Scales › kumoi (Japanese)

kumoi (Japanese) scale

Japanese, minor with a singing thirteenth

What color?

A Japanese pentatonic (R 9 b3 5 13): minor with a bright major sixth, softer and more nostalgic than hirajoshi. Very singable.

Origin & history

A Japanese pentatonic derived from koto tunings. Its bittersweet color is typical of Japanese chamber music.

Which chords to play it on?

Outside the functional consensus: this is an exploration color. Lay it over a vamp or a held chord to tint your improvisation with an unexpected flavor, rather than inside a cadence.

Try it in a real chart

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