# D major
**D major** (German: D-Dur; Italian: re maggiore; French: ré majeur) is a major scale based on the note D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F♯, G, A, B, and C♯, with a key signature of two sharps, F♯ and C♯[1](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIx_c5ByNy8) • [2](https://rme.rilm.org/articles/dmm11119/1.0/dmm11119). Its relative minor is [B minor](https://www.edgepedia.org/b-minor), and its dominant note is A[2](https://rme.rilm.org/articles/dmm11119/1.0/dmm11119). The same two-sharp signature serves B minor, A Mixolydian, E Dorian, and other modes drawn from the same seven notes; the tonic, not the signature alone, decides which[3](https://www.showman.org/Theory/CircleOfFifths_ModesAndScales.htm).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Scale notes | D, E, F♯, G, A, B, C♯ (and D an octave higher)[1](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIx_c5ByNy8) |
| Key signature | Two sharps: F♯ and C♯[2](https://rme.rilm.org/articles/dmm11119/1.0/dmm11119) |
| Step pattern | Whole, whole, half, whole, whole, whole, half, written 2-2-1-2-2-2-1 semitones[4](https://www.guitarscale.org/d-major.html) |
| Relative minor | B minor, sharing the same two-sharp signature[2](https://rme.rilm.org/articles/dmm11119/1.0/dmm11119) |
| Dominant | A, the fifth scale degree[2](https://rme.rilm.org/articles/dmm11119/1.0/dmm11119) |
| Closely related keys | B minor, A major, F♯ minor, G major, and E minor[5](https://boepublic.parkhill.k12.mo.us/attachments/9030d2ac-539a-4a4a-b7cd-ef0ef778a345.pdf) |
| Noted works | Beethoven's Missa Solennis and Second Symphony, Handel's Dettingen Te Deum, Mozart's Parisian Symphony[2](https://rme.rilm.org/articles/dmm11119/1.0/dmm11119) |
## Scale construction
A major scale follows the step pattern whole, whole, half, whole, whole, whole, half. Starting that pattern on D forces two of the seven natural notes to be raised: F becomes F♯ and C becomes C♯, which places the required half steps between F♯ and G and between C♯ and D[6](https://www.education.gov.za/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=rdkNJK3Aw6A%3D&forcedownload=true&mid=7374&portalid=0&tabid=1868). In interval terms the scale runs 2-2-1-2-2-2-1 semitones from the tonic to the octave[4](https://www.guitarscale.org/d-major.html).
All major scales use the notes of the musical alphabet in order, with no notes skipped and no notes repeated[7](https://musictheory.pugetsound.edu/mt21c/TheMajorScale.html). To write the key signature for D major, one method is to count the steps from C until reaching D and apply the resulting number of sharps[8](https://www.pure.ed.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/278090995/EdwardsEtal2021FundamentalsOfMusicTheory.pdf). Sharps are added in the fixed order F, C, G, D, A, E, B, so a two-sharp signature is always F♯ and C♯[9](https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED045688.pdf).
## Notation and the key signature
**The signature abbreviates repeated accidentals.** Once the two sharps are written at the start of a staff, every F and C in the piece is played sharp unless an accidental says otherwise; without the signature, each alteration would have to be marked anew wherever the note occurs[10](https://musichub.maurisson.com/de/guide/comprendre-tonalites-armure/). A staff with two sharps and no further accidentals indicates either D major or its relative minor, B minor[3](https://www.showman.org/Theory/CircleOfFifths_ModesAndScales.htm).
The same signature also serves other tonal centers drawn from the same seven notes, such as A Mixolydian and E Dorian[3](https://www.showman.org/Theory/CircleOfFifths_ModesAndScales.htm). Conversely, a key sharing its tonic with D major but a different signature is its parallel key: D major and [D minor](https://www.edgepedia.org/d-minor) have the same tonic yet count as a distant relationship, since parallel keys are a subset of distantly related keys[11](https://fiveable.me/ap-music-theory/unit-2/key-relationships-parallel-closely-related-distantly-related-keys/study-guide/O9y504HtZ3u43Vct8dwm).
## Position among the keys
On the circle of fifths, D major sits between [G major](https://www.edgepedia.org/g-major) and A major[12](https://www.musyno.com/die-d-dur-tonleiter/). Each key a fifth away inherits the previous key's sharps and adds one new one: D major adds C♯ over G major[13](https://www.andreasapitz.com/basics_de.html). The German-language theory literature accordingly lists D-Dur as two Kreuze, fis and cis, in the Vorzeichnung[14](https://musikwissenschaften.de/lexikon/d/d-dur/).
The five closely related keys of a tonic are the keys whose signatures differ by no more than one accidental. For D major these are the relative key B minor, the keys one additional sharp away (A major and F♯ minor), and the keys one sharp fewer (G major and [E minor](https://www.edgepedia.org/e-minor))[5](https://boepublic.parkhill.k12.mo.us/attachments/9030d2ac-539a-4a4a-b7cd-ef0ef778a345.pdf). Any key will have five closely related keys of this kind[15](https://learnmusictheory.net/PDFs/pdffiles/03-03-TypesOfKeyRelationships.pdf).
## Chords and harmony
The diatonic triads of D major are D, Em, F♯m, G, A, Bm, and C♯dim on the seven scale degrees[16](https://www.theorie-musik.de/tonleiter/quintenzirkel/d-dur/). The three major triads built on the first, fourth, and fifth degrees, D, G, and A, between them contain every note of the major scale[17](https://chordprogressions.org/keys/d-major/). The I–IV–I–V progression in D major, on the chords D, G, and A, is described as the oldest four-bar shape in Western folk music[17](https://chordprogressions.org/keys/d-major/).
