About the A flat Ichikosucho (Japanese) scale
A flat Ichikosucho (Japanese) is used for traditional Japanese and film music. Think of it as a major scale with an added flat fifth passing tone. It is A♭ Bebop Major with the sixth lowered.
Its notes are A♭, B♭, C, D♭, D, E♭, F, and G. The formula is W W H H H W W H. It is the fourth mode of E♭ Bebop Dominant.
Two open-string notes belong to A♭ Ichikosucho (Japanese), namely D and G. The lowest A♭ on a standard-tuned guitar sits at the 4th fret of the low E string. A capo at the first fret brings A♭ Ichikosucho (Japanese) within reach of G-shape fingerings.
Positions
Playable shapes for this scale up the neck. Tap any note to hear it.
8-position system
8 four-fret boxes, one per scale degree, each a single hand position with almost no shifting. The jazz and classical way, from William Leavitt's Berklee method.
Notes and intervals
| 1 | AbA♭ | Root |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | BbB♭ | Major 2nd |
| 3 | CC | Major 3rd |
| 4 | DbD♭ | Perfect 4th |
| 5 | DD | Diminished 5th |
| 6 | EbE♭ | Perfect 5th |
| 7 | FF | Major 6th |
| 8 | GG | Major 7th |
| Steps | W W H H H W W H |
|---|---|
| Semitones | 2-2-1-1-1-2-2-1 |
| Degrees | 1 2 3 4 ♭5 5 6 7 |
Shapes
Chromatic
Circle of Fifths
Related scales
Ichikosucho (Japanese) in other keys
Modes
The same notes, starting on a different note.
Embed this scale
