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.
Notes and intervals
| 1 | A#A♯ | Root |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | B#B♯ | Major 2nd |
| 3 | DD | Major 3rd |
| 4 | EE | Augmented 4th |
| 5 | AA | Major 7th |
| Steps | W W W 5 semitones H |
|---|---|
| Semitones | 2-2-2-5-1 |
| Degrees | 1 2 3 ♯4 7 |
Shapes
Chromatic
Circle of Fifths