D Major Scale - Emily Learning Music

D Major Scale it starts and ends with D. The relative minor of D Major is B minor. Both of these keys have F# and C#.

D Major Key Signature

Here’s the key signature for D Major – F# and C#.

key signature of D Major in treble clef. This is also the key signature of B minor, a relative minor of D major.

key signature of D Major in bass clef. This is also the key signature of B minor, a relative minor of D major.

key signature of D Major in alto clef. This is also the key signature of B minor, a relative minor of D major.

key signature of D Major in tenor clef. This is also the key signature of B minor, a relative minor of D major.

Notes in the Scale of D Major

When we play a scale, we usually start off with an ascending scale (the notes get higher), followed by descending scale (the notes get lower).

Ascending scale of D Major: D, E, F#, G, A, B, C#, D

Descending scale of D Major: D. C#, B, A, G, F#, E, D

Degrees of the Scale

Degrees of the scale refers to the number we assign to each note of a scale. When we are assigning degrees of a scale, we look at the scale in ascending order. Here are the notes for the various degrees of the D Major scale:

1st degree: D

2nd degree: E

3rd degree: F#

4th degree: G

5th degree: A

6th degree: B

7th degree: C#

Technical Names of Notes in D Major

Instead of using the degree of the scale, we can also use technical names of notes.

tonic – D

supertonic – E

mediant – F#

subdominant – G

dominant – A

submediant – B

leading note – C#

Semitones and Tones

In all major scales, they follow this:

Pairs of notes	Tone or semitone apart?
1st -> 2nd	tone
2nd -> 3rd	tone
3rd -> 4th	semitone
4th -> 5th	tone
5th -> 6th	tone
6th -> 7th	tone
7th -> 8th	semitone

Most adjacent pairs of notes in the major scale are a tone apart, except for the 3rd to 4th note, and the 7th to the 8th note. This doesn’t apply just to D Major scale, but for ALL major scales. By knowing the distance between the notes in a Major scale, we can form any major scale even if we do not know its key signature.

In this case, the semitones are found here:

From F# to G (3rd to 4th note)
From C# to D (7th to 8th note)

D Major on different clefs.

Here’s how the D Major scales look like in treble clef (without key signature). I’ve also included the fingerings:

D Major ascending and descending scales in treble clef with fingerings included.

Here’s how the D Major scales look like in bass clef (without key signature). I’ve also included the fingerings:

D Major ascending and descending scales in bass clef with fingerings included.

Here’s how the D Major scales look like in alto clef.

D Major ascending and descending scales in alto clef.

Here’s how the D Major scales look like in tenor clef (without key signature).

D Major ascending and descending scales in tenor clef.

How to play the D Major scale on the piano

The fingerings for the right hand part of the D Major scale are:

D -1/5 (use the 5th finger only for the highest D of the scale)

E – 2

F#- 3

G- 1

A -2

B- 3

C#- 4

The fingerings for the left hand part of the D Major scale are:

D- 1/5 (use 5th finger for the lowest note of the scale, the rest of the Ds should be played with the 1st finger or thumb )

E – 4

F# – 3

G – 2

A -1

B – 3

C# – 2