The D major scale keys on Piano

D major scale has the notes D – E – F# – G – A – B – C#. The D major scale has two Sharp keys as F# and C#. The C# and F# are the keys located on the black keys of the piano. So, the key signature naturally includes two sharps. D major scale violin has the richest sound. There are many who suggest that D major scale sounds brilliant on the violin. 

But in this article, we will focus on playing it on the piano. 

The D major scale: Intervals Explained

• The D major scale has its first key as the D Tonic note.
• The second key of the scale is E which is a major.
• F# is the third key and it is also a major key in the scale.
• G is a perfect note in fourth position.
• The Perfect key at the 5th position is A.
• The sixth position major is B
• C# at the seventh position of the scale is also a major note
• Perfect D is the octave at the 8th position of the scale. 

The D major scale on the piano: Degrees Explained

1. Tonic of the D major scale is the first note of the scale.
2. Always the note after the tonic note is called Supertonic as it is higher than that of the tonic note. Here the supertonic is E.
3. F# is the mediant which is placed in the third position. 
4. The subdominant note G means the note which is lower than the dominant note. 
5. The dominant note is always in the fifth position of the D major scale. 
6. The sixth note is the Submediant B note in the D major scale.
7. The leading tone is the second last note with creates a tension which makes reaching the octave very obvious C#
8. The octave note is the D note on the scale. 

The Major scale characteristics of the D major scale 

• D major scale follows the major scale formula for the whole notes and the half notes. 
• The whole notes encompass two semitones. 
• While playing the whole note is the one which skips a half step while moving from one note to another. 
• The major scale has a very important feature of the placement of the whole and half steps in the scale in sequence. 
• The scale notes have a good gap between the half notes as the formula is WWHWWWH.
• The half note does not require any key to be skipped and the keys of the previous note are generally adjacent. 
• Among the notes D, E, F#, G, A, B, C#, D, the first two are whole notes. 
• This means that moving from the first to second note and from second to third note, one needs to skip a key. 
• The third note F# and seventh note C# are such that, moving from the previous keys to these keys does not require one to skip a key or a half note. 
• A half note is equal to the semitone.
• The D major scale pentatonic cuts off a few keys. 
• The D major scale pentatonic by the name signifies having five notes as D – E – F# – A – B

While playing the D major scale on guitar also the notes are used and by practice, the learner masters the string positions on the fretboard.

Playing the D major scale on a piano 

• One needs to remember and follow the number rule for the left and the right hand, which are different from most other scales. 
• These rules for using fingers on the specific keys are important.
• This maximizes the convenience of the player and helps to pick up the pace without any difficulty.
• The numbers assigned to the different fingers are 1234 and 5 for the fingers thumb, index, middle finger, ring finger, and pinky respectively. 
• 54321321 is the sequence for left hand and 12312345 is the sequence of the fingerings in the right hand. 
• This means pinky, ring finger, middle finger, index, and thumb are used to play the notes D, E, F#, G, A.
• The middle finger, index, and thumb are used to play B, C#, D in the left hand.
• 12312345 is the sequence for the fingers in the right hand. 
• D, E, and F# are used to play by Thumb, index, and middle finger. 
• G, A, and B are played using Thumb, index, and middle finger again.
• C# and D are played using the thumb and index finger.
• In practice, these rules are conditioned and the learner can easily pace up while playing D major scale on the piano.  

The emotional tone of D major scale

The D major scale has a combination of notes that complements emotions such as victory and joy. A composer prefers to use them in the song lyrics where he heralds war cries. The notes can be used to stitch a garland of triumphant victory over obstacles.