D Lydian Dominant Pentatonic Guitar Scale
Guitar scale in Double Drop D tuning — fretboard diagram
D Lydian Dominant Pentatonic in Double Drop D — Notes and Intervals
The D Lydian Dominant Pentatonic scale is a streamlined five-note scale built directly around the structure of a dominant seventh chord. On Guitar, its notes are D, F#, G#, A, C. It is a highly efficient tool for jazz and bebop players who need to navigate rapid harmonic changes with rhythmic precision and clarity. Commonly used in Jazz, Bebop, Fusion. Notable players include Wes Montgomery, Pat Martino. Use over 7#11, 9#11 chords. Efficient for fast bebop lines over non-resolving dominant chords.
Notes: D, F#, G#, A, C
Intervals: 1P, 3M, 4A, 5P, 7m
Degrees: 1 2 #3 4 b5
Formula: 4-W-H-WH-W
Number of notes: 5
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
Built around the dominant 7th chord structure with a #4, allowing rapid navigation of altered dominant harmony in a pentatonic framework.
Explore This Scale in Other Tunings
- D Lydian Dominant Pentatonic in Standard Tuning
- D Lydian Dominant Pentatonic in Drop D
- D Lydian Dominant Pentatonic in DADGAD
- D Lydian Dominant Pentatonic in Open G
- D Lydian Dominant Pentatonic in Baritone (B Standard)
- D Lydian Dominant Pentatonic in 7-string
- D Lydian Dominant Pentatonic in 8-string
- D Lydian Dominant Pentatonic in Drop C
- D Lydian Dominant Pentatonic in Drop B
- D Lydian Dominant Pentatonic in Open D
- D Lydian Dominant Pentatonic in Half Step Down
- D Lydian Dominant Pentatonic in Open E
- D Lydian Dominant Pentatonic in Open A
- D Lydian Dominant Pentatonic in Open C