Guitar scale · exotic
Eb Oriental Scale
Mode 5 of Double Harmonic Major: a dominant-sounding scale with ♭2, ♭5, a major 6th and ♭7.
Tap any note to hear it.
Eb Oriental Scale tab: all 5 positions
Each tab climbs from the low E string to the high e string. Play it up, then back down.
e|-------------------------------------------11-12-15-| B|-------------------------------------13-14----------| G|----------------------------12-13-14----------------| D|-------------------11-13-14-------------------------| A|----------11-12-15----------------------------------| E|-11-12-15-------------------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------------------15-16-17-| B|----------------------------------14-16-17----------| G|-------------------------13-14-17-------------------| D|----------------13-14-17----------------------------| A|----------15-16-------------------------------------| E|-15-16-17-------------------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------------------15-16-17-| B|-------------------------------------16-17----------| G|-------------------------------17-18----------------| D|----------------------17-18-19----------------------| A|----------15-16-18-19-------------------------------| E|-15-16-17-------------------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------------------20-21-| B|----------------------------------20-21-22-------| G|-------------------------18-20-21----------------| D|----------------18-19-22-------------------------| A|-------18-19-22----------------------------------| E|-20-21-------------------------------------------|
e|----------------------------20-21-| B|-------------------20-21-22-------| G|-------------20-21----------------| D|----------22----------------------| A|-------22-------------------------| E|-20-21----------------------------|
How to play Eb Oriental on guitar
Find the root first: Eb is at fret 11 on the low E string and fret 6 on the A string. The blue notes on the diagram are every Eb on the neck; the gold ones are the rest of the scale's home chord (3, ♭5, ♭7), 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 11–15. 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
| Degree | Note |
|---|---|
| 1 | Eb |
| ♭2 | Fb |
| 3 | G |
| 4 | Ab |
| ♭5 | A |
| 6 | C |
| ♭7 | Db |
Chords in Eb Oriental
Stack every other note of the scale and you get these seven chords. They are the chords that sound "at home" in Eb Oriental; tap one to see its shapes.
| Degree | Chord | 7th chord | Function |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | — | — | Tonic |
| ♭II+ | Fbaug | Fbmaj7#5 | Supertonic |
| III | — | — | Mediant |
| IV | Ab | Abmaj7 | Subdominant |
| ♭V | A | Amaj7 | Dominant |
| vi | Cm | — | Submediant |
| ♭vii | Dbm | Dbm(maj7) | Leading tone / subtonic |
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Practise Eb Oriental anywhere, even offline.
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Questions
- What notes are in the Eb Oriental Scale?
- The Eb Oriental Scale has 7 notes: Eb, Fb, G, Ab, A, C, Db.
- What chords are in the Eb Oriental Scale?
- The chords of Eb Oriental are Fbaug (♭II+), Ab (IV), A (♭V), Cm (vi), Dbm (♭vii).
- What is the formula of the oriental scale?
- 1 ♭2 3 4 ♭5 6 ♭7, which is the step pattern H W+H H H W+H H W (W = whole step, H = half step).
- Where do I play Eb Oriental on the guitar?
- The root Eb is at fret 11 on the low E string and fret 6 on the A string. Position 1 (the E shape) covers frets 11–15, and four more positions connect it up the neck.