Scale degrees · G major

The ♯5 of G is D♯

The ♯5 (sharp five, written #5) of G is D♯ (D sharp): an augmented fifth above the root.

G — the root, 1D♯ — the ♯5

How to find it

Count letters first, the root included: G, A, B, C, D. A 5th lands on D.

Then the sound: an augmented fifth is 8 semitones above G, and the D that is 8 semitones up is D♯.

That is why it is D♯ and not E♭: E♭ is the same key on the piano, but from G it would be a 6th, not a 5th.

Where you meet it

The ♯5 is the 5th of the augmented chord. Over a dominant the same key on the piano is usually written ♭13.

In G+:

G · B · D♯

The ♯5 in every key

KeyThe ♯5
CG♯
GD♯
DA♯
AE♯
EB♯
BF𝄪
F♯C𝄪
D♭A
A♭E
E♭B
B♭F♯
FC♯

Every degree of G

Free on iPhone and Android

Name it before
you can count it.

Improvy trains every degree in all 12 keys — the 3, the ♭7, the ♯11 — until you see the note without working it out. A few minutes a day. Free to start; Pro is one payment, never a subscription.

Or try the 60-second test in your browser