D♭ minor pentatonic (Db minor pentatonic) scale on alto sax
D♭ minor pentatonic has 5 notes: D♭ E G♭ A♭ B. Degrees: 1 ♭3 4 5 ♭7. Formula: W+H W W W+H W.
What notes are in the D♭ minor pentatonic scale?
D♭, E, G♭, A♭ and B. It has 5 notes; its formula in whole and half steps is W+H W W W+H W.
What does D♭ minor pentatonic sound like, and when do you use it?
The foundation of rock and blues: five notes that never clash. Use it over m7, and above all the blues (I7, IV7, V7).
To hear it: Stairway to Heaven (solo) — Led Zeppelin.
Chord progressions to improvise with D♭ minor pentatonic
In Jam mode (the Jam button above) a band of grand piano, upright bass and drums (recorded instruments) plays these progressions as swing, bossa, groove or ballad, and the staff lights up the notes of each chord as it plays. It's a backing track made for this scale in D♭:
- Blues (I7–IV7–V7): 12 bars over D♭7, G♭7 and A♭7. The 12-bar blues: three 7 chords with the scale on top. The clash between the ♭3 and the chord's 3rd is the blues.
- Minor vamp (i7–iv7): D♭m7 | G♭m7. i7–iv7: five notes that never clash. Try short phrases that answer the drums.
- Rock (i–♭VII–♭VI): D♭m | C♭ | B𝄫 | C♭. The classic minor rock riff, for the classic pentatonic.
D♭ minor pentatonic on alto sax: written notes and fingerings
The alto sax is a E♭ instrument: written D♭ minor pentatonic sounds E minor pentatonic in concert pitch. Fingering for each note, from low to high (left hand | right hand):
- D♭: 123 | 123 + low C♯
- E: 123 | 12
- G♭: 123 | 2
- A♭: 123 | – + G♯
- B: 1 | –
- D♭: – | –
Same notes as
E major pentatonic · F♯ Egyptian (suspended) · B major blues pentatonic · B Yo
Minor pentatonic in other keys
On other instruments
D♭ minor pentatonic on piano · D♭ minor pentatonic on guitar · D♭ minor pentatonic on bass · D♭ minor pentatonic on ukulele · D♭ minor pentatonic on mandolin · D♭ minor pentatonic on banjo · D♭ minor pentatonic on violin · D♭ minor pentatonic on viola · D♭ minor pentatonic on cello · D♭ minor pentatonic on tenor sax · D♭ minor pentatonic on trumpet · D♭ minor pentatonic on flute · All scales