What is a baritone guitar?

A baritone guitar is a guitar with a longer scale length (typically 27"-30") tuned lower than standard guitar. The most common tuning is B Standard (B-E-A-D-F#-B), a perfect fourth lower than standard. It produces a deep, beefy tone that bridges the gap between guitar and bass.

What scales sound best on baritone guitar?

All scales work beautifully on baritone guitar, but minor scales (natural minor, harmonic minor, Dorian) particularly shine due to the instrument's dark character. Major scales and Mixolydian mode create a warm, country-influenced sound. Pentatonic scales deliver a thick, bluesy tone.

Is a baritone guitar good for songwriting?

Absolutely. The baritone guitar's unique voice inspires different melodic and harmonic ideas than standard guitar. Its deep, moody character is perfect for atmospheric songwriting, creating textures and voicings that feel fresh and distinctive.

D Super Locrian Pentatonic Guitar Scale

Guitar scale in Baritone (B Standard) tuning — fretboard diagram

Tuning

Frets

D Super Locrian Pentatonic in Baritone (B Standard) — Notes and Intervals

The D Super Locrian Pentatonic scale is an aggressive and highly dissonant subset of the altered scale. On Guitar, it contains the notes D, F, Gb, Ab, C. It is a primary tool for advanced jazz guitarists and horn players to create outside tension over altered dominant chords before resolving back to the tonic. Commonly used in Jazz, Avant-Garde, Fusion. Notable players include John Coltrane, Michael Brecker. Use over 7alt, 7#9b13 chords. The pentatonic shortcut for maximum 'outside' tension over altered dominants.

Notes: D, F, Gb, Ab, C

Intervals: 1P, 3m, 4d, 5d, 7m

Degrees: 1 b2 3 4 b5

Formula: WH-H-W-4-W

Number of notes: 5

Tuning: Baritone (B Standard) (B-E-A-D-F#-B)

About Baritone (B Standard) Tuning

The baritone guitar is tuned a perfect fourth lower than standard guitar (B-E-A-D-F#-B), producing a distinctly beefy tone with serious low-end depth that sits perfectly between guitar and bass. Its rich, dark voice has made it a secret weapon in film scoring, ambient music, and moody songwriting where you need that unmistakable low-end warmth without losing clarity.

Unlike simply tuning a standard guitar down (which causes floppy strings and muddy tone), the baritone guitar uses a longer scale length (typically 27"-30") designed specifically for lower tunings. This gives each note clarity and definition even in the lowest register. Session musicians, film composers, and bedroom producers alike reach for the baritone when they need dark, atmospheric textures, doom-laden riffs, or simply a different sonic palette that standard guitar can't deliver.

Film ScoringAmbientPost-RockDoom MetalShoegazeCountrySurf

Notable artists: Pat Metheny, Nels Cline, Brian Setzer, Baritone session players in Nashville

Best for: Moody songwriting, film scoring, ambient textures, doom metal, and any production that needs low-end depth with clarity

Musical Character

AggressiveDissonantOutsideTense

The most dissonant pentatonic — a 5-note distillation of the Altered scale. Every note creates tension against a dominant chord.

Explore This Scale in Other Tunings

← All Guitar scales in Baritone (B Standard) tuning