STRINGSCALES

A hirajoshi Scale — Guitar Fretboard Visualization

Low E string: E, F, A, B, C, E at frets 0, 1, 5, 7, 8, 12

A string: A, B, C, E, F, A at frets 0, 2, 3, 7, 8, 12

D string: E, F, A, B, C at frets 2, 3, 7, 9, 10

G string: A, B, C, E, F at frets 2, 4, 5, 9, 10

B string: B, C, E, F, A, B at frets 0, 1, 5, 6, 10, 12

High E string: E, F, A, B, C, E at frets 0, 1, 5, 7, 8, 12

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A hirajoshi

The hirajoshi scale is the best known Japanese pentatonic: root, 2nd, flat 3rd, 5th, flat 6th. Each half step resolves downward (b3 to 2, b6 to 5), which creates its elegant, melancholy motion. It has long since escaped traditional koto music: metal and fusion players from Marty Friedman onward mine it for exotic riffs that still sit over a plain minor chord.

it consists of these notes and degrees:

A

I

B

II

C

bIII

E

V

F

bVI

Same notes, different mode

A hirajoshi uses the same notes as the scales below. Start from a different note and you get a new mode built on the very same note set.

B iwatoE kumoijoshiF lydian pentatonic

hirajoshi in all 12 keys, with chords and related scales

tip
  • Practice the two half-step resolutions (b3 (C) to II, b6 (F) to V); descending through them is the scale's whole elegance.
  • Metal borrows it constantly: riff root, II, b3 (C) low on the neck in A, then answer with V and b6 (F) an octave up.
  • Map it inside your minor pentatonic box: same root and 5th, with II and b6 (F) replacing IV and b7 (G).
  • Let phrases end on II rather than the root occasionally; traditional koto lines often rest away from home.

How to play A hirajoshi on guitar

Open A is the root, both E strings give the fifth and the B string a major second, so the key is four strings deep before you fret. Every note here is a natural, which means no accidentals to track while you shift. Lowest root sits at 5 on the low E, with the first box gone by 9. F lydian pentatonic reuses the box eight semitones higher.

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