About the A flat Spanish Heptatonic scale
A flat Spanish Heptatonic is used for flamenco and Spanish-flavored music. Think of it as the Spanish gypsy scale, a phrygian dominant filled out to eight notes. It is A♭ Bebop Locrian with the fourth lowered.
Its notes are A♭, A, C♭, C, D♭, E♭, F♭, and G♭. The formula is H W H H W H W W. It is the third mode of F♭ Bebop Major.
Also called Flamenco Scale and Spanish Eight-Tone.
An unfretted guitar already sounds E, A, and B from the mode. The lowest A♭ on a standard-tuned guitar sits at the 4th fret of the low E string. A capo at the first fret lets a guitarist play A♭ Spanish Heptatonic with 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 | AA | Minor 2nd |
| 3 | CbC♭ | Minor 3rd |
| 4 | CC | Major 3rd |
| 5 | DbD♭ | Perfect 4th |
| 6 | EbE♭ | Perfect 5th |
| 7 | FbF♭ | Minor 6th |
| 8 | GbG♭ | Minor 7th |
| Steps | H W H H W H W W |
|---|---|
| Semitones | 1-2-1-1-2-1-2-2 |
| Degrees | 1 ♭2 ♭3 3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7 |
Shapes
Chromatic
Circle of Fifths
Related scales
Spanish Heptatonic in other keys
Modes
The same notes, starting on a different note.
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