D Blues scale on ukulele
The D Blues scale across the gCEA ukulele neck — notes D F G A♭ A C — on a tap-to-hear fretboard, with the formula and how it sounds. Free.
The scale on the neck
Here's D Blues over the first 12 frets of the ukulele (standard gCEA tuning). The pink notes are the root; tap any note to hear it, or play the whole scale ascending.
Press Make it interactive and the same scale opens on a ukulele neck — all 15 frets, the low-G and baritone tunings, and each note labelled by its interval from the root (R, ♭3, 4…) instead of by name. The numbers are the same in every key, so what you learn here transposes straight to G or E. (Note: the root shows there as R.)
Standard gCEA high-g tuning (soprano, concert, and high-g tenor). The g string is re-entrant — a high note, not a bass — so scale runs cross strings differently than on guitar. Because g is high, ukulele scales are usually played as a box across all four strings rather than one long run up a single string: look for the nearest lit note on an adjacent string. Baritone (DGBE) uses different shapes.
The notes
Each note is labelled with its scale degree. The formula (1 ♭3 4 ♭5 5 ♭7) is the scale's fingerprint — identical in every key.
How it's built & how it sounds
D Blues is a six-note scale — minor pentatonic plus the “blue note”. What makes it different: The minor pentatonic with one chromatic “blue note” — the ♭5 — slipped in between the 4th and the 5th.
The sound: Gritty and expressive — that ♭5 is the “cry”. It's a passing tone: lean on it, bend through it, but resolve it. Where you'll hear it: Blues, rock and jazz, usually as extra colour passing through pentatonic lines.
Blues on other roots
Other scales on D ukulele
Play guitar too? See D Blues on guitar · ukulele chords.
Scales and their formulas are shared facts of music theory. The fretboard and audio are generated by ThunderFret's own engine — no tabs or recordings are reproduced.
See D Blues on the full neck inside the tool — it opens on ukulele, with every note labelled by its interval, and you can hear a note at a time or the whole scale. Free.
Open D Blues in the toolFrequently asked
What notes are in the D Blues scale on ukulele?
D Blues has 6 notes: D, F, G, A♭, A, C. On a standard gCEA ukulele they appear all across the neck.
How do I play D Blues on ukulele?
Use the fretboard above — each lit note is in the scale. Because the ukulele's g string is re-entrant (a high note, not a bass), the notes don't climb in a straight line like a guitar; the map shows exactly where each one sits.
What is the formula for the blues scale?
1 ♭3 4 ♭5 5 ♭7 — the step pattern 1½–W–H–H–1½–W. It's the same in every key.