About the D Vietnamese scale
D Vietnamese is used for Vietnamese-flavored and folk melodies. Think of it as a dark five-note scale with a minor third and flat sixth.
Its notes are D, F, G, A, and B♭. The formula is 1½ W W H 4 semitones.
A, D, and G are open guitar strings that sit inside this mode, ready to drone under a riff. Down at the 5th fret of the A string lies the lowest D a guitar can play. D Vietnamese sits in true open position, with a complete octave of the scale inside the first three frets.
Positions
Playable shapes for this scale up the neck. Tap any note to hear it.
Pentatonic boxes
The five shapes blues and rock are built on, the first scale most guitarists ever solo with, one box per note up the neck.
Notes and intervals
| 1 | DD | Root |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | FF | Minor 3rd |
| 3 | GG | Perfect 4th |
| 4 | AA | Perfect 5th |
| 5 | BbB♭ | Minor 6th |
| Steps | 1½ W W H 4 semitones |
|---|---|
| Semitones | 3-2-2-1-4 |
| Degrees | 1 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 |
Shapes
Chromatic
Circle of Fifths
Related scales
Vietnamese in other keys
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