Songs that use the Dorian mode

From Pink Floyd to Stevie Wonder, Lana Del Rey to Scarborough Fair, dorian's distinctive flavour can be heard in many different styles of music and is a refreshing, brighter alternative to the typical minor scale.

📌NOTE: I decided to remove the section on "Get Lucky" as it wasn't a perfect example of Dorian. I will actually be making a video about this soon explaining it further. Sorry for any confusion caused.

SOURCES:

An extra special thanks goes to Vidad Flowers, Jon Dye, Austin Russell, Christopher Ryan, Toot & Paul Peijzel, the channel’s Patreon saints! 😇

0:00 Introduction
0:44 Riders On The Storm by The Doors
1:31 Mad World by Tears for Fears
2:55 Dorian is a mode
4:14 Scarborough Fair
5:01 Woodstock by Joni Mitchell
5:40 Blue Jeans by Lana Del Rey
6:20 Drive by R.E.M.
7:10 the "Dorian vamp"
10:26 Dorian Vs. Aeolian
11:41 Pink Floyd and Dorian
12:29 Dorian in Modal Jazz
13:41 Outro

[DavidBennettPiano]

📍REVISION: If you're wondering where it's gone, I've decided to remove the brief section featuring "Blinding Lights" by The Weeknd. Some commenters pointed out that the song actually fits better into C aeolian, rather than F dorian and, on reflection, I agree with them! Sorry for any confusion caused and thanks for your support! 😊

[mcmusic]

All I’m saying is that this dude deserves way more credit than he currently gets. The production quality and content depth on these videos is amazing and I love watching them!

[fredericmoeri]

doiran is actually kind of funny and kind of sad

[haidynwendlandt]

Dorian might be my favorite mode, it’s just so smooth and melancholy while still having an air of hope and peace

[TheRedAnvil]

I love how David uses so many genres of music to show examples. It makes it even more interesting.

[singularit_y]

Therapist: even more depressing Mad World isn’t real, it can’t hurt you
Even more depressing Mad World:

[nobodyinteresting]

I love that riders of the storm intro.

[orionlightheart]

Dorian is also found in medieval music like gregorian chants, or sea shanties. I also love it when the dorian mode is played slow with some stringed arpeggios. It's sooo medieval sounding.

[AJPMUSIC_OFFICIAL]

I love Dorian, its always felt like a true neutral scale between major and minor happy hanging with both. It can have that sad feel while still being hopeful. Can give a lovely folky sound.

[frndlthng]

My name is Dorian and I love everything about this.

[bilingualkaraoke]

What are you reading?
An old novel: "The Picture of i-IV- Gray"

[Amelia-zhvw]

I wrote a song in Dorian scale when I was 14, without realizing what I was doing. Now, I'm working on it even more and I'm SO HAPPY that I finally have the tools to analyze my own work and understand it.

[andycopeland]

My favorite part was hearing a bit of what you wrote yourself. Beautiful stuff man you're very talented as a performer, instructor, as well as an entertainer. Thanks man I learned a lot and enjoyed

[genatzvalee]

Most of all I love how David shows how it WOULD sound if it was written in a more trivial traditional mode. So cool!

[KiloGex]

Get Lucky in minor sounds like a Coldplay song.

[AndreaCangeri]

The Rohan theme in "The Lord of the Rings", by Howard Shore! It's my favourite example: an overall "minor" feeling with a boost of hope whenever the fourth chord appears. It's the perfect leitmotif for Rohan, a culture in decadence, but still proud.

[HenryStudios]

Timestamps:

0:46 Riders on the Storm - The Doors
1:32 Mad World - Tears for Fears
4:25 Scarborough Fair - Trad.
5:00 Woodstock - Joni Mitchell
5:41 Blue Jeans - Lana Del Ray
6:24 Drive - R.E.M.
7:47 Give It To Me Baby - Rick James
7:53 Stevie Wonder - I Wish
7:59 Flashlight- Parliament
8:04 Good Times - Chic
8:10 Pick Up The Pieces - Average White Band
8:18 Uptown Funk - Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars
8:25 Use Me - Bill Withers
8:34 Chameleon - Herbie Hancock
8:47 Lucky - Radiohead
8:54 Apache - The Shadows
9:01 No Quarter - Led Zeppelin
9:07 Reptilia - The Strokes
9:15 Evil Ways - Santana
9:21 Oye Como Va - Santana
9:27 Laser Gun - M83 ft. Mai Lan
10:00 500 - Arctic Monkeys
10:08 Moondance - Van Morrison
10:15 Light My Fire - The Doors
10:20 God’s Plan - Drake
10:36 Eleanor Rigby - The Beatles
11:08 Thriller - Michael Jackson
11:55 Breathe - Pink Floyd
12:01 The Great Gig In The Sky - Pink Floyd
12:08 Any Colour You Like - Pink Floyd
12:15 Another Brick In The Wall Pt. 2 - Pink Floyd
12:22 Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd
12:33 So What - Miles Davis

Examples that weren’t in the video:

Karma Police - Radiohead
15 Step - Radiohead
Billie Jean - Michael Jackson
I Me Mine - The Beatles
Money - Pink Floyd
Don’t Bother Me - The Beatles

[rokozaki]

Damn I'm such a sucker for the Dorian scale. So beautiful, intriguing, and mystical. Cannot believe it isn't used more often.

[brandbird]

Long before I knew what dorian, modes or even scales were, most of the songs I loved were, I later found out, in dorian.

[ashwin_ramakrishnan]

The effort and clarity in these videos is unbelievable. Thank you so much for sharing these!