JamEaseD Major Scale – Guitar
The seven-note scale everything else is measured against: do-re-mi on the guitar neck. Here it is in D: the notes, the whole neck, all five boxes with TAB, and a backing track to practise over.
Notes in the D major scale
- D1
- E2
- F♯3
- G4
- A5
- B6
- C♯7
Formula: 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7. Use it to solo over songs in D major.
Same seven notes as the B natural minor scale (its relative minor).
D major scale on the whole neck
Know the scale?
Now solo with it.
A guitar soloing course: 81 short lessons, each one ends with you jamming over a real backing track.
- From 3 notes to your own solos
- Every note on the neck, with sound and TAB
- 379 backing tracks in every key
The 5 boxes (positions) with TAB
Each box is one hand position. Learn Box 1 first: play it up with the TAB, then back down, then move to the next box – together they cover the whole neck.
Box 1 · frets 8–13
e|----------------------------------------------9--10-12-| B|-------------------------------------8--10-12----------| G|----------------------------9--11-12-------------------| D|-------------------9--11-12----------------------------| A|----------9--10-12-------------------------------------| E|-9--10-12----------------------------------------------|
Box 2 · frets 10–16
e|-------------------------------------------------------------10-12-14-15-| B|-------------------------------------------------10-12-14-15-------------| G|-------------------------------------11-12-14-16-------------------------| D|-------------------------11-12-14-16-------------------------------------| A|-------------10-12-14-16-------------------------------------------------| E|-10-12-14-15-------------------------------------------------------------|
Box 3 · frets 1–6
e|-------------------------------2-3-5-| B|-------------------------2-3-5-------| G|-------------------2-4-6-------------| D|-------------2-4-5-------------------| A|-------2-4-5-------------------------| E|-2-3-5-------------------------------|
Box 4 · frets 3–8
e|---------------------------------3-5-7-| B|-------------------------3-5-7-8-------| G|-------------------4-6-7---------------| D|-------------4-5-7---------------------| A|-------4-5-7---------------------------| E|-3-5-7---------------------------------|
Box 5 · frets 6–11
e|-------------------------------------------------7--9--10-| B|----------------------------------------7--8--10----------| G|----------------------------6--7--9--11-------------------| D|-------------------7--9--11-------------------------------| A|----------7--9--10----------------------------------------| E|-7--9--10-------------------------------------------------|
D major backing track
Play the boxes over this, starting and ending phrases on the gold root notes.
Slow blues backing track in D major – Beardly Jam Tracks
Songs in D major
These songs are in D major, so this is a scale that fits for soloing over them:
- Cant Help Falling In Love – Elvis Presley
- Thinking Out Loud – Ed Sheeran
- Love Story – Taylor Swift
- Hey There Delilah – Plain White T's
- Best Part – Daniel Caesar
- Last Christmas – Wham!
- I Dont Want To Miss A Thing – Aerosmith
- Linger – The Cranberries
- A Horse With No Name – America
- Cigarette Daydreams – Cage the Elephant
- With Or Without You – U2
- Bad Moon Rising – Creedence Clearwater Revival
Other scales in D
- D Minor Pentatonic Scale
- D Major Pentatonic Scale
- D Blues Scale
- D Major Blues Scale
- D Natural Minor Scale
- D Dorian Mode
- D Mixolydian Mode
- D Phrygian Mode
- D Lydian Mode
- D Harmonic Minor Scale
- D Melodic Minor Scale
Major Scale in other keys
- C Major Scale
- D♭ Major Scale
- E♭ Major Scale
- E Major Scale
- F Major Scale
- F♯ Major Scale
- G Major Scale
- A♭ Major Scale
- A Major Scale
- B♭ Major Scale
- B Major Scale
Put it to use: solo with it, step by step, starting with three notes.
FAQ
What notes are in the D major scale?
D, E, F#, G, A, B, C#. The formula is 1 2 3 4 5 6 7.
Where do I start playing the D major scale on guitar?
Start with Box 1, frets 8–13. The root note D is on the low E string at fret 10.
What is the relative minor of D major?
B minor – it uses the same notes.