STRINGSCALES

E♭ messiaen's mode #7 Scale — Guitar Fretboard Visualization

Low E string: Fb, F, Gb, Ab, A, Bb, Cb, C, D, Eb, Fb at frets 0, 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12

A string: A, Bb, Cb, C, D, Eb, Fb, F, Gb, Ab, A at frets 0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12

D string: D, Eb, Fb, F, Gb, Ab, A, Bb, Cb, C, D at frets 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12

G string: Ab, A, Bb, Cb, C, D, Eb, Fb, F, Gb at frets 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11

B string: Cb, C, D, Eb, Fb, F, Gb, Ab, A, Bb, Cb at frets 0, 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12

High E string: Fb, F, Gb, Ab, A, Bb, Cb, C, D, Eb, Fb at frets 0, 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12

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Eb messiaen's mode #7

Messiaen's mode 7 is the largest mode of limited transposition: ten notes, leaving out just one whole-step pair per tritone half. It is nearly chromatic, with symmetry at the tritone and only six distinct transpositions. In practice it works as organized chromaticism: dense clusters and runs that still obey an internal pattern rather than free atonality.

it consists of these notes and degrees:

E♭

I

F♭

bII

F

II

G♭

bIII

A♭

IV

A

#IV

B♭

V

C♭

bVI

C

VI

D

VII

messiaen's mode #7 in all 12 keys, with chords and related scales

tip
  • Ten notes from Eb: think of it as the chromatic scale with one whole-step gap per tritone half; the gaps define it, so phrase around them.
  • Its symmetry at the tritone (A) gives structure to near-chromatic runs: mirror each gesture six frets away.
  • Use it as organized chromaticism for climaxes: scale-wise motion reads as intent where free chromatics read as noise.
  • Extract subsets: any five adjacent tones give a dense cluster scale; contrast two subsets from opposite tritone halves.

How to play E♭ messiaen's mode #7 on guitar

Nearest root waits at fret 1 on the D string, so lines can begin low despite the 6-flat spelling. A capo at fret 1 recasts it all as D fingering, which means the Fb and Cb reading problem disappears. Open low E, A, D, B, and high E carry scale tones, both E strings sounding as Fb. First box stretches out to fret 15.

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