STRINGSCALES

G flat three pentatonic Scale — Guitar Fretboard Visualization

Low E string: E, G, A, Bb, D, E at frets 0, 3, 5, 6, 10, 12

A string: A, Bb, D, E, G, A at frets 0, 1, 5, 7, 10, 12

D string: D, E, G, A, Bb, D at frets 0, 2, 5, 7, 8, 12

G string: G, A, Bb, D, E, G at frets 0, 2, 3, 7, 9, 12

B string: D, E, G, A, Bb at frets 3, 5, 8, 10, 11

High E string: E, G, A, Bb, D, E at frets 0, 3, 5, 6, 10, 12

Pick a root note

Pick a scale

G flat three pentatonic

The flat three pentatonic is better known as the Japanese kumoi scale: root, 2nd, flat 3rd, 5th, 6th. It reads as a major pentatonic with the 3rd darkened, or as a five note slice of dorian, and both hearings are useful. The 2nd and 6th around the minor 3rd give it a bright-dark ambiguity that works from folk melodies to fusion lines.

it consists of these notes and degrees:

G

I

A

II

B♭

bIII

D

V

E

VI

Same notes, different mode

G flat three pentatonic 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.

A in-senE locrian pentatonic

flat three pentatonic in all 12 keys, with chords and related scales

tip
  • This is the Japanese kumoi sound: major pentatonic shape with the 3rd darkened to b3 (Bb); play familiar boxes and move one finger.
  • The II to b3 (Bb) half step... use it as a hammer-on ornament; it is the scale's characteristic inflection.
  • Over a m6 chord on G, all five notes are chord tones or colors: no avoid notes, pure vocabulary.
  • Write phrases ending on the 6th (E) over a minor chord for the bright-sad kumoi cadence.

How to play G flat three pentatonic on guitar

Open G is the root of G flat-three pentatonic, and open D, A and both E strings are in the scale too, so five of six open strings back this key up. Open D holds the fifth, which lets root-fifth drones ring while you fret melody higher up. Fretted roots land at fret 3, both E strings. E-shape barre matches at that fret 3, A-shape at fret 10, and the first box shuts at fret 7.

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