D♭ Dorian ♭5Scale

Formula

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

D♭ Dorian ♭5 on the chromatic circle

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

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

Chords in D♭ 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°D♭m7♭5D♭ F♭ A𝄫 C♭
iiE♭m7E♭ G♭ B♭ D♭
♭iiiF♭m(maj7)F♭ A𝄫 C♭ E♭
IVG♭7G♭ B♭ D♭ F♭
♭V+A𝄫maj7♯5A𝄫 C♭ E♭ G♭
vi°B♭°7B♭ D♭ F♭ A𝄫
♭VIIC♭maj7C♭ E♭ G♭ B♭
Context

Where D♭ Dorian ♭5 fits

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

D♭ 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

D♭ Dorian ♭5 scale questions

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

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

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

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

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

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

When is the D♭ Dorian ♭5 scale used?

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