Chord Colors

F Vietnamese scale

357912

About the F Vietnamese scale

F Vietnamese is used for Vietnamese-flavored and folk melodies. Think of it as a dark five-note scale with a minor third and flat sixth.

Its notes are F, A, B, C, and D. The formula is 1½ W W H 4 semitones.

The lowest F on a standard-tuned guitar sits at the 1st fret of the low E string. F Vietnamese runs a complete octave from root to root inside 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 1fr 1
Box 2fr 4
Box 3fr 6
Box 4fr 8
Box 5fr 9

Notes and intervals

1FFRoot
2AbA♭Minor 3rd
3BbB♭Perfect 4th
4CCPerfect 5th
5DbD♭Minor 6th
Steps1½ W W H 4 semitones
Semitones3-2-2-1-4
Degrees1 3 4 5 6

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

Vietnamese in other keys

Embed this scale

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F Vietnamese scale on guitar shown as colored note dots
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