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

Low E string: E, F, G#, A, Bb, B, D, D#, E at frets 0, 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12

A string: A, Bb, B, D, D#, E, F, G#, A at frets 0, 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12

D string: D, D#, E, F, G#, A, Bb, B, D at frets 0, 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 12

G string: G#, A, Bb, B, D, D#, E, F at frets 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10

B string: B, D, D#, E, F, G#, A, Bb, B at frets 0, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12

High E string: E, F, G#, A, Bb, B, D, D#, E at frets 0, 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12

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A 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 A; 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 (Eb) axis... both are in the scale, and the symmetry pivots on them.

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

Open A is the root and both E strings give the fifth, which lets a drone sit above and below the line at once. Five open strings ring in this key. Lowest root falls at fret 5 on the low E string, putting box one under a shift at fret 9. A-shape barre climbs to fret 12, letting you restate the same voicing an octave above the open root.

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