygianA♭ LydianA♭ MixolydianA♭ Locrian

Pentatonic & blues

A♭ Major PentatonicA♭ Minor PentatonicA♭ BluesA♭ Major Blues

Jazz & altered

A♭ Harmonic MajorA♭ Phrygian DominantA♭ Lydian DominantA♭ AlteredA♭ Bebop Dominant

Symmetric

A♭ Whole ToneA♭ Diminished (Whole–Half)A♭ Diminished (Half–Whole)A♭ Augmented Scale

World & exotic

A♭ Hungarian MinorA♭ Double Harmonic MajorA♭ Neapolitan Minor
Dorian on another root
CC♯D♭DE♭D♯EFF♯GA♭G♯AB♭B
Keep exploring

See the diatonic chords with audio in the Scale & Chord Finder, find where a key sits among the others on the Circle of Fifths, or start the free Cloud Atelier music guides.