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C minor hexatonic Scale — Guitar Fretboard Visualization

Low E string: F, G, B, C, D, Eb at frets 1, 3, 7, 8, 10, 11

A string: B, C, D, Eb, F, G at frets 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10

D string: D, Eb, F, G, B, C, D at frets 0, 1, 3, 5, 9, 10, 12

G string: G, B, C, D, Eb, F, G at frets 0, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 12

B string: B, C, D, Eb, F, G, B at frets 0, 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12

High E string: F, G, B, C, D, Eb at frets 1, 3, 7, 8, 10, 11

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C minor hexatonic

The minor hexatonic is a six note scale: root, 2nd, flat 3rd, 4th, 5th, major 7th. It is harmonic minor with the flat 6th omitted, keeping the dramatic leading tone while removing the scale's most dissonant rub. The result is a clean minor sound with a strong pull home, handy over minor and minor-major 7th chords alike.

it consists of these notes and degrees:

C

I

D

II

E♭

bIII

F

IV

G

V

B

VII

minor hexatonic in all 12 keys, with chords and related scales

tip
  • Hear C minor hexatonic as harmonic minor minus the flat 6th: the drama of the leading tone (B) without the augmented-2nd gap.
  • Over a minor-major 7th chord, arpeggiate root, bIII (Eb), V, VII and use the 2nd (D) and 4th (F) as connecting steps.
  • End phrases VII up to C; with no b6 (Ab) in the way, the resolution sounds clean rather than exotic.
  • Use it when natural minor feels too soft and harmonic minor too Spanish; six notes split the difference.

How to play C minor hexatonic on guitar

Three open strings fall inside C minor hexatonic, the D, G and B, so a drone under fretted lines costs no extra fingers. Root access starts at the 1st fret on the B string and again at the 3rd on the A, which means low-position work has anchors on both sides. Lowest root is fret 8 of the low E. Everything tied to that root stays under fret 12, so the first shift is easy to place. One flat in the key signature.

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