E Balinese Guitar Scale
Guitar scale in 7-string tuning — fretboard diagram
E Balinese in 7-string — Notes and Intervals
The E Balinese scale is a traditional five-note tuning from the Gamelan tradition, also known as Pelog. On Guitar, it contains the notes E, F, G, A, B, C, D#. 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: E, F, G, A, B, C, D#
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
Tuning: 7-string (B-E-A-D-G-B-E)
About 7-string Tuning
The 7-string guitar adds a low B string below the standard 6-string tuning (B-E-A-D-G-B-E), extending the instrument's range into bass territory. This extra low end has become essential in progressive metal, djent, and modern heavy music, enabling crushing low-end riffs while maintaining access to standard guitar voicings on the upper strings.
Pioneered by jazz guitarist George Van Eps and later brought into the metal mainstream by Steve Vai and Korn, the 7-string guitar has become a staple of modern heavy music. Players like Tosin Abasi, Misha Mansoor, and John Petrucci have pushed the instrument's capabilities into new territory, using the extended range for complex harmonic progressions, polyrhythmic riffs, and sweeping arpeggios that span an enormous tonal range.
Notable artists: Dream Theater, Periphery, Animals as Leaders, Korn, Meshuggah
Best for: Progressive metal riffs, extended-range chord voicings, djent rhythms, and jazz fusion harmony
Musical Character
A Pelog-related tuning from Balinese Gamelan that creates a dark, meditative atmosphere with its distinctively non-Western intervals.