D Harmonic Major Guitar Scale
Guitar scale in Double Drop D tuning — fretboard diagram
D Harmonic Major in Double Drop D — Notes and Intervals
The D Harmonic Major scale is a hybrid that combines the brightness of a major third with the sadness of a minor sixth. On Guitar, it contains the notes D, E, F#, G, A, Bb, C#. It creates a unique bright-yet-sad tension that is common in film music to depict complex emotions that are not purely happy or sad. Commonly used in Film Scores, Classical, Jazz, Progressive. Notable players include Hans Zimmer, Danny Elfman, Bela Bartok. Use over Maj7, Maj7b6 contexts. The b6 adds an unexpected shadow to otherwise bright major passages.
Notes: D, E, F#, G, A, Bb, C#
Intervals: 1P, 2M, 3M, 4P, 5P, 6m, 7M
Degrees: 1 2 3 4 5 b6 7
Formula: W-W-H-W-H-WH-H
Number of notes: 7
Tuning: Double Drop D (D-A-D-G-B-D)
About Double Drop D Tuning
Double Drop D tuning (D-A-D-G-B-D) lowers both the 6th and 1st strings from E to D, creating a symmetrical frame of D notes around the standard middle four strings. This gives a distinctly resonant, jangly character that has been beloved in folk-rock and acoustic music since the late 1960s.
Neil Young used Double Drop D extensively — 'Cinnamon Girl' features its distinctive droning riff, and 'The Needle and the Damage Done' showcases its intimate fingerpicking potential. Jimmy Page used it on Led Zeppelin's 'Going to California'. Fleetwood Mac's 'The Chain' also employs this tuning. Because only two strings change (both by just one whole step), Double Drop D is one of the easiest alternate tunings to learn — most standard chord shapes on the inner four strings remain unchanged.
Notable artists: Neil Young, Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin), Fleetwood Mac, Crosby Stills Nash & Young
Best for: Folk-rock songwriting, D-centric acoustic arrangements, droning fingerpicking patterns, and any song that benefits from rich D-string resonance on both outer strings
Musical Character
A major scale with a b6 — the single alteration creates a 'happy but something is wrong' quality. Used in film to depict complex emotions that are neither purely happy nor sad.
Explore This Scale in Other Tunings
- D Harmonic Major in Standard Tuning
- D Harmonic Major in Drop D
- D Harmonic Major in DADGAD
- D Harmonic Major in Open G
- D Harmonic Major in Baritone (B Standard)
- D Harmonic Major in 7-string
- D Harmonic Major in 8-string
- D Harmonic Major in Drop C
- D Harmonic Major in Drop B
- D Harmonic Major in Open D
- D Harmonic Major in Half Step Down
- D Harmonic Major in Open E
- D Harmonic Major in Open A
- D Harmonic Major in Open C