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C ritusen Scale — Guitar Fretboard Visualization

Low E string: F, G, A, C, D at frets 1, 3, 5, 8, 10

A string: A, C, D, F, G, A at frets 0, 3, 5, 8, 10, 12

D string: D, F, G, A, C, D at frets 0, 3, 5, 7, 10, 12

G string: G, A, C, D, F, G at frets 0, 2, 5, 7, 10, 12

B string: C, D, F, G, A at frets 1, 3, 6, 8, 10

High E string: F, G, A, C, D at frets 1, 3, 5, 8, 10

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C 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:

C

I

D

II

F

IV

G

V

A

VI

Same notes, different mode

C 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.

D minor pentatonicF major pentatonicG egyptianA 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 C: 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 C ritusen on guitar

Every note here also belongs to D minor pentatonic, whose tonic sits two semitones higher, so the box is one most players already own. Open A, D and G ring in the key. Roots sit at 8 on both E strings, 3 on the A and 5 on the G. Nothing in the key is sharp or flat, which means position work up to 12 can be read straight off.

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