How to Play Dorian with Pentatonics

One practical way to play Dorian is to reduce it to smaller pentatonic sounds.

For D Dorian:

• a major pentatonic one whole step below gives C major pentatonic
• a major pentatonic on the 4th gives G major pentatonic

Dorian reference

D Dorian:

D, E, F, G, A, B, C

Pentatonic one whole step below

For D Dorian, play C major pentatonic:

C, D, E, G, A

This gives you:

• b7
• 1
• 9
• 11
• 5

Pentatonic on the 4th

For D Dorian, play G major pentatonic:

G, A, B, D, E

This gives you:

• 11
• 5
• 6
• 1
• 9

Two different colors

The C pentatonic color feels more rooted in the lower side of the mode.

The G pentatonic color brings out the upper part of the sound, especially the 6th.

Try both on one vamp

Use Dm7 - G7 - Dm7:

One practical routine

1. Play only C major pentatonic on Dm7.
2. Then play only G major pentatonic on Dm7.
3. Alternate one bar of each.
4. Listen to how the sound changes without changing the chord.

One thing to listen for

If you want a stronger Dorian identity, make sure the line eventually reveals B natural. That note is one of the clearest signals of the mode.