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Guitar scale · exotic

Ab Tritone Scale

Six-note scale 1 ♭2 3 ♯4 5 ♭7. It is made of two major triads a tritone apart.

Notes AbACDEbGb
Formula 1 ♭2 3 ♯4 5 ♭7
Steps H W+H W H W+H W
Mood Symmetrical, Tense, Modern
Heard in Over altered dominant chords, Jazz

Interactive scale diagram

Ab Tritone Scale · Standard tuning

STR OP 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 E A D G B E

Tap any note to hear it.

Ab Tritone Scale tab: all 5 positions

Each tab climbs from the low E string to the high e string. Play it up, then back down.

Position 1 · E shape frets 4–8
e|-------------------------4-5-8-|
B|-----------------------7-------|
G|-----------------5-7-8---------|
D|-----------4-6-7---------------|
A|-------5-6---------------------|
E|-4-5-8-------------------------|
Position 2 · D shape frets 6–10
e|----------------------------8-10-|
B|---------------------7-9-10------|
G|-----------------7-8-------------|
D|----------6-7-10-----------------|
A|------6-9------------------------|
E|-8-10----------------------------|
Position 3 · C shape frets 8–12
e|---------------------------------8-10-11-|
B|----------------------------9-10---------|
G|-----------------------8-11--------------|
D|-----------------10-12-------------------|
A|---------9-11-12-------------------------|
E|-8-10-11---------------------------------|
Position 4 · A shape frets 11–15
e|-------------------------------------11-14-|
B|-------------------------------13-15-------|
G|----------------------11-13-14-------------|
D|----------------12-13----------------------|
A|-------11-12-15----------------------------|
E|-11-14-------------------------------------|
Position 5 · G shape frets 13–17
e|-------------------------------------14-16-17-|
B|-------------------------------15-16----------|
G|----------------------13-14-17----------------|
D|----------------13-16-------------------------|
A|----------15-17-------------------------------|
E|-14-16-17-------------------------------------|

How to play Ab Tritone on guitar

Find the root first: Ab is at fret 4 on the low E string and fret 11 on the A string. The blue notes on the diagram are every Ab on the neck; the gold ones are the rest of the scale's home chord (3, 5, ♭7), the safest notes to land on at the end of a phrase.

Learn it one box at a time. Position 1, the E shape, sits at frets 4–8. Once it's under your fingers, move to position 2 (the D shape) and play the notes the two boxes share, then keep going up the neck. After all five, the scale joins up into one pattern across the whole fretboard.

Degrees

DegreeNote
1 Ab
♭2 A
3 C
♯4 D
5 Eb
♭7 Gb

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Questions

What notes are in the Ab Tritone Scale?
The Ab Tritone Scale has 6 notes: Ab, A, C, D, Eb, Gb.
What is the formula of the tritone scale?
1 ♭2 3 ♯4 5 ♭7, which is the step pattern H W+H W H W+H W (W = whole step, H = half step).
Where do I play Ab Tritone on the guitar?
The root Ab is at fret 4 on the low E string and fret 11 on the A string. Position 1 (the E shape) covers frets 4–8, and four more positions connect it up the neck.

Tritone Scale in every key

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