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A piongio Scale — Guitar Fretboard Visualization

Low E string: E, F#, G, A, B, D, E at frets 0, 2, 3, 5, 7, 10, 12

A string: A, B, D, E, F#, G, A at frets 0, 2, 5, 7, 9, 10, 12

D string: D, E, F#, G, A, B, D at frets 0, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 12

G string: G, A, B, D, E, F#, G at frets 0, 2, 4, 7, 9, 11, 12

B string: B, D, E, F#, G, A, B at frets 0, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10, 12

High E string: E, F#, G, A, B, D, E at frets 0, 2, 3, 5, 7, 10, 12

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A piongio

The piongio scale is a six note set built almost entirely from stacked 4ths and 2nds: root, 2nd, 4th, 5th, 6th, flat 7th. With both the 6th and flat 7th but no 3rd, it hovers between major pentatonic openness and dominant-sus color. Treat it as a sus vocabulary: it converts a static 7sus4 vamp into melodic material immediately.

it consists of these notes and degrees:

A

I

B

II

D

IV

E

V

F♯

VI

G

bVII

piongio in all 12 keys, with chords and related scales

tip
  • Nearly a scale of 4ths and 2nds: both the 6th (F#) and flat 7th (G) with no 3rd, so treat it as sus-chord vocabulary.
  • Over a 7sus4 vamp on A, alternate VI and bVII (G) as the melodic top; the scale converts a static chord into motion.
  • Quartal stacks fall out of it naturally: root-IV-bVII and II-V-VI as movable two-shape comping.
  • Ground phrases on root, IV and V; the paired VI and bVII (G) then work as a built-in double approach to the octave.

How to play A piongio on guitar

Open A string is a root and both E strings give the fifth, so a drone is available across the whole set. Open D adds a perfect fourth, the open G a minor seventh and the open B a major second, meaning all six open strings belong here. Aside from the open A, the nearest root is fret 2 on the G string. Roots continue at 5, 7 and 10.

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