This is yet another piece of music I wrote for my students in their second or third year who are learning about modes, and how they influence what we hear. Dorian is 1 2 3 4 5 6 regular 7 8. It takes Aeolian, also known as the actual natural minor, and simply switches b6 to regular 6. That one change makes Dorian mode sound a little bit brighter than Aeolian.
In general Dorian is a kind of minor mode that perhaps has a bit more hopeful sound than other minors modes.
It still has a somewhat sad feeling, but there is just a wee bit more optimism, or perhaps even a bit of fantasy. This is used today frequently in modern popular music and jazz. But you’ll also hear it almost as frequently in traditional music going back many centuries. It is especially useful for jazz improvisation.
To be completely honest, I would have been itching to figure out what this was, as I would have thought it sounded familiar. But now reading that comment, it does remind me of Scarborough Fair. And now that’s all I think when I hear this.
This is lovely, and so “Dorian”. As a still ignorant learner, does it un-Dorian itself in the middle, and then Dorianize again? (sounds straight major, then back to the Dorian minorish feel).
I love the ornament, which adds to the knights and castles feel I got.
This song sounds exactly what I would think entering a fantasy world would be like.
Reminiscent of Scarborough Fair. I like it!