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Fig. 1 · D# major blues · first 12 frets

guitar scale

D♯ major blues

D♯1E♯2F♯♭3F𝄪3A♯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 E♭ major blues.

on ukuleleon piano

Written out

Fig. 2 · D# 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♯HF𝄪W+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.

Written correctly it needs 7 alterations, F𝄪 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.

Across the first twelve frets of the guitar its notes fall in 37 places, which is what makes a scale a shape rather than a list.

Chords made only of these notes

D♯majorD♯mminor

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