B Egyptian Guitar Scale
Guitar scale in Double Drop D tuning — fretboard diagram
B Egyptian in Double Drop D — Notes and Intervals
The B Egyptian scale, also known as the Suspended Pentatonic, is widely used in Middle Eastern and African musical traditions. On Guitar, it contains the notes B, C#, E, F#, A. It has a stable, folk-like quality and is often used in wind chime tunings because of its inherently calm and balanced sound. Commonly used in Middle Eastern, World, Ambient, Film Scores. Notable players include Oud masters, Peter Gabriel. Use over sus2, sus4, power chords. The absence of 3rd and 7th makes it harmonically ambiguous — works over major or minor contexts.
Notes: B, C#, E, F#, A
Intervals: 1P, 2M, 4P, 5P, 7m
Degrees: 1 2 3 4 b5
Formula: W-WH-W-WH-W
Number of notes: 5
Tuning: Double Drop D (D-A-D-G-B-D)
About Double Drop D Tuning
Double Drop D tuning (D-A-D-G-B-D) lowers both the 6th and 1st strings from E to D, creating a symmetrical frame of D notes around the standard middle four strings. This gives a distinctly resonant, jangly character that has been beloved in folk-rock and acoustic music since the late 1960s.
Neil Young used Double Drop D extensively — 'Cinnamon Girl' features its distinctive droning riff, and 'The Needle and the Damage Done' showcases its intimate fingerpicking potential. Jimmy Page used it on Led Zeppelin's 'Going to California'. Fleetwood Mac's 'The Chain' also employs this tuning. Because only two strings change (both by just one whole step), Double Drop D is one of the easiest alternate tunings to learn — most standard chord shapes on the inner four strings remain unchanged.
Notable artists: Neil Young, Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin), Fleetwood Mac, Crosby Stills Nash & Young
Best for: Folk-rock songwriting, D-centric acoustic arrangements, droning fingerpicking patterns, and any song that benefits from rich D-string resonance on both outer strings
Musical Character
Also called the Suspended Pentatonic — its omission of the 3rd and 7th creates a stable, folk-like quality. The scale of wind chimes and desert landscapes.
Chord Progressions Using This Scale
- ♭VII – IV – I (Gospel Walk-Up)Blues — Spiritual & Uplifting
Explore This Scale in Other Tunings
- B Egyptian in Standard Tuning
- B Egyptian in Drop D
- B Egyptian in DADGAD
- B Egyptian in Open G
- B Egyptian in Baritone (B Standard)
- B Egyptian in 7-string
- B Egyptian in 8-string
- B Egyptian in Drop C
- B Egyptian in Drop B
- B Egyptian in Open D
- B Egyptian in Half Step Down
- B Egyptian in Open E
- B Egyptian in Open A
- B Egyptian in Open C