How to Play the Db Major Scale on a Piano Keyboard

Structure

A one octave Db Major scale is made up from the eight notes Db, Eb, F, Gb, Ab, Bb, C and Db. This can be extended across the keyboard as required for two, three or four octave scales.

Here are the notes of one octave depicted on a piano keyboard diagram.

Fingering

Number the fingers on both left and right hands as follows:

Thumb: 1
Index: 2
Middle: 3

Ring: 4
Little: 5

Here’s a diagram of how to number the fingers:

Left and right hands fingering for musical scales — Left and right hands fingering for Db Major scale

Right Hand Playing

The ascending one octave Db Major scale is most easily played by the right hand with the fingering 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2

Should you wish to play more than one octave, simply continue with a ‘3’ after the ‘2’ and repeat the sequence, thus: 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2… and finish on a ‘2’

To play the descending one octave Db Major scale, reverse the sequence thus: 2, 1, 4, 3, 2, 1, 3, 2

Should you be playing more than one octave, repeat the sequence from ‘2’, thus: 2, 1, 4, 3, 2, 1, 3, 2, 1, 4, 3, 2, 1, 3, 2 and always finishing on a 2 for the final note.

Left Hand Playing

The ascending one octave Db Major scale is most easily played by the left hand with the fingering 3, 2, 1, 4, 3, 2, 1, 3

Should you wish to play more than one octave, simply repeat the sequence, thus: 3, 2, 1, 4, 3, 2, 1, 3, 2, 1, 4, 3, 2, 1, 3 and always finish on ‘3’

To play the descending one octave Db Major scale, reverse the sequence thus: 3, 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3.

Should you be playing more than one octave, continue the sequence thus: 3, 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3 and finishing on a final 3.

Playing Both Hands Together

Once you’ve practiced both hands separately, it’s time to play the two hands simultaneously. There’s no particular trick to this — it just takes time to get used to it.

Scales are generally played with the hands one octave — that is, eight white notes — apart.

Start slowly, concentrating on fingering and playing each pair of notes at the same time, and gradually build up the speed. Ensure the scale maintains a regular rhythm.

Accenting

Sometimes scales are played with a slight accent on every fourth note. This works well for two and four octave scales.

Music Score

Here is the music score for two octaves of the Db Major scale, with the right hand starting on the Db below Middle C and the left hand starting on the Db an octave below that. The audio is available beneath the score. Note that some browsers including the desktop version of Safari will not play this, so please see the MP3 audio below. If you are playing on a mobile device, you may need to ensure the ringer is set to on.