Double harmonic (Byzantine) scale in C on electric guitar
Double harmonic (Byzantine) scale in C: C, Db, E, F, G, Ab and B, the degrees 1–b2–3–4–5–b6–7. The box shown is in open position, from the open strings up to fret 4; the lowest tonic sits on the 5th string, fret 3, and the hand stays put in the region, with no position shift.
On electric guitar, the slimmer neck invites legato — the same fingering runs with less effort, and the high positions stay comfortable. Plugged into an amp, each chord sustains for as long as you hold it, and the tone — clean or driven — shapes the whole sound.
Climb it slowly and name each degree out loud before speeding up.
Text description
Open strings and frets 1 to 4, 6 strings. Root (C): string 5, fret 3 and string 2, fret 1.
- String 6 (E): open, E, third; fret 1, F, fourth, finger 1; fret 3, G, fifth, finger 3; fret 4, A flat, flat sixth, finger 4
- String 5 (A): fret 2, B, seventh, finger 2; fret 3, C, root, finger 3; fret 4, D flat, flat second, finger 4
- String 4 (D): fret 2, E, third, finger 2; fret 3, F, fourth, finger 3
- String 3 (G): open, G, fifth; fret 1, A flat, flat sixth, finger 1; fret 4, B, seventh, finger 4
- String 2 (B): open, B, seventh; fret 1, C, root, finger 1; fret 2, D flat, flat second, finger 2
- String 1 (E): open, E, third; fret 1, F, fourth, finger 1; fret 3, G, fifth, finger 3; fret 4, A flat, flat sixth, finger 4
Read the dots by degree: 1 is the tonic (highlighted); the rest follow the scale's formula.
See the full explanation of the double harmonic (Byzantine) scale →