D Minor Blues Scale
The D Minor Blues Scale has a minor quality due to its minor Third F. The Minor Blues Scale, like D Minor Blues, is based on the D Minor Pentatonic Scale but includes an additional blue note A♭ between the Fourth and Fifth degrees. These blue notes play a huge part in why blues music is so recognizable. The D Minor Blues Scale is classified as a hexatonic scale as it has six notes, D, F, G, A♭, A, C.
Below you will find the D Minor Blues Scale notes, notation, patterns, degrees, intervals and more. You can also opt to see the D Minor Blues Scale on your preferred instrument.
Notes Ascending
D, F, G, A♭, A, C, D
Notes Descending
D, C, A, A♭, G, F, D
Notation Ascending
Notation Descending
Pattern Ascending
TS, T, S, S, TS, T
S = Semitone, T = Tone (2 Semitones)
Pattern Descending
T, TS, S, S, T, TS
S = Semitone, T = Tone (2 Semitones)
Degrees Ascending
| Note | Number | Name |
|---|---|---|
| D | 1 | Tonic |
| F | ♭3 | Mediant |
| G | 4 | Subdominant |
| A♭ | ♭5 | Dominant |
| A | 5 | Dominant |
| C | ♭7 | Subtonic |
| D | 8 | Tonic (Octave) |
Degrees Descending
| Note | Number | Name |
|---|---|---|
| D | 8 | Tonic (Octave) |
| C | ♭7 | Subtonic |
| A | 5 | Dominant |
| A♭ | ♭5 | Dominant |
| G | 4 | Subdominant |
| F | ♭3 | Mediant |
| D | 1 | Tonic |
Intervals Ascending
| Notes | Semitones | Interval |
|---|---|---|
| D > D | 0 | Perfect Unison (P1) |
| D > F | 3 | minor 3rd (m3) |
| D > G | 5 | Perfect 4th (P4) |
| D > A♭ | 6 | Diminished 5th (d5 or Tritone) |
| D > A | 7 | Perfect 5th (P5) |
| D > C | 10 | minor 7th (m7) |
| D > D | 12 | Perfect Octave (P8) |
Intervals Descending
| Notes | Semitones | Interval |
|---|---|---|
| D > D | 0 | Perfect Unison (P1) |
| D > C | 2 | Major 2nd (M2) |
| D > A | 5 | Perfect 4th (P4) |
| D > A♭ | 6 | Diminished 5th (d5 or Tritone) |
| D > G | 7 | Perfect 5th (P5) |
| D > F | 9 | Major 6th (M6) |
| D > D | 12 | Perfect Octave (P8) |
Scales related to D Minor Blues Scale
Relative Major Scale
Major scale with the same notes as D Minor Blues Scale but in a different order.
F Major Blues Scale
Chords related to D Minor Blues Scale
Related Triads
The related chords cannot be built using the notes of D Minor Blues Scale alone so they have been substituted with the chords of the D Natural Minor Scale. The chords are in degree order and shown in Roman numerals (lowercase = minor/diminished, uppercase = Major/Augmented).
i Chord - D Minor
iio Chord - E Diminished
♭III Chord - F Major
iv Chord - G Minor
v Chord - A Minor
♭VI Chord - B♭ Major
♭VII Chord - C Major
Learn to Play D Minor Blues Scale
If you want to learn what scales and modes are and much more, check out our free Fundamentals of Music Theory course. If you already know some of the basics, you can jump straight into the scales lesson.
