Chord Colors

A♯ 7#11 Pentatonic scale

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About the A sharp 7#11 Pentatonic scale

A sharp 7#11 Pentatonic is used for jazz and film music that wants a Lydian color. Think of it as a five-note scale with a raised fourth and a major seventh.

Its notes are A, B, D, E, and A. The formula is W W W 5 semitones H.

An unfretted guitar already sounds E, A, and D from the scale. Down at the 1st fret of the A string lies the lowest A a guitar can play. The mode plays in open position, a whole octave of the scale falling within the first three frets.

Positions

Playable shapes for this scale up the neck. Tap any note to hear it.

Pentatonic boxes

The five shapes blues and rock are built on, the first scale most guitarists ever solo with, one box per note up the neck.

Box 1open
Box 2fr 5
Box 3fr 6
Box 4fr 8
Box 5fr 10

Notes and intervals

1A#A♯Root
2B#B♯Major 2nd
3DDMajor 3rd
4EEAugmented 4th
5AAMajor 7th
StepsW W W 5 semitones H
Semitones2-2-2-5-1
Degrees1 2 3 4 7

Shapes

Chromatic

CC♯D♭DD♯E♭EFF♯G♭GG♯A♭AA♯B♭B

Circle of Fifths

CGDAEBF♯G♭C♯D♭G♯A♭D♯E♭A♯B♭F

Related scales

7#11 Pentatonic in other keys

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Bb 7#11 Pentatonic scale on guitar shown as colored note dots
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