A Balinese Guitar Scale

A Balinese Scale — Notes and Intervals

The A Balinese scale is a traditional five-note tuning from the Gamelan tradition, also known as Pelog. On Guitar, it contains the notes A, Bb, C, D, E, F, G#. It creates a dark, meditative, and distinctively Southeast Asian atmosphere that sounds haunting and shimmering. Commonly used in Gamelan, World, Ambient, Film Scores. Notable players include Colin McPhee, Steve Reich. Use over drones and sustained bass notes. Traditional Gamelan music doesn't use chords — the scale is inherently melodic and interlocking.

Notes: A, Bb, C, D, E, F, G#

Intervals: 1P, 2m, 3m, 4P, 5P, 6m, 7M

Degrees: 1 b2 b3 4 5 b6 7

Formula: H-W-W-W-H-WH-H

Number of notes: 7

Musical Character

A Pelog-related tuning from Balinese Gamelan that creates a dark, meditative atmosphere with its distinctively non-Western intervals.

Genres & Notable Artists

Genres: Gamelan, World, Ambient, Film Scores

Notable players: Colin McPhee, Steve Reich

How to Use the A Balinese Scale

Use over drones and sustained bass notes. Traditional Gamelan music doesn't use chords — the scale is inherently melodic and interlocking.

Origin & Background

From the Gamelan tradition of Bali. The Pelog tuning system uses intervals that don't exist in Western equal temperament.

How to Play A Balinese on Guitar

Place your index finger at fret 5 on the 6th (low E) to find your A root note. Use a three-notes-per-string fingering to cover the full scale in one position, or learn the CAGED shapes to navigate the entire fretboard. An alternative starting point is open position using open A string.

The A Balinese scale contains both sharps and flats (1 sharp, 1 flat), which is common in altered and exotic scales. This scale does not follow a traditional major or minor key signature, so reading from sheet music may require accidentals.

Practice Routine

Begin by playing the A Balinese scale ascending and descending at 80 BPM using a metronome, one note per beat. Once comfortable, practice in thirds (A-C, Bb-D) to build intervallic familiarity. Spend 5 minutes daily on this pattern before increasing tempo by 10 BPM.

Exotic scales like the Balinese often work best as a melodic layer over a single root drone on A. Let the unique intervals speak for themselves without frequent chord changes. This scale is especially effective in ambient contexts.

Guitar Tips

Use hybrid picking (pick + fingers) when playing the A Balinese scale on guitar to access wider intervals and string skips that a pick alone cannot handle efficiently. Aim for a meditative quality in your phrasing to match the natural character of this scale.

Related Scales

• A Pelog
• A In-sen
• A Hirajoshi

The A Balinese scale contains 7 notes (A, Bb, C, D, E, F, G#). Use the interactive fretboard above to explore this scale on Guitar with different tunings and fret ranges.

CAGED Positions & Patterns for A Balinese

The A Balinese scale can be played in 5 CAGED positions across the fretboard, each based on an open chord shape (C, A, G, E, D). As a 7-note scale, it also lends itself to 3-notes-per-string (3NPS) patterns that facilitate legato playing and diagonal shifting. Use the pattern selector above to isolate each position.

Explore A Balinese Further

• Harmonize the A Balinese scale — triads & 7th chords
• Browse chord progressions
• A Balinese on Ukulele
• A Balinese on Bass
• A Balinese on Piano

Explore A Balinese in Other Tunings

• A Balinese in Drop D (E-B-G-D-A-D)
• A Balinese in DADGAD (D-A-G-D-A-D)
• A Balinese in Open G (D-B-G-D-G-D)
• A Balinese in Baritone (B Standard) (B-F#-D-A-E-B)
• A Balinese in 7-string (E-B-G-D-A-E-B)
• A Balinese in 8-string (E-B-G-D-A-E-B-F#)
• A Balinese in Drop C (D-A-F-C-G-C)
• A Balinese in Drop B (C#-G#-E-B-F#-B)
• A Balinese in Open D (D-A-F#-D-A-D)
• A Balinese in Half Step Down (Eb-Bb-Gb-Db-Ab-Eb)
• A Balinese in Open E (E-B-G#-E-B-E)
• A Balinese in Open A (E-C#-A-E-A-E)
• A Balinese in Double Drop D (D-B-G-D-A-D)
• A Balinese in Open C (E-C-G-C-G-C)

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