STRINGSCALES

E♭ hirajoshi Scale — Guitar Fretboard Visualization

Low E string: F, Gb, Bb, Cb, Eb at frets 1, 2, 6, 7, 11

A string: Bb, Cb, Eb, F, Gb at frets 1, 2, 6, 8, 9

D string: Eb, F, Gb, Bb, Cb at frets 1, 3, 4, 8, 9

G string: Bb, Cb, Eb, F, Gb at frets 3, 4, 8, 10, 11

B string: Cb, Eb, F, Gb, Bb, Cb at frets 0, 4, 6, 7, 11, 12

High E string: F, Gb, Bb, Cb, Eb at frets 1, 2, 6, 7, 11

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Eb 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:

E♭

I

F

II

G♭

bIII

B♭

V

C♭

bVI

Same notes, different mode

Eb 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.

F iwatoBb kumoijoshiCb lydian pentatonic

hirajoshi in all 12 keys, with chords and related scales

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

How to play E♭ hirajoshi on guitar

Root at fret 1 on the D string is the one nearest the nut, and a capo at the same fret converts everything to D fingering, so the shapes get simple. Open B is the lone open string in this key, a minor sixth over the root. Low E holds the deepest root at 11, so the opening shape reaches 15 before it breaks. F iwato borrows the grip two semitones above.

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