STRINGSCALES

F hirajoshi Scale — Guitar Fretboard Visualization

Low E string: F, G, Ab, C, Db at frets 1, 3, 4, 8, 9

A string: C, Db, F, G, Ab at frets 3, 4, 8, 10, 11

D string: F, G, Ab, C, Db at frets 3, 5, 6, 10, 11

G string: G, Ab, C, Db, F, G at frets 0, 1, 5, 6, 10, 12

B string: C, Db, F, G, Ab at frets 1, 2, 6, 8, 9

High E string: F, G, Ab, C, Db at frets 1, 3, 4, 8, 9

Pick a root note

Pick a scale

F 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:

F

I

G

II

A♭

bIII

C

V

D♭

bVI

Same notes, different mode

F 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.

G iwatoC kumoijoshiDb lydian pentatonic

hirajoshi in all 12 keys, with chords and related scales

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

How to play F hirajoshi on guitar

Low E carries the lowest root at 1, and a capo there swaps the whole key for E fingering, so open-position shapes come back into play. Open G alone falls in the key, a major second over the root. A string root at 8 and G string root at 10 sit above the opening shape, so both need a move past 5. C kumoijoshi runs the same box seven semitones away.

homeall scalesaboutfaqpricingmicrotonalterms & conditionsprivacy policycookie policy© 2026 StringScales. All rights reserved.