STRINGSCALES

B messiaen's mode #3 Scale — Guitar Fretboard Visualization

Low E string: E#, F#, G, A, A#, B, C#, D, D# at frets 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11

A string: A, A#, B, C#, D, D#, E#, F#, G, A at frets 0, 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12

D string: D, D#, E#, F#, G, A, A#, B, C#, D at frets 0, 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12

G string: G, A, A#, B, C#, D, D#, E#, F#, G at frets 0, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12

B string: B, C#, D, D#, E#, F#, G, A, A#, B at frets 0, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12

High E string: E#, F#, G, A, A#, B, C#, D, D# at frets 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11

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B messiaen's mode #3

Messiaen's mode 3 is a nine note mode of limited transposition: whole step, half, half, repeated three times. Built from three augmented-triad axes filled in with half steps, it only has four distinct transpositions before repeating itself. Messiaen used its dense, stained-glass harmony throughout his organ and orchestral music; guitarists can mine it for symmetrical runs that never settle into a key.

it consists of these notes and degrees:

B

I

C♯

II

D

bIII

D♯

III

E♯

#IV

F♯

V

G

bVI

A

bVII

A♯

VII

messiaen's mode #3 in all 12 keys, with chords and related scales

tip
  • Learn B Messiaen mode 3 as the repeating cell whole-half-half, three times per octave; the cell, not the scale, is the practice unit.
  • It has only four distinct transpositions, so a lick moved up a major 3rd lands in the same collection: instant sequences.
  • Built on three augmented axes: arpeggiate the augmented triad on B and its neighbors, connecting them by half step for idiomatic lines.
  • Use it for dense, stained-glass chords: stack any four or five adjacent scale tones and the harmony is already Messiaen.

How to play B messiaen's mode #3 on guitar

Open B string is the root, which lets a top-end pedal sit under everything without a finger on it. Four open strings live in the scale; the other three are the minor third, minor sixth and minor seventh. Lowest root sits at fret 7 on the low E, giving the first shape a hard stop at fret 11. Capo at fret 2 turns this into A fingering. Roots also occupy fret 2 on the A string, fret 4 on the G and fret 9 on the D, so lateral moves are short.

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