D major also functions outside its own key. In G major, whose signature has one sharp, the D chord and especially the D7 chord supply the one new note, F♯, that pulls the music toward its new home, G; D is the dominant of that key[18](https://music-theory.org/keys/relative).
## Tuning in performance
Violinists typically intone diatonic scale tones closer to Pythagorean intonation than pianists do; in a controlled study of the [C major](https://www.edgepedia.org/c-major) scale, pianists fit equal-tempered intonation most closely, and nonmusicians showed no preference for a specific intonation model[19](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7971122/). [Equal temperament](https://www.edgepedia.org/equal-temperament), the tuning in which every half step has the same size, is itself a serviceable compromise, sacrificing purity of some intervals for flexibility across all keys[20](https://arxiv.org/abs/2208.04974).
## Character and repertoire
Eighteenth-century writers attached personalities to keys, and [Hector Berlioz](https://www.edgepedia.org/hector-berlioz) described D major as "heiter, lärmend und etwas gewöhnlich"[12](https://www.musyno.com/die-d-dur-tonleiter/). Early characterizations of D major were shaped by compositions that used trumpets: Rousseau called it grandeur, Charpentier "joyeux et très guerier", and Masson "agreable, joyeux, éclatant, & propre pour des chants de victoire"[21](https://www.yumpu.com/de/document/view/4233962/zur-entstehung-der-tonartencharakteristik-im-18-jahrhundert).
The key carries a substantial repertoire. Among the compositions a standard music dictionary lists as most important in D major are Beethoven's Missa Solennis (the Missa Solemnis) and his Second Symphony, Handel's Dettingen Te Deum, and Mozart's Parisian Symphony[2](https://rme.rilm.org/articles/dmm11119/1.0/dmm11119). [Pachelbel's Canon](https://www.edgepedia.org/pachelbels-canon) also stands in D major[16](https://www.theorie-musik.de/tonleiter/quintenzirkel/d-dur/).
## References
1. [D Major Scale and Key Signature – The Key of D Major, Piano Keyboard Guide (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIx_c5ByNy8)
2. [D, A Dictionary of Music and Musicians (A.D. 1450–1880), RILM Music Encyclopedias](https://rme.rilm.org/articles/dmm11119/1.0/dmm11119)
3. [A bit of music theory: the circle of fifths and musical modes, Showman.org](https://www.showman.org/Theory/CircleOfFifths_ModesAndScales.htm)
4. [D Major guitar scale, GuitarScale.org](https://www.guitarscale.org/d-major.html)
5. [AP Music Theory Course and Exam Description excerpt (key relationships), Parkhill School District](https://boepublic.parkhill.k12.mo.us/attachments/9030d2ac-539a-4a4a-b7cd-ef0ef778a345.pdf)
6. [Constructing a Major Scale, South African Department of Basic Education](https://www.education.gov.za/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=rdkNJK3Aw6A%3D&forcedownload=true&mid=7374&portalid=0&tabid=1868)
7. [The Major Scale, Music Theory (Puget Sound)](https://musictheory.pugetsound.edu/mt21c/TheMajorScale.html)
8. [Fundamentals of Music Theory, University of Edinburgh (Moran, Edwards, Kitchen, Moir, Worth, 2021)](https://www.pure.ed.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/278090995/EdwardsEtal2021FundamentalsOfMusicTheory.pdf)
9. [Student Reference Material, ERIC ED045688](https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED045688.pdf)
10. [Tonarten und Vorzeichen in der Musik verstehen, Maurisson Music Hub](https://musichub.maurisson.com/de/guide/comprendre-tonalites-armure/)
11. [AP Music Theory 2.3: Key Relationships, Fiveable](https://fiveable.me/ap-music-theory/unit-2/key-relationships-parallel-closely-related-distantly-related-keys/study-guide/O9y504HtZ3u43Vct8dwm)
12. [Die D-Dur Tonleiter – 2#, Musyno](https://www.musyno.com/die-d-dur-tonleiter/)
13. [Musikalische Grundlagen, Andreas Apitz](https://www.andreasapitz.com/basics_de.html)
14. [D-Dur, musikwissenschaften.de](https://musikwissenschaften.de/lexikon/d/d-dur/)
15. [Key Relationships in Music, LearnMusicTheory.net](https://learnmusictheory.net/PDFs/pdffiles/03-03-TypesOfKeyRelationships.pdf)
16. [D-Dur: Vorzeichen, Tonleiter und Akkorde, theorie-musik.de](https://www.theorie-musik.de/tonleiter/quintenzirkel/d-dur/)
17. [D major — 2 sharps, chords and shapes, ChordProgressions.org](https://chordprogressions.org/keys/d-major/)
18. [Relative and Parallel Keys, music-theory.org](https://music-theory.org/keys/relative)
19. [Tuning of diatonic scales by violinists, pianists, and nonmusicians, Perception & Psychophysics (PubMed)](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7971122/)
20. [Mathematical Foundations of Complex Tonality, arXiv](https://arxiv.org/abs/2208.04974)
21. [Zur Entstehung der Tonartencharakteristik im 18. Jahrhundert (Wolfgang Auhagen), Yumpu](https://www.yumpu.com/de/document/view/4233962/zur-entstehung-der-tonartencharakteristik-im-18-jahrhundert)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical practice and theory › Instruments, theory, and world traditions › Pitch, tuning, scales, and musical acoustics*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license