STRINGSCALES

E♭ messiaen's mode #3 Scale — Guitar Fretboard Visualization

Low E string: F, Gb, G, A, Bb, Cb, Db, D, Eb at frets 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11

A string: A, Bb, Cb, Db, D, Eb, F, Gb, G, A at frets 0, 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12

D string: D, Eb, F, Gb, G, A, Bb, Cb, Db, D at frets 0, 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12

G string: G, A, Bb, Cb, Db, D, Eb, F, Gb, G at frets 0, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12

B string: Cb, Db, D, Eb, F, Gb, G, A, Bb, Cb at frets 0, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12

High E string: F, Gb, G, A, Bb, Cb, Db, D, Eb at frets 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11

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Eb 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:

E♭

I

F

II

G♭

bIII

G

III

A

#IV

B♭

V

C♭

bVI

D♭

bVII

D

VII

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

tip
  • Learn Eb 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 Eb 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 E♭ messiaen's mode #3 on guitar

Clamp a capo at fret 1 and every D fingering applies, which means transposed shapes need no relearning. Four open strings fall inside the scale, though the root and fifth are not among them, so they colour a line rather than anchor it. Open G is the major third, open D the major seventh. Lowest root lands at fret 11 on the low E, giving box one a ceiling at fret 15. Five flats in the signature.

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