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Guitar scale · pentatonic & blues

Ab Yo Scale

Pentatonic scale 1 2 4 5 6 with no half steps and no 3rd. It is called ritusen in Indian music.

Notes AbBbDbEbF
Formula 1 2 4 5 6
Steps W W+H W W W+H
Mood Open, Calm, Folk-like
Heard in Folk-inspired Melodies, Modal Improvisation

Interactive scale diagram

Ab Yo Scale · Standard tuning

STR OP 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 E A D G B E

Tap any note to hear it.

Ab Yo Scale tab: all 5 positions

Each tab climbs from the low E string to the high e string. Play it up, then back down.

Position 1 · E shape frets 4–7
e|-----------------4-6-|
B|-------------4-6-----|
G|-----------6---------|
D|---------6-----------|
A|-----4-6-------------|
E|-4-6-----------------|
Position 2 · D shape frets 6–9
e|---------------------6-9-|
B|-----------------6-9-----|
G|-------------6-8---------|
D|---------6-8-------------|
A|-----6-8-----------------|
E|-6-9---------------------|
Position 3 · C shape frets 8–11
e|--------------------------9-11-|
B|---------------------9-11------|
G|----------------8-10-----------|
D|-----------8-11----------------|
A|------8-11---------------------|
E|-9-11--------------------------|
Position 4 · A shape frets 11–14
e|----------------------------11-13-|
B|----------------------11-14-------|
G|-------------------13-------------|
D|-------------11-13----------------|
A|-------11-13----------------------|
E|-11-13----------------------------|
Position 5 · G shape frets 13–16
e|-------------------------------13-16-|
B|-------------------------14-16-------|
G|-------------------13-15-------------|
D|-------------13-15-------------------|
A|-------13-16-------------------------|
E|-13-16-------------------------------|

How to play Ab Yo on guitar

Find the root first: Ab is at fret 4 on the low E string and fret 11 on the A string. The blue notes on the diagram are every Ab on the neck; the gold ones are the rest of the scale's home chord (4, 5), the safest notes to land on at the end of a phrase.

Learn it one box at a time. Position 1, the E shape, sits at frets 4–7. Once it's under your fingers, move to position 2 (the D shape) and play the notes the two boxes share, then keep going up the neck. After all five, the scale joins up into one pattern across the whole fretboard.

Degrees

DegreeNote
1 Ab
2 Bb
4 Db
5 Eb
6 F

Fretwise · Free on iPhone & Android

Practise Ab Yo anywhere, even offline.

This page is a small slice of Fretwise. The app adds practice: exercises that play as tab, a new routine every day, and the tools to tune and keep time. On iPhone, iPad and Android, no sign-up.

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Questions

What notes are in the Ab Yo Scale?
The Ab Yo Scale has 5 notes: Ab, Bb, Db, Eb, F.
What is the formula of the yo scale?
1 2 4 5 6, which is the step pattern W W+H W W W+H (W = whole step, H = half step).
Where do I play Ab Yo on the guitar?
The root Ab is at fret 4 on the low E string and fret 11 on the A string. Position 1 (the E shape) covers frets 4–7, and four more positions connect it up the neck.

Yo Scale in every key

More scales in Ab