B♭ Dorian ♭5Scale

Formula

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

B♭ Dorian ♭5 on the chromatic circle

B♭ 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 A♭I Harmonic major 1 B♭II Dorian ♭5 2 CIII Phrygian ♭4 ♭3 D♭IV Lydian ♭3 4 E♭V Mixolydian ♭2 ♭5 F♭VI Lydian augmented ♯2 6 GVII Locrian 𝄫7 B♭ Dorian ♭5
The whole neck

B♭ 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 ♭5 6 ♭7 1 2 ♭3 4 ♭5 6 1 2 ♭3 4 ♭5 6 ♭7 1 2 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 1 2 ♭3 ♭5 6 ♭7 1 2 ♭3 4 ♭5 6
Harmony

Chords in B♭ 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°B♭m7♭5B♭ D♭ F♭ A♭
iiCm7C E♭ G B♭
♭iiiD♭m(maj7)D♭ F♭ A♭ C
IVE♭7E♭ G B♭ D♭
♭V+F♭maj7♯5F♭ A♭ C E♭
vi°G°7G B♭ D♭ F♭
♭VIIA♭maj7A♭ C E♭ G
Context

Where B♭ Dorian ♭5 fits

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

B♭ 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

B♭ Dorian ♭5 scale questions

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

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

What is the B♭ 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 B♭ Dorian ♭5 scale on guitar?

This page draws every note of B♭ 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 A shape to the G shape to the E shape to the D shape to the C shape.

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

B♭m7♭5 (i°), Cm7 (ii), D♭m(maj7) (♭iii), E♭7 (IV), F♭maj7♯5 (♭V+), G°7 (vi°), A♭maj7 (♭VII).

When is the B♭ Dorian ♭5 scale used?

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