Rock / Blues Scales & Modes for Guitar:

The Hexatonic Scale for guitar - 1

This article © 2011

A quick word before we start about two ways you can help yourself to become a better guitarist:

• Use guitar software - such as this one (go for the free trial download)
• Take guitar lessons - this guy's good (it's a 'learn guitar online' package)

About the hexatonic scale

Perhaps 'hexatonic' is a scale name you are unfamiliar with. If so, let's unpack what 'hexatonic' means.

"What is the hexatonic scale?"

Most rock / blues guitarists are very familiar with the pentatonic scale. (If you don't know the pentatonic scale, here's a page all about the pentatonic scale for guitar, with fretboard illustrations all the way up the guitar neck).

Pentatonic means five notes to the octave. Any scale with five notes to the octave can be thought of as a pentatonic scale (although there are two forms of pentatonic scale which are very commonly used by blues and rock guitar players - the major pentatonic and minor pentatonic).

In the same way, hexatonic simply means six notes to the octave. So any scale with six notes to the octave can be thought of as a hexatonic scale.

Common forms of the hexatonic scale

Because any 6 note scale can be called a hexatonic scale, there are many varieties of scale which can claim the name of 'hexatonic'. For example, if you were to take a minor pentatonic scale, and add to it a major 2nd, or instead add a major 6th, or indeed add any one other interval, you would have a hexatonic scale.

But these hexatonics are not really unique, they are merely fragments of other scales. A hexatonic scale which is like a pentatonic minor but with a major 2nd added, has notes that all fall within the natural minor scale, it just lacks the minor 6th of the natural minor scale. A hexatonic scale which takes the pentatonic minor and adds a major 6th has notes which are all common to the Dorian mode - it just doesn't have the major 2nd.

Four hexatonic scales every rock / blues guitarist should know

But there are four forms of hexatonic scale which deserve special mention, because they are not merely fragments of other scales. They are:

• the minor pentatonic with added augmented 4th / diminished 5th
• the minor pentatonic with added major 7th
• the major pentatonic with added minor 3rd
• the major pentatonic with added minor 6th

Don't panic!

If the above technical explanations seem daunting, don't worry. In practice, the four hexatonic scales mentioned are very widely used in rock and blues, and you don't need to understand all the theory to be able to apply them. So let's consider each of the four common forms of hexatonic scale in turn, with fretboard illustrations.

On this page, we'll examine the hexatonic scale which is the minor pentatonic with augmented 4th / diminished 5th (aka sharp 4 / flat 5).

Hexatonic scale 1 - minor pentatonic with sharp 4 / flat 5 added

This hexatonic scale simply adds the sharp 4 / flat 5 interval to a minor pentatonic scale. The added note is most often used as a passing note between the perfect 4th and perfect 5th.

From this point on, I'll call this scale the minor hexatonic sharp 4.

The pattern of intervals in the minor hexatonic sharp 4 scale

The intervals of the minor hexatonic sharp 4 scale are as follows: minor 3rd - perfect 4th - augmented 4th/diminished 5th - perfect 5th - minor 7th - octave.

Here's the first position of the minor hexatonic sharp 4, in E minor:

E minor hexatonic sharp 4 - first position

E minor hexatonic sharp 4 - second position

E minor hexatonic sharp 4 - third position

E minor hexatonic sharp 4 - fourth position

E minor hexatonic sharp 4 - fifth position

...And that's the entire fretboard covered as far as positions of the minor hexatonic sharp 4 scale goes. Above the 12th fret the patterns simply repeat.

You'll probably recognise as you practice this scale just how commonly used it is by so many rock and blues guitarists. There is a vast number of rock/blues riffs and solos based around the minor pentatonic scale but with that sharp 4 added as a passing note between the perfect 4th and perfect 5th. Despite having a complicated sounding name, the minor hexatonic sharp 4 scale is certainly very useable.

Rock/blues guitar riffs which use the minor hexatonic sharp 4 scale

Below are some examples of riffs by well know rock / blues guitar players which use the minor hexatonic sharp 4 scale:

• The riff in "Who Knows" by Band of Gypsies (Jimi Hendrix)
• The riff in "Sunshine of Your Love" by Cream (Eric Clapton)
• The riff in "The Wanton Song" by Led Zeppelin (Jimmy Page)
• The riff in "Heartbreaker" by Led Zeppelin (Jimmy Page)
• The riff in "Walk This Way" by Aerosmith (Joe Perry)

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