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F ritusen Scale — Guitar Fretboard Visualization

Low E string: F, G, Bb, C, D at frets 1, 3, 6, 8, 10

A string: Bb, C, D, F, G at frets 1, 3, 5, 8, 10

D string: D, F, G, Bb, C, D at frets 0, 3, 5, 8, 10, 12

G string: G, Bb, C, D, F, G at frets 0, 3, 5, 7, 10, 12

B string: C, D, F, G, Bb at frets 1, 3, 6, 8, 11

High E string: F, G, Bb, C, D at frets 1, 3, 6, 8, 10

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F ritusen

The ritusen scale is the Japanese ritsu pentatonic: root, 2nd, 4th, 5th and 6th. It contains the same pitches as the major pentatonic starting a fourth higher, but centering them here gives an open, suspended sound with no 3rd at all. That neutrality is what makes it feel calm and folk-like, and it doubles as a sus-chord vocabulary in modern playing.

it consists of these notes and degrees:

F

I

G

II

B♭

IV

C

V

D

VI

Same notes, different mode

F ritusen 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 minor pentatonicBb major pentatonicC egyptianD malkos raga

ritusen in all 12 keys, with chords and related scales

tip
  • The ritsu sound is the open 2nd and 6th around the missing 3rd: no major, no minor, just calm; keep harmonies to 4ths and 5ths.
  • It shares its pitches with the major pentatonic a 4th above F: same notes, different home, so borrow every fingering.
  • Over a sus2 or bare-5th drone, every note lands; it is a folk melody generator with no wrong choices.
  • Contrast register: low root-and-5th ostinato, high II-IV-VI melodic cells... the scale's serenity comes from that spacing.

How to play F ritusen on guitar

G minor pentatonic and this key share one box, tonic two semitones apart, so a shape from the first year of playing does the job. Open D and open G carry scale tones. Roots take fret 1 on both E strings, 8 on the A, 3 on the D. One flat in the signature and a box that quits at 5, which means the hand moves early and often.

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