How to Play the D Major Scale on the Guitar
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The D Major Scale on the Guitar
In one of our previous posts, we discussed the D major scale and everything we needed to know about it. In this post, we are going to see how we can play the D major scale on the guitar.
Playing the guitar is a wonderful and fulfilling hobby and learning the basics of music theory is an essential part of becoming a well-rounded player.
One of the most important concepts to understand is scales, and in this blog post, we will focus on the D major scale. This scale is a staple in many classical and popular songs.
Thus, by mastering it, we will have a strong foundation to build upon as we continue our musical journey.
Whether you are a beginner or an experienced player, this guide is for you. Specifically, this blog post will walk us through the basics of playing the D major scale on the guitar.
Basically, it will help us learn how to play the D major scale on the guitar in a simple and effective way. So, let us grab our guitar and get started!
How To Play the Scale On The Guitar
Every established musical instrument has its own unique fingering pattern. They also have peculiar techniques for playing the scales.
Guitar is not left out in this course. It has peculiar techniques for playing on it.
Knowing these unique techniques is essential to playing the scale accurately and expressively on the instrument.
However, to play the scale or any other music with the guitar, we need to know our fretboard very well.
Knowledge of the guitar fretboard is also important to playing the D major scale effectively on the guitar.
So, we need to familiarise ourselves with the fretboard. This will surely help us to play the D major scale on the guitar effectively.
The frets are the metal dividers that separate the different notes. It is the part of the guitar where the strings are pressed to the fingerboard to play different notes.
Besides, we need to find the right starting point for the scale.
This scale can be played starting from different frets, which will give us a different feel.
To play the D major scale in its original key, we are going to start on the 5th fret of the A string (5th string). This is note D.
The D Major Scale
The D major scale is one of the most common and versatile scales in music. In particular, the D major scale is composed of the following notes: D, E, F#, G, A, B, C#, D.
It is important to know the order of the notes in this scale. The reason has been that it will help us play the scale accurately.
How to Play the D Major Scale on Your Guitar
I believe we already know the order of the notes in the D major scale. I also believe we knew where to start playing the scale on our guitar.
If that’s true, it’s time to play the D major scale on a guitar.
As we know, we start by playing note D on the 5th fret of the A string, which is the 5th string.
Then we move to the next fret or string on the fretboard, playing each note in the scale until we reach the next D.
We can always use our first finger to play the notes on the first fret. Then use the other fingers to play the notes on the higher frets.
This will help us make the transition from one note to the next smoother.
The D major scale, in particular, can be played on the guitar with open position strings or movable strings.
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The Fingering Pattern
The right hand is used by most guitarists for strumming the guitar strings.
Thus, the left-hand fingers are used to push the guitar strings against the fretboard to produce different notes with the instrument.
For this purpose, each finger of the left hand was given a number. The index finger, the middle finger, the ring finger, and the little or pinky finger are 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively.
In addition, 0 is used for any open string we want to play. This means we will not press the string to the fretboard.
Specifically, the finger positions used on the fingerboard for the notes of the scale are:
- 1: index finger
- 2: Middle finger
- 3: Ring finger
- 4: pinky or little finger
The right finger is used based on the space between the notes.
The fingering pattern for playing the D major scale is 2-4-1-2-4-1-3-4.
Open Strings
This style of playing the D major scale on a guitar is for beginners. It is very easy and smooth to play the D major scale with open strings.
In our open string lesson here, we are playing the scale on three open strings. Specifically, we are going to use the 4th, 3rd, and 2nd strings to play our D major scale.
These strings are called D (4th string), G (3rd string), and B (2nd string), respectively.
So we will use fretboard numbers 0-2-4 to play notes D, E, and F3 on the D (4th) string. The fingering we are going to use is 0-1-3. Then, we will move down to the G (3rd) string and play notes G and A on frets 0–2 with 0–1 fingering.
Thereafter, we will move down to the B (2nd) string and use the 0-2-3 fret to play notes B, C#, and D octave, respectively. The correct fingering here is 0-1-2.
Beginner: D Major Scale Open Position Frets And Fingering Pattern
This D major scale described above is played on three strings using the open D, G, and B string positions.
In the end, we are going to use the string in the following open string and fret combinations:
- D (D string, open) is played with the open finger, 0.
- E (D string, 2nd fret) is played with the index finger, 1.
- F# (D string, 4th fret) is played with the ring finger, 3.
- G (G string, open) is played with the open finger, 0.
- A (G string, 2nd fret) is played with the index finger, 1.
- B (B string, open) is played with the open finger, 0.
- C# (B string, 2nd fret) is played with the index finger, 1.
- D (B string, 3rd fret) is played with the middle finger, 2.
Movable String Pattern
This style of playing the D major scale on a guitar is for intermediate guitarists.
