D♭ major scale (C♯ major)
D♭ major scale is D♭ – E♭ – F – G♭ – A♭ – B♭ – C, with D♭, E♭, G♭, A♭ and B♭. Formula 1 2 3 4 5 6 7. Press play and follow the keys.
D♭ major scale, note by note
The step pattern is W W H W W W H (W = whole step, H = half step). The half steps fall between F–G♭ and C–D♭.
| Degree | Note | Interval from D♭ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | D♭ | root | |
| 2 | E♭ | major second | |
| 3 | F | major third | |
| 4 | G♭ | perfect fourth | |
| 5 | A♭ | perfect fifth | |
| 6 | B♭ | major sixth | |
| 7 | C | major seventh |
What D♭ major sounds like
Most of the tunes people hum in the West sit on a major scale. D♭ major is the home base of songs in the key of D♭, and its seven notes are the only ones you need for the chords of that key.
The move that defines D♭ major is A♭ to D♭: the C in A♭ sits a half step under D♭ and resolves up to it.
Compared with C♯ natural minor scale, D♭ major scale has F, B♭ and C where the other has E, A and B; the other four notes are shared. Hear C♯ natural minor scale and compare.
Playing D♭ major
On the piano it uses five black keys (D♭, E♭, G♭, A♭ and B♭) and two white.
The guitar box starts with the root at the 9th fret of the low E string and spans frets 7–13: 17 notes, low string to high.
The key of D♭ major
Songs in D♭ major are built from these notes, so the key signature has five flats (B♭, E♭, A♭, D♭, G♭). The relative minor is B♭ minor: same notes, starting on the 6th degree. The parallel minor, C♯ natural minor, starts on the same note with different notes above it.
Chords and progressions in D♭ major
Chords built on each note
Stack every other note of the scale on each degree and you get 7 chords. These are the chords of the key. Tap to hear each one.
D♭ major scale shares all its notes with C Locrian (starting on the 7th note, C), E♭ Dorian (starting on the 2nd note, E♭), F Phrygian (starting on the 3rd note, F), G♭ Lydian (starting on the 4th note, G♭), A♭ Mixolydian (starting on the 5th note, A♭) and B♭ natural minor (starting on the 6th note, B♭). Which one you hear depends on which note the music treats as home.
Moving it around the guitar
Find D♭ first: fret 9 of the 6th string, fret 4 of the 5th. Most guitarists learn it in five overlapping positions; on the low E string they begin around frets 2, 4, 6, 9 and 11. On guitar, learn the box from the 6th-string root first; the same fingering moves anywhere.
On the piano, D♭ major scale uses 5 black keys (D♭, E♭, G♭, A♭ and B♭) and 2 white.
Thirds make the scale sound musical instead of step-by-step: D♭–F, E♭–G♭, F–A♭, G♭–B♭, A♭–C, B♭–D♭, C–E♭.
Drills for D♭ major
Once D♭ major is comfortable up and down, break the order. Each pattern below uses only its 7 notes.
- Up in threes: D♭ E♭ F · E♭ F G♭ · F G♭ A♭ · G♭ A♭ B♭ · A♭ B♭ C · B♭ C D♭.
- Lean on C: D♭ C D♭ C D♭: the 7th, a half step under the root, pulls the ear home.
Close relatives of D♭ major scale
Major scale in every key
D♭ major scale: questions
What are the notes of the D♭ major scale?
7 notes: D♭, E♭, F, G♭, A♭, B♭ and C.
How many sharps or flats are in the D♭ major scale?
Five: D♭, E♭, G♭, A♭ and B♭. That matches the key signature of D♭ major.
What chords are in the D♭ major scale?
Stacking thirds on each note gives D♭ (I), E♭m (ii), Fm (iii), G♭ (IV), A♭ (V), B♭m (vi) and Cdim (vii°).
What's the difference between D♭ major scale and C♯ natural minor scale?
F, B♭ and C in D♭ major; E, A and B in the other. Everything else is the same.
Generated from the step pattern 2-2-1-2-2-2-1 and checked by the site's tests. Updated September 2026.