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D hirajoshi Scale — Guitar Fretboard Visualization

Low E string: E, F, A, Bb, D, E at frets 0, 1, 5, 6, 10, 12

A string: A, Bb, D, E, F, A at frets 0, 1, 5, 7, 8, 12

D string: D, E, F, A, Bb, D at frets 0, 2, 3, 7, 8, 12

G string: A, Bb, D, E, F at frets 2, 3, 7, 9, 10

B string: D, E, F, A, Bb at frets 3, 5, 6, 10, 11

High E string: E, F, A, Bb, D, E at frets 0, 1, 5, 6, 10, 12

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D hirajoshi

The hirajoshi scale is the best known Japanese pentatonic: root, 2nd, flat 3rd, 5th, flat 6th. Each half step resolves downward (b3 to 2, b6 to 5), which creates its elegant, melancholy motion. It has long since escaped traditional koto music: metal and fusion players from Marty Friedman onward mine it for exotic riffs that still sit over a plain minor chord.

it consists of these notes and degrees:

D

I

E

II

F

bIII

A

V

B♭

bVI

Same notes, different mode

D hirajoshi 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.

E iwatoA kumoijoshiBb lydian pentatonic

hirajoshi in all 12 keys, with chords and related scales

tip
  • Practice the two half-step resolutions (b3 (F) to II, b6 (Bb) to V); descending through them is the scale's whole elegance.
  • Metal borrows it constantly: riff root, II, b3 (F) low on the neck in D, then answer with V and b6 (Bb) an octave up.
  • Map it inside your minor pentatonic box: same root and 5th, with II and b6 (Bb) replacing IV and b7 (C).
  • Let phrases end on II rather than the root occasionally; traditional koto lines often rest away from home.

How to play D hirajoshi on guitar

Open D is a root, the A string gives the fifth and both E strings the major second, so four open strings sit in the key at once. Roots continue at 10 on the low E and 5 on the A. Box one runs to 14, which means the G string root at 7 stays under the same hand. A kumoijoshi shares the shape seven semitones higher.

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