The major pentatonic scale also works well in open D tuning. The major pentatonic is simply the major scale with the fourth and seventh degrees removed. Here is a commonly used three octave fingering for the D major pentatonic scale.
Many Folk, Country and Bluegrass guitarists have found that traditional fiddle tunes sound great on the guitar, particularly when making use of the guitar’s open strings. This works in both standard tuning and a variety of open tunings.
The following melody is in the style of a fiddle tune derived from the D major pentatonic scale in open D tuning. Use the ideas presented here to improvise with and create some of your own melodies and solos.