D Locrian Major Guitar Scale
Guitar scale in Double Drop D tuning — fretboard diagram
D Locrian Major in Double Drop D — Notes and Intervals
The D Locrian Major scale is a 20th-century hybrid that combines the stability of a major third with the dissonance of a Locrian base. On Guitar, it contains the notes D, E, F#, G, Ab, Bb, C. It was used by experimental composers to create a sound that is both familiar and alien. Commonly used in Experimental, Contemporary Classical, Avant-Garde. Notable players include Bela Bartok, Gyorgy Ligeti. Use in experimental composition over polytonal or atonal passages. A tool for creating cognitive dissonance.
Notes: D, E, F#, G, Ab, Bb, C
Intervals: 1P, 2M, 3M, 4P, 5d, 6m, 7m
Degrees: 1 2 3 4 5 b6 b7
Formula: W-W-H-H-W-W-W
Number of notes: 7
Tuning: Double Drop D (D-A-D-G-B-D)
Also known as: arabian
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 3rd within a Locrian framework — the contradiction creates a sound that is both familiar (major) and alien (b2, b5) simultaneously.
Explore This Scale in Other Tunings
- D Locrian Major in Standard Tuning
- D Locrian Major in Drop D
- D Locrian Major in DADGAD
- D Locrian Major in Open G
- D Locrian Major in Baritone (B Standard)
- D Locrian Major in 7-string
- D Locrian Major in 8-string
- D Locrian Major in Drop C
- D Locrian Major in Drop B
- D Locrian Major in Open D
- D Locrian Major in Half Step Down
- D Locrian Major in Open E
- D Locrian Major in Open A
- D Locrian Major in Open C