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G hirajoshi Scale — Guitar Fretboard Visualization

Low E string: G, A, Bb, D, Eb at frets 3, 5, 6, 10, 11

A string: A, Bb, D, Eb, G, A at frets 0, 1, 5, 6, 10, 12

D string: D, Eb, G, A, Bb, D at frets 0, 1, 5, 7, 8, 12

G string: G, A, Bb, D, Eb, G at frets 0, 2, 3, 7, 8, 12

B string: D, Eb, G, A, Bb at frets 3, 4, 8, 10, 11

High E string: G, A, Bb, D, Eb at frets 3, 5, 6, 10, 11

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G hirajoshi

The hirajoshi scale is the best known Japanese pentatonic: root, 2nd, flat 3rd, 5th, flat 6th. Each half step resolves downward (b3 to 2, b6 to 5), which creates its elegant, melancholy motion. It has long since escaped traditional koto music: metal and fusion players from Marty Friedman onward mine it for exotic riffs that still sit over a plain minor chord.

it consists of these notes and degrees:

G

I

A

II

B♭

bIII

D

V

E♭

bVI

Same notes, different mode

G hirajoshi 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 iwatoD kumoijoshiEb lydian pentatonic

hirajoshi in all 12 keys, with chords and related scales

tip
  • Practice the two half-step resolutions (b3 (Bb) to II, b6 (Eb) to V); descending through them is the scale's whole elegance.
  • Metal borrows it constantly: riff root, II, b3 (Bb) low on the neck in G, then answer with V and b6 (Eb) an octave up.
  • Map it inside your minor pentatonic box: same root and 5th, with II and b6 (Eb) replacing IV and b7 (F).
  • Let phrases end on II rather than the root occasionally; traditional koto lines often rest away from home.

How to play G hirajoshi on guitar

Open G is a root, the D string adds the fifth and the A string the major second, so three open strings are in the key before you fret. Roots also land at 3 on both E strings. Position one is done by 7, so reaching the A string root at 10 takes a shift. Eb lydian pentatonic maps onto the same shape eight semitones up.

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