STRINGSCALES

A♭ messiaen's mode #4 Scale — Guitar Fretboard Visualization

Low E string: Fb, G, Ab, Bbb, Bb, Db, D, Eb, Fb at frets 0, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12

A string: Bbb, Bb, Db, D, Eb, Fb, G, Ab, Bbb at frets 0, 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12

D string: D, Eb, Fb, G, Ab, Bbb, Bb, Db, D at frets 0, 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12

G string: G, Ab, Bbb, Bb, Db, D, Eb, Fb, G at frets 0, 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 12

B string: Db, D, Eb, Fb, G, Ab, Bbb, Bb at frets 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11

High E string: Fb, G, Ab, Bbb, Bb, Db, D, Eb, Fb at frets 0, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12

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Ab messiaen's mode #4

Messiaen's mode 4 is an eight note mode of limited transposition: half, half, minor 3rd, half repeated twice, giving clustered pairs of half steps separated by leaps. It repeats at the tritone, so only six transpositions exist. The clusters make it naturally chromatic and ominous, suited to modern classical writing and angular jazz lines that pivot around the tritone.

it consists of these notes and degrees:

A♭

I

B𝄫

bII

B♭

II

D♭

IV

D

#IV

E♭

V

F♭

bVI

G

VII

messiaen's mode #4 in all 12 keys, with chords and related scales

tip
  • Practice its cell half-half-minor 3rd-half from Ab; two cells complete the octave, and the scale repeats at the tritone.
  • Only six transpositions exist: a phrase moved six frets returns to the same notes, which makes tritone call-and-response free.
  • The chromatic clusters invite legato: slide through the paired half steps and leap the minor 3rd cleanly.
  • Anchor writing on the root and b5 (D) axis... both are in the scale, and the symmetry pivots on them.

How to play A♭ messiaen's mode #4 on guitar

Five open strings belong to this key, giving you ring-outs under fretted lines even though the root is not one of them. Nearest-nut root hides at fret 1 on the G string, while the lowest root waits at fret 4 on the low E. Capo at fret 1 hands the job to G shapes, so the six flats stop mattering under your fingers. Box one starts at fret 4. Same fingering covers D a tritone away, meaning one shape is worth two keys.

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