STRINGSCALES

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

Low E string: E, F, G, Ab, A, B, C, Db, Eb, E at frets 0, 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12

A string: A, B, C, Db, Eb, E, F, G, Ab, A at frets 0, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12

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

G string: G, Ab, A, B, C, Db, Eb, E, F, G at frets 0, 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12

B string: B, C, Db, Eb, E, F, G, Ab, A, B at frets 0, 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12

High E string: E, F, G, Ab, A, B, C, Db, Eb, E at frets 0, 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12

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F 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:

F

I

G

II

A♭

bIII

A

III

B

#IV

C

V

D♭

bVI

E♭

bVII

E

VII

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

tip
  • Learn F 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 F 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 F messiaen's mode #3 on guitar

Lowest root is fret 1 on the low E, so box one sits right at the nut and hands over at fret 5. Capo 1 makes this E fingering, which lets open-position vocabulary carry straight across. Five open strings show up in the key, none of them the root or fifth, meaning they work as passing colour and not as an anchor. Open A is the major third; open G is the second. Three flats in the signature.

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