About the B flat Spanish Heptatonic scale
B 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 B♭ Bebop Locrian with the fourth lowered.
Its notes are B♭, C♭, D♭, D, E♭, F, G♭, and A♭. The formula is H W H H W H W W. It is the third mode of G♭ Bebop Major.
Also called Flamenco Scale and Spanish Eight-Tone.
In B♭ Spanish Heptatonic, the open strings sound D and B. The 1st fret of the A string is the lowest B♭ on the neck. A capo at the first fret brings B♭ Spanish Heptatonic 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 | CbC♭ | Minor 2nd |
| 3 | DbD♭ | Minor 3rd |
| 4 | DD | Major 3rd |
| 5 | EbE♭ | Perfect 4th |
| 6 | FF | Perfect 5th |
| 7 | GbG♭ | Minor 6th |
| 8 | AbA♭ | 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.
Embed this scale
