D — fretboard degree map

The same neck read as degrees instead of note names. A degree tells you what a note does in the key, which is what transfers from one key to another: the shape of the major scale is the same everywhere, the letters are not.

Tuning

standard (E A D G B E)

Key

D major

Degrees shown

1 to 7 with the accidentals of the key

Frets shown

0 to 22

Notes outside the key

C, D#, F, G#, A# (marked with a dot)

Comparison

the same map as note names is on D note map

D major, as degrees

A dot marks a note that is not in the scale. The shaded cell is the tonic.

D natural minor, as degrees

The same fretboard read against the natural minor scale of the same tonic. The shape is the major scale of the key a minor third above, which is why it is the same set of positions moved three frets.

Using the degree map

• The major scale is the same sequence of intervals on every string. Reading it as degrees rather than letters is what makes the shapes transposable.
• The fifth degree is the most common note to double in a chord, and the third decides whether the chord is major or minor. Both are visible in the map above.
• The notes outside the key are the ones available for chromatic movement: a b3 over a major chord, a b7 over a major triad, a #4 to move up to the fifth.
• The relative minor of D is B; the natural minor map above is the major map of F read from a different tonic.

Related

• Neck mapD — note mapD major · frets 0–22 · D E F# G A B C#
• ScaleD major7 notes · 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
• ScaleD natural minor7 notes · 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7
• KeyKey of DD E F# G A B C# · D major / B minor
• Neck mapNote namesall twelve pitch classes, frets 0–22
• ChordD — Major1 3 5 · D F# A
• ChordD11 — Dominant eleventh1 9 3 11 5 b7 · D E F# G A C
• ChordD13 — Dominant thirteenth1 9 3 5 13 b7 · D E F# A B C

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Everything in this key: D · Fretboard · Theory Atlas