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Fig. 1 · Db major blues · first 12 frets

guitar scale

D♭ major blues

D♭1E♭2F♭♭3F3A♭5B♭6

Major pentatonic with a flattened third added next to the third — the two live side by side rather than replacing each other.

The same sounds spelled from the other side are C♯ major blues.

on ukuleleon piano

Written out

Fig. 2 · Db major blues, ascending

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

D♭WE♭HF♭HFW+HA♭WB♭W+HD♭

What is true of it

D♭ major blues is D♭, E♭, F♭, F, A♭ and B♭, and back to D♭.

Its steps are W – H – H – W+H – W – W+H, where W is a whole step and H a half.

Across the first twelve frets of the guitar its notes fall in 38 places, which is what makes a scale a shape rather than a list.

Chords made only of these notes

D♭majorD♭mminorB♭mminorB♭dimdiminishedB♭m7minor seventhB♭m7♭5half-diminished seventh

Found by testing every chord in the catalogue against these 6 sounds, not chosen.

Other scales on D♭

D♭ major pentatonicpentatonicD♭ minor pentatonicpentatonicD♭ bluespentatonicD♭ majormajorD♭ natural minorminorD♭ harmonic minorminor

C maj bluesD maj bluesD♯ maj bluesE♭ maj bluesE maj bluesF maj bluesF♯ maj bluesG♭ maj bluesall 374