STRINGSCALES

D ionian major #2 Scale — Guitar Fretboard Visualization

Low E string: E#, F#, G, A, B, C#, D at frets 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 10

A string: A, B, C#, D, E#, F#, G, A at frets 0, 2, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 12

D string: D, E#, F#, G, A, B, C#, D at frets 0, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, 12

G string: G, A, B, C#, D, E#, F#, G at frets 0, 2, 4, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12

B string: B, C#, D, E#, F#, G, A, B at frets 0, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12

High E string: E#, F#, G, A, B, C#, D at frets 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 10

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D ionian major #2

The ionian #2 scale, the sixth mode of the neapolitan minor scale, is a major scale whose 2nd is raised to a sharp 2nd, creating an augmented 2nd leap right at the start. The rest is textbook major, so melodies keep snapping between exotic and plain. It is a striking way to make a familiar major progression sound foreign.

it consists of these notes and degrees:

D

I

Dmaj
E♯

#II

G7no5/E♯
F♯

iii

F♯m
G

IV

Gmaj
A

V+

Aaug
B

vi

Bm
C♯

VII

C#maj♭5

Same notes, different mode

D ionian major #2 uses the same notes as the scales below. Start from a different note and you get a new mode built on the very same note set.

E# ultralocrianF# neapolitan minorG lydian #6A mixolydian augmentedB romani minorC# locrian dominant

ionian major #2 in all 12 keys, with chords and related scales

tip
  • Play D major but leap from the root straight to #2 (F) and settle on the 3rd; one displaced note makes familiar lines sound foreign.
  • Use the #2 (F) as a chromatic ornament to the 3rd (F#) in an otherwise textbook major solo; ration it and it stays striking.
  • It is the sixth mode of neapolitan minor, sharing its notes with the neapolitan minor a major 3rd below D.
  • Over a plain major triad, alternate phrases from D major and D ionian #2 (F) to make one chord feel like two worlds.

How to play D ionian major #2 on guitar

Open D is itself a root, meaning the first root you meet from the nut is unfretted, not the fret 3 root on the B string. Low E fret 10 carries the lowest root, and that open D matches it in pitch exactly. Open A, D, G and B all sit in the key with the A string as the fifth, so a pedal under the low box costs nothing. GM is the IV chord, off the open G.

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