Guitar scale · exotic
Bb Oriental Scale
Mode 5 of Double Harmonic Major: a dominant-sounding scale with ♭2, ♭5, a major 6th and ♭7.
Tap any note to hear it.
Bb Oriental Scale tab: all 5 positions
Each tab climbs from the low E string to the high e string. Play it up, then back down.
e|-------------------------------6-7-10-| B|---------------------------8-9--------| G|---------------------7-8-9------------| D|---------------6-8-9------------------| A|--------6-7-10------------------------| E|-6-7-10-------------------------------|
e|--------------------------------------10-11-12-| B|------------------------------9-11-12----------| G|-----------------------8-9-12------------------| D|----------------8-9-12-------------------------| A|----------10-11--------------------------------| E|-10-11-12--------------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------------------10-11-12-| B|-------------------------------------11-12----------| G|-------------------------------12-13----------------| D|----------------------12-13-14----------------------| A|----------10-11-13-14-------------------------------| E|-10-11-12-------------------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------------------15-16-| B|----------------------------------15-16-17-------| G|-------------------------13-15-16----------------| D|----------------13-14-17-------------------------| A|-------13-14-17----------------------------------| E|-15-16-------------------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------------------15-16-18-19-| B|-------------------------------------16-17-------------| G|----------------------------15-16-19-------------------| D|----------------------17-18----------------------------| A|-------------17-18-19----------------------------------| E|-15-16-18-19-------------------------------------------|
How to play Bb Oriental on guitar
Find the root first: Bb is at fret 6 on the low E string and fret 1 on the A string. The blue notes on the diagram are every Bb 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 6–10. 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
| Degree | Note |
|---|---|
| 1 | Bb |
| ♭2 | Cb |
| 3 | D |
| 4 | Eb |
| ♭5 | Fb |
| 6 | G |
| ♭7 | Ab |
Chords in Bb Oriental
Stack every other note of the scale and you get these seven chords. They are the chords that sound "at home" in Bb Oriental; tap one to see its shapes.
| Degree | Chord | 7th chord | Function |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | — | — | Tonic |
| ♭II+ | Cbaug | Cbmaj7#5 | Supertonic |
| III | — | — | Mediant |
| IV | Eb | Ebmaj7 | Subdominant |
| ♭V | Fb | Fbmaj7 | Dominant |
| vi | Gm | — | Submediant |
| ♭vii | Abm | Abm(maj7) | Leading tone / subtonic |
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Practise Bb Oriental anywhere, even offline.
This page is a small slice of Fretwise. The app adds practice: exercises that play as tab, a new routine every day, and the tools to tune and keep time. On iPhone, iPad and Android, no sign-up.
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Questions
- What notes are in the Bb Oriental Scale?
- The Bb Oriental Scale has 7 notes: Bb, Cb, D, Eb, Fb, G, Ab.
- What chords are in the Bb Oriental Scale?
- The chords of Bb Oriental are Cbaug (♭II+), Eb (IV), Fb (♭V), Gm (vi), Abm (♭vii).
- What is the formula of the oriental scale?
- 1 ♭2 3 4 ♭5 6 ♭7, which is the step pattern H W+H H H W+H H W (W = whole step, H = half step).
- Where do I play Bb Oriental on the guitar?
- The root Bb is at fret 6 on the low E string and fret 1 on the A string. Position 1 (the E shape) covers frets 6–10, and four more positions connect it up the neck.