STRINGSCALES

C ichikosucho Scale — Guitar Fretboard Visualization

Low E string: E, F, Gb, G, A, B, C, D, E at frets 0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10, 12

A string: A, B, C, D, E, F, Gb, G, A at frets 0, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12

D string: D, E, F, Gb, G, A, B, C, D at frets 0, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 12

G string: G, A, B, C, D, E, F, Gb, G at frets 0, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12

B string: B, C, D, E, F, Gb, G, A, B at frets 0, 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12

High E string: E, F, Gb, G, A, B, C, D, E at frets 0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10, 12

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C ichikosucho

The ichikosucho scale is a major scale with an added flat 5th, eight notes catalogued from Japanese sources. The extra note bridges the 4th and 5th chromatically, letting otherwise plain major lines pivot briefly through a blues-tinged shadow. It behaves like a major scale with a built-in passing tone rather than an exotic mode.

it consists of these notes and degrees:

C

I

D

II

E

III

F

IV

G♭

bV

G

V

A

VI

B

VII

Same notes, different mode

C ichikosucho 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.

D bebop minorG bebopB bebop locrian

ichikosucho in all 12 keys, with chords and related scales

tip
  • Play C ichikosucho as a major scale with a built-in blue note: the added flat 5th (Gb) bridges IV and V chromatically.
  • Use the b5 (Gb) in passing on upbeats, exactly like the blues scale treats it, while everything else stays diatonic major.
  • Try it over a I-IV change in C: the b5 (Gb) doubles as the sharp 4th leading into the IV chord's major 3rd... wait for that resolution.
  • Contrast it with plain C major in the same solo; the single extra note is more striking when it is rationed.

How to play C ichikosucho on guitar

Every open string sits in scale, and the open G is the fifth, so you can let it ring under anything up the neck. Same fingering as G bebop, seven semitones above the tonic, which means one shape covers both names. Closest root to the nut: B string, fret 1. Lowest root is fret 8, low E, with box one ending at fret 12.

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