Scales
Bb Messiaen's Mode #5 Scale
Bb · Cb · Eb · E · F · A
Bb Messiaen's Mode #5 is a scale built on Bb with the notes Bb · Cb · Eb · E · F · A.
Bb Messiaen's Mode #5 Scale
Bb · Cb · Eb · E · F · A
Fingering on the piano
| Hand | Fingering | Notes | Play it on your instrument |
|---|---|---|---|
| Right hand | 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 | Bb · Cb · Eb · E · F · A · Bb | |
| Left hand | 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 | Bb · Cb · Eb · E · F · A · Bb |
One octave ascending; 1 is the thumb. A standard fingering, not the only one.
Tap a key or a fret to hear it.
Scale degrees
Bb Messiaen's Mode #5 is made of the notes Bb · Cb · Eb · E · F · A. Each is a degree counted from the tonic, and the gaps between them are the step pattern H 2 H H 2 H.
Read on: scale degrees · building any scale · pentatonic and blues scales
Related scales
Bb Messiaen's Mode #5 is a selection of notes from larger scales rather than a seven-note scale of its own, so it has no chords of its own: it takes them from the scales that contain it, listed here with the scales it contains and its related keys.
Scales that contain it
Bb Messiaen's Mode #4Bb · Cb · C · Eb · E · F · Gb · A
Contains every note of Bb Messiaen's Mode #5.
Bb Purvi RagaBb · Cb · D · Eb · E · F · Gb · A
Contains every note of Bb Messiaen's Mode #5.
Bb Messiaen's Mode #7Bb · Cb · C · Db · Eb · E · F · Gb · G · A
Contains every note of Bb Messiaen's Mode #5.
Bb ChromaticBb · Cb · C · Db · D · Eb · Fb · F · Gb · G · Ab · A
Contains every note of Bb Messiaen's Mode #5.
Common questions
- How do I play Bb Messiaen's Mode #5?
- On guitar start with the 1st position, played from the lowest string upward; the instrument panel on this page shows its frets and the positions further up the neck. On the piano the right hand ascends 3 1 2 3 1 2 3, with 1 as the thumb. Every position plays when you press it.
- What notes are in Bb Messiaen's Mode #5?
- Bb Messiaen's Mode #5 contains the notes Bb · Cb · Eb · E · F · A, measured from the tonic Bb as the intervals 1P, 2m, 4P, 4A, 5P, 7M. Play them in order for the scale: every note on this page sounds when you tap it, and the step pattern under the degrees shows the distance from each note to the next.
- What is the formula of Bb Messiaen's Mode #5?
- From Bb the steps run H 2 H H 2 H, where a whole step is two frets or two keys and a half step one. Apply the same pattern from any other note and you get the same scale on that root, which is why every root of this scale has a page here.