STRINGSCALES

A♭ messiaen's mode #3 Scale — Guitar Fretboard Visualization

Low E string: Fb, Gb, G, Ab, Bb, Cb, C, D, Eb, Fb at frets 0, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12

A string: Bb, Cb, C, D, Eb, Fb, Gb, G, Ab at frets 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11

D string: D, Eb, Fb, Gb, G, Ab, Bb, Cb, C, D at frets 0, 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12

G string: G, Ab, Bb, Cb, C, D, Eb, Fb, Gb, G at frets 0, 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12

B string: Cb, C, D, Eb, Fb, Gb, G, Ab, Bb, Cb at frets 0, 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12

High E string: Fb, Gb, G, Ab, Bb, Cb, C, D, Eb, Fb at frets 0, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12

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Ab messiaen's mode #3

Messiaen's mode 3 is a nine note mode of limited transposition: whole step, half, half, repeated three times. Built from three augmented-triad axes filled in with half steps, it only has four distinct transpositions before repeating itself. Messiaen used its dense, stained-glass harmony throughout his organ and orchestral music; guitarists can mine it for symmetrical runs that never settle into a key.

it consists of these notes and degrees:

A♭

I

B♭

II

C♭

bIII

C

III

D

#IV

E♭

V

F♭

bVI

G♭

bVII

G

VII

messiaen's mode #3 in all 12 keys, with chords and related scales

tip
  • Learn Ab Messiaen mode 3 as the repeating cell whole-half-half, three times per octave; the cell, not the scale, is the practice unit.
  • It has only four distinct transpositions, so a lick moved up a major 3rd lands in the same collection: instant sequences.
  • Built on three augmented axes: arpeggiate the augmented triad on Ab and its neighbors, connecting them by half step for idiomatic lines.
  • Use it for dense, stained-glass chords: stack any four or five adjacent scale tones and the harmony is already Messiaen.

How to play A♭ messiaen's mode #3 on guitar

Nearest root to the nut sits on the G string at fret 1, while the lowest-pitched one is fret 4 on the low E. Box one from there closes at fret 8, so anything higher belongs to the next shape. Capo 1 renders this as G fingering, which means familiar G shapes cover the whole key. Five open strings are in the scale without the root or fifth among them, meaning they read as colour rather than a pedal. Six flats on the page.

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