STRINGSCALES

B ritusen Scale — Guitar Fretboard Visualization

Low E string: E, F#, G#, B, C#, E at frets 0, 2, 4, 7, 9, 12

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

D string: E, F#, G#, B, C# at frets 2, 4, 6, 9, 11

G string: G#, B, C#, E, F# at frets 1, 4, 6, 9, 11

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

High E string: E, F#, G#, B, C#, E at frets 0, 2, 4, 7, 9, 12

Pick a root note

Pick a scale

B 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

B 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 pentatonicE 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 B: 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

Open B is the tonic and both E strings give a perfect fourth, so three strings can be left ringing while the rest is fretted. Capo fret 2 relocates A shapes here. Roots hold 7 on both E strings, 2 on the A, 9 on the D and 4 on the G. Three sharps in the key signature, and the box tops out at 11, which means the whole shape lives below the twelfth fret.

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