guitar scale
D Dorian
D1E2F♭3G4A5B6C♭7
Minor with a natural sixth. The second mode of the major scale.
Written out
Every accidental is written in, rather than left to a key signature, so the letters can be read one at a time.
The step pattern
DWEHFWGWAWBHCWD
What is true of it
D Dorian is D, E, F, G, A, B and C, and back to D.
Its steps are W – H – W – W – W – H – W, where W is a whole step and H a half.
It uses no sharps and no flats at all: seven letters, seven white keys.
On the same tonic, D natural minor differs from it by exactly one note.
Across the first twelve frets of the guitar its notes fall in 48 places, which is what makes a scale a shape rather than a list.
Chords made only of these notes
Found by testing every chord in the catalogue against these 7 sounds, not chosen.