Scales › Dorian ♯4 (Romanian)

Dorian ♯4 (Romanian) scale

Romanian Dorian ♯4

7 notes

RC 9D b3Eb #11F# 5G 13A b7Bb

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

C · D · Eb · F# · G · A · Bb

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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

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