D♭ Major Scale it starts and ends with D♭. D♭ Major scale is also known as C# major scale. This is because C# Major and D♭ Major scales are essentially the same, since C# and D♭ are enharmonic equivalents.

In D♭ Major scale, it has 5 flats in its key signature. Compared to C# Major scale that has 7 sharps, D♭ Major has 5 flats, making it more commonly used than C# Major scale.

D♭ Major Key Signature

Here’s the key signature for D♭ Major. Notice that it has 5 flats – B♭, E♭, A♭, D♭, G♭. This is similar to the key signature of B♭ minor, relative minor of D♭ Major. This means that only 2 notes – C and F do not have flats.

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:

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

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

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

How to play the D♭ Major scale on the piano

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

D♭ -2.

E♭ – 3

F- 1

G♭- 2

A♭ -3

B♭- 4

C- 1

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

D♭- 3

E♭ – 2

F – 1

G♭ – 4

A♭ -3

B♭ – 2

C – 1