This page contains bebop scale guitar tab, fingerboard diagrams, notation and information. Using these you’ll be able to play all of the forms of this useful scale – all over the neck. Continue reading →

The Gypsy Scale produces a rather beautiful, exotic sound that is seldom heard in western music. On this page you’ll learn how to play the Gypsy scale on guitar (with notation, tab and fretboard diagrams), and you’ll also find out about some similar scales. Continue reading →

On this page you’ll find Mixolydian scale guitar tab, fretboard diagrams and information. We’ll show you how to play a Mixolydian scale on guitar, and what a Mixolydian scale actually is.

• You can find other interesting scales here: Guitar Scales Main Page.
• Download a printable guitar scales book here: Guitar Scales Chart Book.

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Exotic guitar scales can intoduce some real variety into your improvisation and set you apart from the crowd. Many of the exotic guitar scales on this page are from non-Western musical cultures, where there is less emphasis on the major / minor key systems that create the basis of most Western music. Continue reading →

Learn how to play the enigmatic scale on guitar. Notation, tab and fretboard diagram is provided. We’ll also look at how the scale came to be invented. Continue reading →

This page contains information on several Japanese scales, and includes guitar tab and fretboard diagrams.

There are several Western interpretations of Japanese scales. They are all pentatonic (i.e. made up of five notes). Each of them produces a slightly different sound, but all are instantly recognisable as being Japanese in origin. Continue reading →

The Byzantine scale is the same as the Gypsy scale and the double harmonic scale. It is also related to the Phrygian dominant scale.

A quick look at Wikipedia tells me that the Byzantine Empire was ‘was the continuation of the Roman Empire in the East during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul, which had been founded as Byzantium).’ It existed from 330 to 1453 AD.

So there you have it, a history lesson as well as a guitar lesson! This scale’s eastern roots are immediately apparent the moment you start playing with it. It sounds even more exotic than the similar Phrygian dominant scale.

Try this scale over: a major chord with the same root; a power chord / 5th chord with the same root; a minor chord or progression with a root a perfect fourth higher (e.g. use an A Byzantine scale over a Dm chord or progression; or an ‘eastern’-sounding ostinato / riff / unchanging drone accompaniment.

The scale spelling for a Byzantine scale is: 1, b2, 3, 4, 5, b6, 7.

Byzantine Scale TAB & Scale Diagrams

Byzantine Scale TAB

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Byzantine Scale Diagram 1

Byzantine Scale Diagram 2

Byzantine Scale Diagram 3

Byzantine Scale Diagram 4

Byzantine Scale Diagram 5

The Byzantine scale doesn’t exactly fall under the fingers, so take a bit of time practicing it and finding a way of playing it that works for you.

Because it contains the major seventh, rather than the minor seventh of the Phrygian dominant scale, the Byzantine scale sounds even more exotic than the Phrygian dominant.

It’s a great scale to use in order to spice up a standard rock guitar solo, and will really make your audience’s ears prick up!

Learn More Scales!

You’ll find hundreds more guitar scales in Guitar Command’s comprehensive scale reference section.

If you want to become a fretboard wizard, download our printable Guitar Scales book to have all the patterns at your fingertips!