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Guitar scale · pentatonic & blues

F# Yo Scale

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

Notes F#G#BC#D#
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

F# 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.

F# 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 2–5
e|-----------------2-4-|
B|-------------2-4-----|
G|-----------4---------|
D|---------4-----------|
A|-----2-4-------------|
E|-2-4-----------------|
Position 2 · D shape frets 4–7
e|---------------------4-7-|
B|-----------------4-7-----|
G|-------------4-6---------|
D|---------4-6-------------|
A|-----4-6-----------------|
E|-4-7---------------------|
Position 3 · C shape frets 6–9
e|---------------------7-9-|
B|-----------------7-9-----|
G|-------------6-8---------|
D|---------6-9-------------|
A|-----6-9-----------------|
E|-7-9---------------------|
Position 4 · A shape frets 9–12
e|------------------------9-11-|
B|-------------------9-12------|
G|----------------11-----------|
D|-----------9-11--------------|
A|------9-11-------------------|
E|-9-11------------------------|
Position 5 · G shape frets 11–14
e|-------------------------------11-14-|
B|-------------------------12-14-------|
G|-------------------11-13-------------|
D|-------------11-13-------------------|
A|-------11-14-------------------------|
E|-11-14-------------------------------|

How to play F# Yo on guitar

Find the root first: F# is at fret 2 on the low E string and fret 9 on the A string. The blue notes on the diagram are every F# 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 2–5. 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 F#
2 G#
4 B
5 C#
6 D#

Fretwise · Free on iPhone & Android

Practise F# 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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  • Maqam & makam between the frets, and the Name the Note quiz

One purchase

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  • Chord & Scale Finder: tap the neck, get the name
  • Theory Lab and the Progression Builder with 51 genre loops
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Questions

What notes are in the F# Yo Scale?
The F# Yo Scale has 5 notes: F#, G#, B, C#, D#.
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 F# Yo on the guitar?
The root F# is at fret 2 on the low E string and fret 9 on the A string. Position 1 (the E shape) covers frets 2–5, and four more positions connect it up the neck.

Yo Scale in every key

More scales in F#