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B♭ messiaen's mode #5 Scale — Guitar Fretboard Visualization

Low E string: E, F, A, Bb, Cb, Eb, E at frets 0, 1, 5, 6, 7, 11, 12

A string: A, Bb, Cb, Eb, E, F, A at frets 0, 1, 2, 6, 7, 8, 12

D string: Eb, E, F, A, Bb, Cb at frets 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 9

G string: A, Bb, Cb, Eb, E, F at frets 2, 3, 4, 8, 9, 10

B string: Cb, Eb, E, F, A, Bb, Cb at frets 0, 4, 5, 6, 10, 11, 12

High E string: E, F, A, Bb, Cb, Eb, E at frets 0, 1, 5, 6, 7, 11, 12

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Bb messiaen's mode #5

Messiaen's mode 5 is the smallest of Messiaen's modes: six notes in the pattern half step, major 3rd, half step, repeated, with the tritone as its axis of symmetry. It contains two chromatic clusters a tritone apart and nothing in between, more a sonority than a melody source. Composers use it for static, bell-like harmonic fields.

it consists of these notes and degrees:

B♭

I

C♭

bII

E♭

IV

E

#IV

F

V

A

VII

messiaen's mode #5 in all 12 keys, with chords and related scales

tip
  • Six notes on Bb, two chromatic clusters a tritone apart: root, b2 (B), IV and their mirror #4 (E), V, VII.
  • Treat it as harmony, not melody: sustain cluster voicings (root-b2 together, or IV-#4) for bell-like fields.
  • The tritone (root to #4 (E)) is the axis: phrases that swap the two clusters across it sound composed rather than random.
  • Use long decay: let notes overlap on separate strings; struck as chords it shimmers, run as a scale it stumbles.

How to play B♭ messiaen's mode #5 on guitar

Nearest root to the nut is 1 on the A string, then 3 on the G and 6 on both E strings. Both E strings sit an augmented fourth over the tonic, open A a major seventh and open B a minor second, so nothing rings as a pedal. Lowest root sits at 6, giving box one a run to 9 before the next takes over at 10. Three flats in the signature.

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