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D Major Blues Scale – Guitar
The major pentatonic plus the b3: the slide from b3 to 3 is the classic country-blues move. 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 blues scale
- D1
- E2
- Fb3
- F♯3
- A5
- B6
Formula: 1 – 2 – b3 – 3 – 5 – 6. Use it to solo over songs in D major.
D major blues 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 9–12
e|----------------------------------10-12-| B|----------------------------10-12-------| G|-------------------9--10-11-------------| D|-------------9--12----------------------| A|-------9--12----------------------------| E|-10-12----------------------------------|
Box 2 · frets 11–15
e|-------------------------------------12-13-14-| B|-------------------------------12-15----------| G|-------------------------11-14----------------| D|----------------12-14-15----------------------| A|----------12-14-------------------------------| E|-12-13-14-------------------------------------|
Box 3 · frets 2–5
e|-----------------------2-5-| B|-------------------3-5-----| G|---------------2-4---------| D|---------2-3-4-------------| A|-----2-5-------------------| E|-2-5-----------------------|
Box 4 · frets 4–7
e|-----------------------5-7-| B|-----------------5-6-7-----| G|-------------4-7-----------| D|---------4-7---------------| A|-----5-7-------------------| E|-5-7-----------------------|
Box 5 · frets 7–10
e|-------------------------------------7--10-| B|-------------------------------7--10-------| G|----------------------7--9--10-------------| D|----------------7--9-----------------------| A|-------7--8--9-----------------------------| E|-7--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 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 Blues Scale in other keys
- C Major Blues Scale
- D♭ Major Blues Scale
- E♭ Major Blues Scale
- E Major Blues Scale
- F Major Blues Scale
- F♯ Major Blues Scale
- G Major Blues Scale
- A♭ Major Blues Scale
- A Major Blues Scale
- B♭ Major Blues Scale
- B Major Blues Scale
Put it to use: solo with it, step by step, starting with three notes.
FAQ
What notes are in the D major blues scale?
D, E, F, F#, A, B. The formula is 1 2 b3 3 5 6.
Where do I start playing the D major blues scale on guitar?
Start with Box 1, frets 9–12. The root note D is on the low E string at fret 10.