Folk · Intermediate · minor key

Dorian i–ii–♭III–ii

i – ii – ♭III – ii — Celtic Dorian modal movement around the tonic.

Chord shapes in D minor (standard tuning)

Using a different tuning? Open it in the Looper — it finds playable shapes for whatever tuning you choose.

How the chords work

Written in Roman numerals, this progression is i – ii – ♭III – ii — in A minor that is Am – Bm – C – Bm. Each numeral is a step of the scale; upper case is a major chord, lower case minor.

• i — the minor home chord.
• ii — a soft minor chord that leads towards V (a "pre-dominant").
• ♭III — a major chord borrowed from the minor key (the relative major in a minor key).

Dorian i–ii–♭III–ii in all 12 keys

Practice ideas

• Beginners: play one strum per chord and say the chord names out loud, then two strums, then a steady down-down-up-up-down-up pattern.
• Change keys with a capo: keep the D minor shapes and move a capo up — the capo calculator shows which fret gives the key you want.
• Solo over it: loop it in the Looper and improvise with the D minor pentatonic or D natural minor or D blues scale — the scale pages show every position and play a backing track.
• Train your ear: the progression ear trainer mixes this with similar progressions until you can tell them apart.

Similar progressions

• "House of the Rising Sun" progression i – ♭III – IV – ♭VI – i – ♭III – V – V
• Minor ii–V to the relative major iiø7 – V7 – i7 – iv7 – ♭VII7 – ♭IIImaj7
• Minor ii–V–i chain ("Autumn Leaves") iv7 – ♭VII7 – ♭IIImaj7 – ♭VImaj7 – iiø7 – V7 – i – i
• i–♭III–iv–♭VI i – ♭III – iv – ♭VI
• i–♭III–♭VI–V7 i – ♭III – ♭VI – V7
• Modal i7–ii7 vamp i7 – ii7

← i–♭III–♭VII–i · Minor ♭VI–♭VII–i resolution →

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Questions