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Scales › Dorian ♯4 (Romanian)

Dorian ♯4 (Romanian) scale

Romanian Dorian ♯4

7 notes

guide tones (3rd & 7th — the heart of the sound) avoid (strong clash)

C · D · Eb · F# · G · A · Bb

Dorian ♯4 (Romanian) on the guitar: the fretboard diagram

Here is the Dorian ♯4 (Romanian) scale laid out across the whole neck, from fret 0 to fret 15. The guide tones (3rd and 7th) are highlighted — they're what makes the scale's color sing. Use the key selector above to shift the shape along the neck and find the positions in your key.

What color?

Dorian whose augmented fourth (#11) creates a characteristic augmented second with an Eastern European flavor. An open minor (major thirteenth) but spicy, ideal for a folk color over a minor chord.

Origin & history

The fourth mode of the harmonic minor, called "Ukrainian Dorian" or "Romanian." Unlike many theoretical modes, it has a genuine tradition: it can be heard in the music of Eastern Europe and in klezmer (the "Mi shebeirakh" mode).

Which chords to play it on?

Outside the functional consensus: this is an exploration color. Lay it over a vamp or a held chord to tint your improvisation with an unexpected flavor, rather than inside a cadence.

Sibling modes

The Dorian ♯4 (Romanian) scale is one of the modes of the harmonic minor : it shares exactly the same notes as the modes below, but built on a different degree of the parent scale (harmonic minor).

harmonic minor classical minor, augmented second Locrian ♮6 half-diminished with major thirteenth Ionian ♯5 (augmented major) major with augmented fifth Phrygian dominant (Spanish) Spanish flamenco ♭9 Lydian ♯2 crystalline Lydian ♯2 super-Locrian ♭♭7 (ultralocrian) diminished Locrian, bb7

Try it in a real chart

Paste a chord chart into the tool: Pentania tells you, chord by chord, when this scale fits — and what other colors are open to you. Open the tool →