D Melodic minorScale

Formula

W H W W W W H 1 2 ♭3 4 5 6 7
The family

D Melodic minor on the chromatic circle

D Melodic minor is the 1st mode of the Melodic minor family. Pick another note on the circle to open the scale that starts there.

W H W W W W H 1 DI Melodic minor 2 EII Dorian ♭2 ♭3 FIII Lydian augmented 4 GIV Lydian dominant 5 AV Mixolydian ♭6 6 BVI Locrian ♮2 7 C♯VII Altered D Melodic minor
The whole neck

D Melodic minor across the fretboard

Every note of the scale up to the 16th fret, named by its degree. The root is a ring. Step through the five CAGED positions one at a time in the scale library.

3 5 7 9 12 15 2 ♭3 4 5 6 7 1 2 ♭3 4 5 6 7 1 2 ♭3 4 5 6 1 2 ♭3 4 5 6 7 1 2 ♭3 4 5 6 7 1 2 ♭3 4 5 6 7 1 2 ♭3 4 5 6 7 1 2 ♭3 4 5 6 7 1 2 ♭3 4
Harmony

Chords in D Melodic minor

Stack every other note of the scale from each degree and you get its chords. Open any of them in the chord library.

DegreeChordNotes
iDm(maj7)D F A C♯
iiEm7E G B D
♭III+Fmaj7♯5F A C♯ E
IVG7G B D F
VA7A C♯ E G
vi°Bm7♭5B D F A
vii°C♯m7♭5C♯ E G B
Context

Where D Melodic minor fits

Jazz minor: over minor-major 7 and minor 6 chords, the tonic of a minor key in jazz. Its modes give jazz most of its altered sounds.

D Melodic minor is mode 1 of the melodic minor family. The same notes played from each of its other degrees give the family's other modes:

Move one note by a half step and you get a different scale:

Melodic minor scale in every key

D Melodic minor scale questions

What notes are in the D Melodic minor scale?

D E F G A B C♯. As degrees from the root: 1 2 ♭3 4 5 6 7.

What is the D Melodic minor scale formula?

1 2 ♭3 4 5 6 7, or in steps between the notes, W H W W W W H (W is a whole step of two frets, H a half step of one fret, 1½ three frets).

How do you play the D Melodic minor scale on guitar?

This page draws every note of D Melodic minor up to the 16th fret, each named by its degree with the root as a ring. To learn it a few frets at a time, open it in the scale library and step through its five CAGED positions, from the C shape to the A shape to the G shape to the E shape to the D shape.

What chords are in the D Melodic minor scale?

Dm(maj7) (i), Em7 (ii), Fmaj7♯5 (♭III+), G7 (IV), A7 (V), Bm7♭5 (vi°), C♯m7♭5 (vii°).

When is the D Melodic minor scale used?

Jazz minor: over minor-major 7 and minor 6 chords, the tonic of a minor key in jazz. Its modes give jazz most of its altered sounds.