Scales › ritsu / yo (Japanese pentatonic)

ritsu / yo (Japanese pentatonic) scale

Japanese yo, bright with no half step

5 notes

RC 9D 11F 5G 13A

guide tones (3rd & 7th — the heart of the sound) avoid (strong clash)

C · D · F · G · A

Play in the key of

ritsu / yo (Japanese pentatonic) on the guitar: the fretboard diagram

Here is the ritsu / yo (Japanese pentatonic) 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.

E 11 5 13 R 9 11 5 B R 9 11 5 13 R 9 G 5 13 R 9 11 5 13 D 9 11 5 13 R 9 11 A 13 R 9 11 5 13 R E 11 5 13 R 9 11 5 0123456789101112131415

What color?

Mode 4 of the major pentatonic (R 9 11 5 13), the Japanese "yo" scale with no half step: bright, open, joyful. The luminous side of the Asian pentatonics.

Origin & history

The Japanese "yo" (or ritsu) scale: a pentatonic without half steps, bright, used in folk music and court music (gagaku). It stands in contrast to the darker "in" scale.

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 →