STRINGSCALES

G♭ messiaen's mode #6 Scale — Guitar Fretboard Visualization

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

A string: Bb, Cb, C, D, E, F, Gb, Ab at frets 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11

D string: D, E, F, Gb, Ab, Bb, Cb, C, D at frets 0, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12

G string: Ab, Bb, Cb, C, D, E, F, Gb at frets 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11

B string: Cb, C, D, E, F, Gb, Ab, Bb, Cb at frets 0, 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12

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

Pick a root note

Pick a scale

Gb messiaen's mode #6

Messiaen's mode 6 is an eight note mode of limited transposition: whole, whole, half, half, repeated twice, repeating at the tritone. It merges whole tone motion with chromatic braking points, so lines glide and then suddenly snag. Like all these modes its transpositions are limited (six here), which is exactly what gives music built on it its circling, suspended quality.

it consists of these notes and degrees:

G♭

I

A♭

II

B♭

III

C♭

IV

C

#IV

D

#V

E

#VI

F

VII

messiaen's mode #6 in all 12 keys, with chords and related scales

tip
  • The cell is whole-whole-half-half twice per octave starting from Gb: whole tone gliding that keeps snagging on chromatic brakes.
  • It repeats at the tritone (six transpositions); build phrases that answer themselves six frets away.
  • Alternate whole-step slides with half-step resolutions to dramatize the two interval characters inside one line.
  • Both the natural 4th (B) and raised 4th (C) are present: rock them against each other over a root pedal on Gb.

How to play G♭ messiaen's mode #6 on guitar

Fret 2 on both E strings carries the Gb barre and gives the lowest-numbered roots on the neck, so first position already has the tonic under it. Capo 2 restores E fingering, which lets you play the whole key out of a shape you already know. Both E strings sit an augmented sixth from the tonic, the open D an augmented fifth and the open B a perfect fourth, none of them the root or the fifth. Further roots appear at 7, 9 and 11.

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