About the B flat Algerian scale
B flat Algerian is used for North African flavored and cinematic music. Think of it as an ornate eight-note scale, a harmonic minor with an extra raised fourth. It is B♭ Diminished with the sixth lowered.
Its notes are B♭, C, D♭, E♭, E, F, G♭, and A. The formula is W H W H H H 1½ H. It is the fourth mode of F Bebop Altered.
The open-string notes E and A all sit inside this mode. On guitar, the deepest B♭ within reach is the 1st fret of the A string. A capo at the first fret brings B♭ Algerian within reach of A-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 | BbB♭ | Root |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | CC | Major 2nd |
| 3 | DbD♭ | Minor 3rd |
| 4 | EbE♭ | Perfect 4th |
| 5 | EE | Augmented 4th |
| 6 | FF | Perfect 5th |
| 7 | GbG♭ | Minor 6th |
| 8 | AA | Major 7th |
| Steps | W H W H H H 1½ H |
|---|---|
| Semitones | 2-1-2-1-1-1-3-1 |
| Degrees | 1 2 ♭3 4 ♯4 5 ♭6 7 |
Shapes
Chromatic
Circle of Fifths
Related scales
Algerian in other keys
Modes
The same notes, starting on a different note.
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