Dorian Vamp

i7–IV · Dorian progression · C minor · i7–IV

Dorian Vamp is a chord pattern you can play in any key. The degrees are i7–IV.

Minor, but with a major chord on the fourth degree, so it sounds dark and wide open at once. Made for funk and jazz riffs that swing between two chords.

Patterns are common chord moves. They are not the chart of a recorded hit.

Patterns are named by theory. Play them in any key that fits your voice.

Each song page has a chord chart, fingerings, and the same song in every key.

The pattern

i7 – IV

Cm7 · F

Chord chart

Chord chart
1	Cm7	·	F	·

How to sing it

With only two chords swinging slowly, rhythm comes before melody. Give each chord two bars, repeat one phrase with small changes, and aim for the moment it brightens on the major chord.

In every key

In every key
Keys	Chord chart
C minor · Written in this key	Cm7 · F
Db minor	C#m7 · F#
D minor	Dm7 · G
Eb minor	D#m7 · G#
E minor	Em7 · A
F minor	Fm7 · Bb
F# minor	F#m7 · B
G minor	Gm7 · C
Ab minor	G#m7 · C#
A minor	Am7 · D
Bb minor	Bbm7 · Eb
B minor	Bm7 · E

Heard in

Oye Como Va · Santana (originally Tito Puente). Just two chords, Am7–D9 in A dorian. The original rings thick with sevenths and ninths, so bare triads lose some of the Latin colour.
Evil Ways · Santana. Gm7–C9 repeating in G dorian. Again mostly sevenths and ninths, so triads alone sound thinner.
Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2) · Pink Floyd. Only the verse swings between Dm and G in D dorian. The guitar solo and the later section move to other chords.

These songs use this pattern. This is not their chord chart: real recordings differ in key, rhythm and the chords they add.

Public-domain songs with this pattern

No Songbook entry uses this pattern as a run of chords.