Scales › Prometheus (mystic)

Prometheus (mystic) scale

Scriabin's mystic, soaring

Prometheus (mystic) on the guitar: the fretboard diagram

Here is the Prometheus (mystic) scale laid out across the whole neck, from fret 0 to fret 15. The guide tones (3rd and 7th) are highlighted — they're what makes the scale's color sing. Use the key selector above to shift the shape along the neck and find the positions in your key.

What color?

Scriabin's "mystic" scale (R 9 3 #11 13 b7): a bright, soaring hexatonic, close to Lydian dominant without the fifth. An impressionistic, open color.

Origin & history

Alexander Scriabin's "mystic" scale, derived from his "mystic chord." He drew from it the material of his symphonic poem Prometheus: The Poem of Fire (1910), at the edges of tonality.

Listen

• "Prometheus: The Poem of Fire" — Alexander Scriabin

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

Paste a chord chart into the tool: Pentania tells you, chord by chord, when this scale fits — and what other colors are open to you. Open the tool →