D Whole Tone Pentatonic Guitar Scale
Guitar scale in Baritone (B Standard) tuning — fretboard diagram
D Whole Tone Pentatonic in Baritone (B Standard) — Notes and Intervals
The D Whole Tone Pentatonic scale is a weightless and tonally ambiguous five-note scale. On Guitar, the notes are D, F#, Ab, Bb, C. Because it lacks a traditional center, it creates a blurring effect, making it highly effective for dream sequences, transitions, and creating a sense of suspended reality in film scores. Commonly used in Film Scores, Ambient, Impressionist, Experimental. Notable players include Claude Debussy, Bill Frisell. Use over augmented chords, whole tone passages. Effective for creating a sense of suspended reality.
Notes: D, F#, Ab, Bb, C
Intervals: 1P, 3M, 5d, 6m, 7m
Degrees: 1 2 3 b4 b5
Formula: 4-W-W-W-W
Number of notes: 5
Tuning: Baritone (B Standard) (B-E-A-D-F#-B)
About Baritone (B Standard) Tuning
The baritone guitar is tuned a perfect fourth lower than standard guitar (B-E-A-D-F#-B), producing a distinctly beefy tone with serious low-end depth that sits perfectly between guitar and bass. Its rich, dark voice has made it a secret weapon in film scoring, ambient music, and moody songwriting where you need that unmistakable low-end warmth without losing clarity.
Unlike simply tuning a standard guitar down (which causes floppy strings and muddy tone), the baritone guitar uses a longer scale length (typically 27"-30") designed specifically for lower tunings. This gives each note clarity and definition even in the lowest register. Session musicians, film composers, and bedroom producers alike reach for the baritone when they need dark, atmospheric textures, doom-laden riffs, or simply a different sonic palette that standard guitar can't deliver.
Notable artists: Pat Metheny, Nels Cline, Brian Setzer, Baritone session players in Nashville
Best for: Moody songwriting, film scoring, ambient textures, doom metal, and any production that needs low-end depth with clarity
Musical Character
Lacks any tonal center — every note is equidistant. Creates a blurring, impressionistic effect perfect for transitions and dream sequences.
Explore This Scale in Other Tunings
- D Whole Tone Pentatonic in Standard Tuning
- D Whole Tone Pentatonic in Drop D
- D Whole Tone Pentatonic in DADGAD
- D Whole Tone Pentatonic in Open G
- D Whole Tone Pentatonic in 7-string
- D Whole Tone Pentatonic in 8-string
- D Whole Tone Pentatonic in Drop C
- D Whole Tone Pentatonic in Drop B
- D Whole Tone Pentatonic in Open D