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Fig. 1 · Db natural minor · first 12 frets

guitar scale

D♭ natural minor

D♭1E♭2F♭♭3G♭4A♭5B♭♭♭6C♭♭7

The major scale started from its sixth degree: same seven notes, a different centre of gravity.

The same sounds spelled from the other side are C♯ natural minor.

on ukuleleon piano

Written out

Fig. 2 · Db natural minor, 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♭WG♭WA♭HB♭♭WC♭WD♭

What is true of it

D♭ natural minor is D♭, E♭, F♭, G♭, A♭, B♭♭ and C♭, and back to D♭.

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

Written correctly it needs 8 alterations, B♭♭ among them. That is what the letters force, and it is also why nobody writes music in this key: the same notes spelled from the other side are easier to read.

On the same tonic, D♭ harmonic minor differs from it by exactly one note.

Across the first twelve frets of the guitar its notes fall in 46 places, which is what makes a scale a shape rather than a list.

It cannot be written as a key signature at all, because a signature has no room for a double accidental.

Chords made only of these notes

D♭mminorD♭m7minor seventhE♭dimdiminishedE♭m7♭5half-diminished seventhG♭mminorG♭m7minor seventhA♭mminorA♭m7minor seventh

Found by testing every chord in the catalogue against these 7 sounds, not chosen.

Other scales on D♭

D♭ harmonic minorminorD♭ melodic minorminorD♭ majormajorD♭ harmonic majormajorD♭ Dorianmode

C minD minD♯ minE♭ minE minF minF♯ minG♭ minall 374