How many sharps does D# minor have?

Six: F#, C#, G#, D#, A#, and E# — same as its relative major, F# major.

The D# natural minor scale — notes, intervals, and pattern

The D# natural minor scale has six sharps — F#, C#, G#, D#, A#, and E# — and shares its notes with F# major. It's an unusual key in practice: most music in this pitch is written in E♭ minor (six flats) instead, but D# minor still appears in modulating passages from related keys.

Interval pattern

The D# natural minor scale is built from this fixed pattern of whole steps (W) and half steps (H):

Wwhole
Hhalf
Wwhole
Wwhole
Hhalf
Wwhole
Wwhole

Every natural minor scale uses this same pattern. The half-steps fall between scale degrees 2–3 and 5–6.

Scale degrees and intervals

Each note of the scale, with its scale-degree name and interval from the root:

Degree	Note	Interval from root	Function
1	D#	Root	Tonic
2	E#	M2	Supertonic
3	F#	m3	Mediant
4	G#	P4	Subdominant
5	A#	P5	Dominant
6	B	m6	Submediant
7	C#	m7	Subtonic / Leading tone

In melody and improvisation

Bach included a fugue in D# minor in The Well-Tempered Clavier specifically to demonstrate that all 24 keys could function in the equal-temperament system. In day-to-day music, you'll see E♭ minor written far more often.

Relative key

The D# natural minor scale shares its notes with F# major. Same seven pitches, different tonal centre — when a piece moves between them, no accidentals change.

Common mistakes

D# minor includes E# — easy to miswrite as F. The harmonic-minor variant adds C## (double-sharp), which is genuinely confusing to read.

Drill it

The Interval Trainer gives you a root note and an interval, and asks you to name the result. Practising the intervals of the D# natural minor scale is the fastest way to internalise it as a melodic shape rather than a memorised string of notes.

Open the Interval Trainer →Or drill key signatures

Frequently asked

What are the notes in the D# natural minor scale?: D#, E#, F#, G#, A#, B, C#.
How many sharps does D# minor have?: Six: F#, C#, G#, D#, A#, and E# — same as its relative major, F# major.
What is the relative major of D# minor?: F# major.