D major scale
- Notes
- D E F# G A B C#
- Formula
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
- Steps
- W W H W W W H (W tone, H semitone)
- Also called
- D Ionian
Seven notes from D up to the next D. Each note is written with the letter its degree names, one letter each, so the spelling follows the formula.
D major on the piano
From D4 to D5, the root in blue-green.
Intervals from D
| Note | Degree | Interval | Semitones |
|---|---|---|---|
| D | 1 | root | 0 |
| E | 2 | major second | 2 |
| F# | 3 | major third | 4 |
| G | 4 | perfect fourth | 5 |
| A | 5 | perfect fifth | 7 |
| B | 6 | major sixth | 9 |
| C# | 7 | major seventh | 11 |
D major on the guitar
Standard tuning, high e on top as in tablature, open strings to fret 12. Every dot is a note of the scale; the pattern repeats from fret 12 up.
The seven chords of D major
Every other note of the scale stacked on each note. Numerals are measured against the major scale on D, so a b marks a chord root a semitone lower than in major.
| Numeral | Chord | Notes | Sound |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | D | D F# A | |
| ii | Em | E G B | |
| iii | F#m | F# A C# | |
| IV | G | G B D | |
| V | A | A C# E | |
| vi | Bm | B D F# | |
| vii° | C#dim | C# E G |
Seventh chords
Same notes, different home note
D major uses exactly the same notes as C# Locrian, E Dorian, F# Phrygian, G Lydian, A Mixolydian and B natural minor. What changes is the note the music keeps returning to, and with it which chord sounds like home.
The chords, progressions and a capo tip for this scale as a key are on the D major key page.
How D major is built
The major scale is two identical four-note groups a whole tone apart: D E F# G and A B C# D, each stepping tone, tone, semitone. The two semitones fall between the 3rd and 4th notes (F#–G) and between the 7th and the octave (C#–D); that last one, the leading note C# pulling up to D, is why a melody in this scale sounds finished when it lands on D.
Ionian is the name of the same scale as a mode: the first of the seven modes of the major scale, so it gets no page of its own.
Played some notes and not sure which scale they come from? The scale finder listens to the piano, a MIDI keyboard or the microphone and ranks all 180 scales.
What this page cannot do
- One spelling per scale. the root is spelled the way that needs the fewest sharps and flats.
- Equal temperament only. Blues and many folk traditions bend notes between these pitches, and Arabic and Turkish maqam scales use quarter tones that a piano cannot play.
- The guitar diagram shows standard tuning only and does not suggest fingerings; any note can be played in several places.
- The sound is a simple synthesised tone made in your browser, not a recorded instrument.