Low E string: F, Gb, Abb, Bbb, Cb, Db, Ebb at frets 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 10
A string: Bbb, Cb, Db, Ebb, F, Gb, Abb, Bbb at frets 0, 2, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 12
D string: Ebb, F, Gb, Abb, Bbb, Cb, Db, Ebb at frets 0, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, 12
G string: Abb, Bbb, Cb, Db, Ebb, F, Gb, Abb at frets 0, 2, 4, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12
B string: Cb, Db, Ebb, F, Gb, Abb, Bbb, Cb at frets 0, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12
High E string: F, Gb, Abb, Bbb, Cb, Db, Ebb at frets 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 10
The balinese scale as catalogued here is a seven note set identical to the neapolitan minor scale: root, flat 2nd, flat 3rd, 4th, 5th, flat 6th, major 7th. The name nods to the pelog-flavored half steps around the root and 5th rather than to an actual gamelan tuning, which does not fit Western frets. Expect a dark minor sound with an unexpectedly bright leading tone.
it consists of these notes and degrees:
i
bII
bIII+
iv
V
bVI
VII
Same notes, different mode
Gb balinese 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.
How to play G♭ balinese on guitar
Two frets of capo put this in E fingering, which lets a familiar box carry the whole key. Open A, D, G and B strings all land in the key, at the minor third, minor sixth, minor second and perfect fourth. Six flats sit in the signature. Low E holds the deepest root at 2, and the box stops at 6, so the G string root at 11 belongs to another position.
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