Surely most of you know some of these scales... This is some basic information I found in web pages and magazines. These scales are not very difficult to play and I think it worths the effort trying.

They are mainly pentatonic. The most popular is known as Hirajoshi or as Kumoi. Anyway, both are incorrect, since they are names for koto and shamisen tunnings whose notes are equal. The real name for this scale is YONA-NUKI, which means “no fourth and no seventh”:

Yona nuki : 1 2 b3 5 b6 ; very similar to the minor mode
The modes of this scale will provide different sounds. Fourth mode seems to be very appreciated too.

4Th mode(aka HON-KUMOI): 1 b2 4 5 b6 ; like a phrigian mode without b3 and b7. Since it has no third, it can “substitute” a phrigian minor or a phrigian dominant.

The five modes of Yona-Nuki will have this intervals:
1 2 b3 5 b6 – Hirajoshi, used for koto and shamisen
1 b2 4 b5 b7 - Iwato, again a koto tunning and a scale; similar to locrian mode
1 3 4 6 7 - I’ve seen this named Kumoi
1 b2 4 5 b6 - “japanese phrigian”
1 3 #4 5 7 - aka. Sino-Hindu scale, but has an indian name too: Amritavarsini

There is another scale which involves an intresting use, since it has its "descending" version: "IN SEN” pentatonic – 1 b2 4 5 b7 (ascending), 1 b2 4 5 b6 (descending - 4th mode of YonaNuki). If you put together these notes, a phrigian mode without b3 will result. You can play IN-SEN modes too if you want.
I also found a scale similar to a supended pentatonic: 1 2 4 5 6, YO scale; it seems shakuhachi (large bamboo flutes) used ones like this.

When playing this, you can pluck near the bridge for a sharp sound, make quarter tone bendings, slides, ringing arpeggios, laying notes together for chords, add passing notes... These scales have been used in jazz too.
Well, I hope it’s not too long and I hope you can make use of this when improvising or creating melodies.

Interesting stuff and thanx for posting. I posted a thread called 'exotic scales' a while back where I posted fingerings of some Eastern scales all around the fifth fret as an example. You can find this thread in the 'Music Theory and Technique' category. :)

Ok. I'll check at it again.

Some times there are several names for the same things in music: that puzzles me a lot!

Oh man, this is some intense stuff. This was a great post, and I'll be sure to implement some of this stuff very soon! I never thought of the modes of the yona-nuki, but that's a very interesting concept.

Nice thanks for posting.

Just to check i'm doing this right, would the yona nuki when played starting from 8th fret low e string have the notes C, D, D#, G, G#?

I'm going to try and come up with CAGED box for this stuff and memorize it since i love exotic scales and would be a good exercise to help me remember where the notes are on my guitar.

Here it is all tabbed out though i feel i messed something up... :unsure:

Please correct any mistakes and post 'em here so i can play it right if it is indeed wrong.

That is cool fingerings, two notes per strings so you can slide easily across the mast... I hadnt think about that, so thanks a lot.

(in the 'd' string of the second scale it should be 5 7, but I couldnt find more mistakes)


In my case, I try to play three notes per string because its easier for me to remember. For exemple (this is very simple: the same shape is octavated two times):


Yona nuki (1st mode), aka Hirajoshi

------------------------------------------------------12-13--
--------------------------------------------10-12-13
------------------------------------9-10--
-----------------------7-9-10--
---------------7-8--
---5-7-8--

Depending in which note you focuse, this pattern allows to play every mode rather easily (I try to play the tonics with the index or the second finger).

For 1st and 2nd strings I often use this:

--7-8-12-13--
---10---

There is lots of variations, but the scale is a bit harder than it seems (at least for me).

ty !