D♭ major

Five flats, B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭. Seven notes: D♭ E♭ F G♭ A♭ B♭ C. Try the key’s seven chords in different places on the neck. Press a shape to hear it and see its notes.

C♯ and D♭ are the same pitch. This scale is written as D♭ major because that spelling needs fewer accidentals than C♯ major.

Signature: 5♭
Relative: B♭ minor
Parallel: C♯ minor

Labels

NotesR 3 5Degrees

Across one chord in different positions. Down the chords in one position.
IMainD♭D♭ · F · A♭
iiE♭mE♭ · G♭ · B♭
iiiFmF · A♭ · C
IVMainG♭G♭ · B♭ · D♭
VMainA♭A♭ · C · E♭
viMainB♭mB♭ · D♭ · F
vii°C°C · E♭ · G♭

Light up

Walk up to G♭. Strum D♭, pick E♭ and F on the way up, land on G♭. Listen to how the bass connects the chords.

Triads on the top three strings. Three notes, three places, all D♭. Try them when a full six-string chord feels too busy.

LowFrets 1–2
MiddleFrets 4–6
HighFrets 9–10

Same chords, higher. The four main chords in frets 1 to 4, then again in frets 5 to 9. Listen to how the higher voicings change the sound.

Four chords in one positionD♭ – G♭ – A♭ – B♭m without leaving frets 3 to 7.70 bpmLevel 1
Climb with one chordD♭ in all four places, low to high. Hear it brighten.60 bpmLevel 1
Walk up to G♭Strum D♭, then walk the bass E♭ – F into G♭.90 bpmLevel 2
Scale, then chordsPlay the scale in frets 5 to 9, then the four chords there.70 bpmLevel 2

The four-chord loop
I – V – vi – IV
- D♭
- A♭
- B♭m
- G♭
The three-chord song
I – IV – V – I
- D♭
- G♭
- A♭
- D♭
The fifties ballad
I – vi – IV – V
- D♭
- B♭m
- G♭
- A♭
The jazz cadence
ii7 – V7 – Imaj7

D♭ major

D♭
E♭
F
G♭
A♭
B♭
C

A♭ major

D♭
E♭
F
G
A♭
B♭
C

D♭ major is A♭ major with G lowered to G♭.

5♭D♭B♭m

4♭A♭Fm

3♭E♭Cm

2♭B♭Gm

1♭F Dm

0C Am

1♯G Em

2♯D Bm

3♯A F♯m

4♯E C♯m

5♯B G♯m

6♯F♯D♯m

D♭ major

Three patterns to try

Four drills, with a click

Strum along

A♭ major with G lowered

Move one step, or jump anywhere

D♭ major

Modes of these notes