STRINGSCALES

D messiaen's mode #3 Scale — Guitar Fretboard Visualization

Low E string: E, F, F#, G#, A, Bb, C, C#, D, E at frets 0, 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12

A string: A, Bb, C, C#, D, E, F, F#, G#, A at frets 0, 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12

D string: D, E, F, F#, G#, A, Bb, C, C#, D at frets 0, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12

G string: G#, A, Bb, C, C#, D, E, F, F# at frets 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11

B string: C, C#, D, E, F, F#, G#, A, Bb at frets 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11

High E string: E, F, F#, G#, A, Bb, C, C#, D, E at frets 0, 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12

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D messiaen's mode #3

Messiaen's mode 3 is a nine note mode of limited transposition: whole step, half, half, repeated three times. Built from three augmented-triad axes filled in with half steps, it only has four distinct transpositions before repeating itself. Messiaen used its dense, stained-glass harmony throughout his organ and orchestral music; guitarists can mine it for symmetrical runs that never settle into a key.

it consists of these notes and degrees:

D

I

E

II

F

bIII

F♯

III

G♯

#IV

A

V

B♭

bVI

C

bVII

C♯

VII

messiaen's mode #3 in all 12 keys, with chords and related scales

tip
  • Learn D Messiaen mode 3 as the repeating cell whole-half-half, three times per octave; the cell, not the scale, is the practice unit.
  • It has only four distinct transpositions, so a lick moved up a major 3rd lands in the same collection: instant sequences.
  • Built on three augmented axes: arpeggiate the augmented triad on D and its neighbors, connecting them by half step for idiomatic lines.
  • Use it for dense, stained-glass chords: stack any four or five adjacent scale tones and the harmony is already Messiaen.

How to play D messiaen's mode #3 on guitar

Open D string doubles as the root, and open A supplies the fifth, so a bottom-end pedal needs no fretting hand. Four open strings belong here. Roots climb from that open D through fret 3 on the B string, fret 5 on the A, and fret 7 on the G. Lowest root is fret 10 on the low E, which puts the end of box one at fret 14.

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