It makes the D major scale and other scales very easy and smooth to play.
In our movable string lesson here, we are playing the scale using no opened strings.
Specifically, we are going to use the 5th, 4th, and 3rd strings to play our D major scale using movable strings.
The fingering we are going to use is 4-1-3-4-1-3-1-2. Obviously, we start with the pinky finger.
Then, we move down and use the index, ring, and pinky fingers.
Thereafter, we will move down to the next string and use the index and ring fingers. We then end it with the index and middle fingers.
Notes On A string: 5th String
To play the D major scale on a guitar, we start on the 5th fret of the A string.
That string is the D and will serve as the root note of the scale. To play the root note, which is D, play fret number 5 on string number 5 or the A string.
This note D will be played with the pinky finger and finger pattern 1.
Then we move down to the next string, which is the third string, or D string.
Notes On D String: 4th String
Now that we are on the 3rd string, also known as the D string, we will play notes E, F#, and G.
Specifically, we are going to play note E on the second fret of the 4th string using the index finger.
After note E, we will move forward to the 4th fret and play note F#. The ring finger is going to be used to play this note, F#.
Thereafter, we move forward to the next fret, which is the 5th fret. Of course, we are using our pinky finger to play note G on the 5th fret of the 4th string.
Thus, to play these three notes, E, F#, and G, we used the 1-3-4 fingering pattern. After that, we move down to the next string.
Notes On G String: 3rd String
Basically, we are going to play two notes on the G string. These two notes are A and B.
On the G string, we will play B, C#, and D, which are the 1st octave of the scale, on the 4th fret, 6th fret, and 7th fret, respectively.
These notes A and B are played on the 2nd and 4th frets of the 3rd string, respectively.
In addition, we play two of them using a fingering pattern of 1-3.
The last two notes are then played on the B string or 2nd string.
Notes On B String: 2nd String
This is the last sting we are going to use to play the last note of the scale and the scale’s first octave.
Specifically, we are playing the C# and D octave on the 2nd and 3rd frets of the B string, respectively.
Intermediate: Movable Strings, fretting, and fingering
In the end, we are going to use the string in the following frets and string combinations:
D (A string, 5th) is played with the pinky finger, 4.
E (D string, 2nd fret) is played with the index finger, 1.
F# (D string, 4th fret) is played with the ring finger, 3.
G (D string, 5th) is played with the pinky finger, 4.
A (G string, 2nd fret) is played with the index finger, 1.
B (G string, 4th) is played with finger 3.
C# (B string, 2nd fret) is played with the index finger, 1.
D (B string, 3rd fret) is played with finger 2.
Playing D Major Scale On Guitar
The video below show and explain how we can play G major scale on a guitar using intermediate movable strings.
Advanced Method: “3 Per String” Scales on Guitar
This is an advanced method of playing the D major scale on a guitar.
Specifically, this method used three notes per string for the scales. However, It is a great method in terms of speed for playing the major scales.
With this method, we are going to play the D major scale in two octaves. We will play “D-D1-D2.”
- D (A string, 5th fret) is played with the index finger, 1.
- E (A string, 7th fret) is played with the middle finger, 2.
- F# (A string, 9th fret) is played with the pinky finger, 4.
- G (D string, 5th fret) is played with the index finger, 1.
- A (D string, 7th fret) is played with the middle finger, 2.
- B (D string, 9th fret) is played with the pinky finger, 4.
- C# (G string, 6th fret) is played with the index finger, 1.
- D (G string, 7th fret) is played with the middle finger, 2.
- E (G string, 9th fret) is played with the pinky finger, 4.
- F# (B string, 7th fret) is played with the index finger, 1.
- G (B string, 8th fret) is played with the middle finger, 2.
- A (B string, 10th fret) is played with the pinky finger, 4.
- B (E string, 7th fret) is played with the index finger, 1.
- C# (E string, 9th fret) is played with the ring finger, 3.
- D (E string, 10th fret) is played with the pinky finger, 4.
Note that for the E on the A string, you can use the ring finger as well, but the middle finger seems easier.
How to Master the D Major Scale on Guitar
Practice is the only way. Practice makes perfect, they say! Therefore, to properly master how to play the D major scale on the guitar, practise the scale frequently.
Once you are familiar with the finger positions of this scale, try practising it in different rhythms and with different picking patterns.
You can start by playing the scale slowly, making sure each note is clear and in tune. Then, gradually increase the speed as you become more comfortable with the scale.
Final thought
Playing the D major scale on the guitar is a great way to improve our understanding of music and our guitar playing.
We believe that with this post, you can now play your D major scale on the guitar with ease.
Of course, by following the steps outlined above, anyone will be able to play the D major scale with ease and confidence.
Don’t get discouraged if it takes some time to get the hang of it. Keep practising, and you’ll see improvement in no time!
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