A♭ Dorian ♭5Scale

Formula

W H W H 1½ H W 1 2 ♭3 4 ♭5 6 ♭7
The family

A♭ Dorian ♭5 on the chromatic circle

A♭ Dorian ♭5 is the 2nd mode of the Harmonic major family. Pick another note on the circle to open the scale that starts there.

W W H W H 1½ H ♭7 G♭I Harmonic major 1 A♭II Dorian ♭5 2 B♭III Phrygian ♭4 ♭3 C♭IV Lydian ♭3 4 D♭V Mixolydian ♭2 ♭5 E𝄫VI Lydian augmented ♯2 6 FVII Locrian 𝄫7 A♭ Dorian ♭5
The whole neck

A♭ Dorian ♭5 across the fretboard

Every note of the scale up to the 16th fret, named by its degree. The root is a ring. Step through the five CAGED positions one at a time in the scale library.

3 5 7 9 12 15 6 ♭7 1 2 ♭3 4 ♭5 6 ♭7 2 ♭3 4 ♭5 6 ♭7 1 2 ♭3 ♭5 6 ♭7 1 2 ♭3 4 ♭5 6 1 2 ♭3 4 ♭5 6 ♭7 1 2 ♭3 4 ♭5 6 ♭7 1 2 ♭3 4 ♭5 6 ♭7 1 2 ♭3 4 ♭5 6 ♭7
Harmony

Chords in A♭ Dorian ♭5

Stack every other note of the scale from each degree and you get its chords. Open any of them in the chord library.

DegreeChordNotes
i°A♭m7♭5A♭ C♭ E𝄫 G♭
iiB♭m7B♭ D♭ F A♭
♭iiiC♭m(maj7)C♭ E𝄫 G♭ B♭
IVD♭7D♭ F A♭ C♭
♭V+E𝄫maj7♯5E𝄫 G♭ B♭ D♭
vi°F°7F A♭ C♭ E𝄫
♭VIIG♭maj7G♭ B♭ D♭ F
Context

Where A♭ Dorian ♭5 fits

Over m7♭5 chords: a rare colour in jazz.

A♭ Dorian ♭5 is mode 2 of the harmonic major family. The same notes played from each of its other degrees give the family's other modes:

Move one note by a half step and you get a different scale:

Dorian ♭5 scale in every key

A♭ Dorian ♭5 scale questions

What notes are in the A♭ Dorian ♭5 scale?

A♭ B♭ C♭ D♭ E𝄫 F G♭. As degrees from the root: 1 2 ♭3 4 ♭5 6 ♭7.

What is the A♭ Dorian ♭5 scale formula?

1 2 ♭3 4 ♭5 6 ♭7, or in steps between the notes, W H W H 1½ H W (W is a whole step of two frets, H a half step of one fret, 1½ three frets).

How do you play the A♭ Dorian ♭5 scale on guitar?

This page draws every note of A♭ Dorian ♭5 up to the 16th fret, each named by its degree with the root as a ring. To learn it a few frets at a time, open it in the scale library and step through its five CAGED positions, from the G shape to the E shape to the D shape to the C shape to the A shape.

What chords are in the A♭ Dorian ♭5 scale?

A♭m7♭5 (i°), B♭m7 (ii), C♭m(maj7) (♭iii), D♭7 (IV), E𝄫maj7♯5 (♭V+), F°7 (vi°), G♭maj7 (♭VII).

When is the A♭ Dorian ♭5 scale used?

Over m7♭5 chords: a rare colour in jazz.