B Whole Tone Pentatonic Guitar Scale — Drop B

Guitar scale in Drop B tuning — fretboard diagram

B Whole Tone Pentatonic in Drop B — Notes and Intervals

The B Whole Tone Pentatonic scale is a weightless and tonally ambiguous five-note scale. On Guitar, the notes are B, D#, F, G, A. Because it lacks a traditional center, it creates a blurring effect, making it highly effective for dream sequences, transitions, and creating a sense of suspended reality in film scores. Commonly used in Film Scores, Ambient, Impressionist, Experimental. Notable players include Claude Debussy, Bill Frisell. Use over augmented chords, whole tone passages. Effective for creating a sense of suspended reality.

Notes: B, D#, F, G, A

Intervals: 1P, 3M, 5d, 6m, 7m

Degrees: 1 2 3 b4 b5

Formula: 4-W-W-W-W

Number of notes: 5

Tuning: Drop B (B-F#-B-E-G#-C#)

About Drop B Tuning

Drop B tuning (B-F#-B-E-G#-C#) takes the guitar into territory traditionally reserved for 7-string instruments, delivering a subsonic heaviness that you can feel in your chest. This tuning has become essential in modern extreme metal, deathcore, and djent, where low-end clarity and rhythmic precision are paramount.

Drop B represents the practical limit of what a standard 6-string guitar can handle before tone quality degrades. With the right string gauge (12-60 or heavier) and proper setup, it delivers the crushing lows of a 7-string while keeping the familiar 6-string layout. Bands like Architects, Periphery (on some tracks), and Parkway Drive have used Drop B to create some of the heaviest riffs in modern metal.

DeathcoreDjentProgressive MetalExtreme MetalMetalcore

Notable artists: Architects, Parkway Drive, Whitechapel, Born of Osiris, Emmure

Best for: Extreme metal riffs, deathcore breakdowns, djent chugs, and any style demanding the lowest possible 6-string tuning

Explore This Scale in Other Tunings

← All Guitar scales in Drop B tuning