Low E string: Fb, Ab, Bbb, Db, Ebb, Fb at frets 0, 4, 5, 9, 10, 12
A string: Bbb, Db, Ebb, Fb, Ab, Bbb at frets 0, 4, 5, 7, 11, 12
D string: Ebb, Fb, Ab, Bbb, Db, Ebb at frets 0, 2, 6, 7, 11, 12
G string: Ab, Bbb, Db, Ebb, Fb at frets 1, 2, 6, 7, 9
B string: Db, Ebb, Fb, Ab, Bbb at frets 2, 3, 5, 9, 10
High E string: Fb, Ab, Bbb, Db, Ebb, Fb at frets 0, 4, 5, 9, 10, 12
The pelog scale is a five note approximation, in Western tuning, of the Indonesian pelog tuning system used in gamelan music: root, flat 2nd, flat 3rd, 5th, flat 6th. Real pelog is a seven tone tuning that does not map onto equal temperament, so treat this as a color palette rather than a transcription. Its stacked half steps around the root and 5th produce the shimmering, gong-like character.
it consists of these notes and degrees:
I
bII
bIII
V
bVI
Same notes, different mode
Db pelog 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.
How to play D♭ pelog on guitar
Four open strings fall in this key, low E, A, D and high E, though none of them sits at an interval that will hold as a drone, so treat them as passing tones. Clamp a capo at fret 1 and the whole thing maps onto C shapes, which lets you reuse fingerings you already own. Lowest root sits at fret 9 on the low E, and a second root waits at fret 2 on the B string. Box one stops working at fret 13.
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