STRINGSCALES

B♭ hirajoshi Scale — Guitar Fretboard Visualization

Low E string: F, Gb, Bb, C, Db at frets 1, 2, 6, 8, 9

A string: Bb, C, Db, F, Gb at frets 1, 3, 4, 8, 9

D string: F, Gb, Bb, C, Db at frets 3, 4, 8, 10, 11

G string: Bb, C, Db, F, Gb at frets 3, 5, 6, 10, 11

B string: C, Db, F, Gb, Bb at frets 1, 2, 6, 7, 11

High E string: F, Gb, Bb, C, Db at frets 1, 2, 6, 8, 9

Pick a root note

Pick a scale

Bb 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:

B♭

I

C

II

D♭

bIII

F

V

G♭

bVI

Same notes, different mode

Bb 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.

C iwatoF kumoijoshiGb lydian pentatonic

hirajoshi in all 12 keys, with chords and related scales

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

How to play B♭ hirajoshi on guitar

Fret 1 on the A string holds the root nearest the nut, and clamping there turns everything into A fingering, which lets open shapes back in. No open string belongs to this key, so every note has to be fretted. Lowest root is 6 on the low E, with box one done at 10. F kumoijoshi lifts the same fingering seven semitones.

homeall scalesaboutfaqpricingmicrotonalterms & conditionsprivacy policycookie policy© 2026 StringScales. All rights reserved.