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B♭ ritusen Scale — Guitar Fretboard Visualization

Low E string: F, G, Bb, C, Eb at frets 1, 3, 6, 8, 11

A string: Bb, C, Eb, F, G at frets 1, 3, 6, 8, 10

D string: Eb, F, G, Bb, C at frets 1, 3, 5, 8, 10

G string: G, Bb, C, Eb, F, G at frets 0, 3, 5, 8, 10, 12

B string: C, Eb, F, G, Bb at frets 1, 4, 6, 8, 11

High E string: F, G, Bb, C, Eb at frets 1, 3, 6, 8, 11

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Bb ritusen

The ritusen scale is the Japanese ritsu pentatonic: root, 2nd, 4th, 5th and 6th. It contains the same pitches as the major pentatonic starting a fourth higher, but centering them here gives an open, suspended sound with no 3rd at all. That neutrality is what makes it feel calm and folk-like, and it doubles as a sus-chord vocabulary in modern playing.

it consists of these notes and degrees:

B♭

I

C

II

E♭

IV

F

V

G

VI

Same notes, different mode

Bb ritusen 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 minor pentatonicEb major pentatonicF egyptianG malkos raga

ritusen in all 12 keys, with chords and related scales

tip
  • The ritsu sound is the open 2nd and 6th around the missing 3rd: no major, no minor, just calm; keep harmonies to 4ths and 5ths.
  • It shares its pitches with the major pentatonic a 4th above Bb: same notes, different home, so borrow every fingering.
  • Over a sus2 or bare-5th drone, every note lands; it is a folk melody generator with no wrong choices.
  • Contrast register: low root-and-5th ostinato, high II-IV-VI melodic cells... the scale's serenity comes from that spacing.

How to play B♭ ritusen on guitar

Capo fret 1 and A fingerings arrive here, so open-string licks transfer with no rethinking. Only the G string holds a scale tone. Roots mark 1 on the A string, 3 on the G, 8 on the D and 6 on both E strings. Two flats keep the notation light and the box stops at 10, which means the shape can be learned by feel rather than by page.

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