Summary:

Dive deep into the Hirajoshi scale, a beautiful and evocative Japanese pentatonic scale. This comprehensive guide, written for musicians, explores its unique structure, its two common forms, its deep historical roots, and its use in both traditional and modern music. Learn how to incorporate its distinct sound into your own playing and composition with practical tips and musical examples. This is an essential scale for any musician looking to expand their melodic vocabulary beyond Western harmony.

Keywords:

Hirajoshi scale, pentatonic scale, Japanese music, world music, exotic scales, koto tuning, shamisen, music theory, improvisation, scale modes, Marty Friedman, music education.

Introduction:

Have you ever been captivated by the mysterious and beautiful sound of traditional Japanese music? That unique sonic character, a delicate balance of profound tension and serene beauty, often comes from specific scales that differ from the familiar major and minor scales of Western music. One of the most important and versatile of these is the Hirajoshi scale. More than just a collection of notes, this five-note scale is a gateway to the aesthetics of Japanese art and culture, offering a world of expressive potential for composers, improvisers, and curious musicians alike.

What is the Hirajoshi Scale?

The Hirajoshi scale (平調子) is a pentatonic scale (a scale with five notes per octave) from Japan. Its name can be translated as "regular tuning" or "level tone scale," historically linked to tunings for the Japanese zither, or koto. However, the term "Hirajoshi" can be a source of confusion, as it is commonly used to describe two different, though related, scales. Let's demystify them.

Form 1: The Koto-Derived Hirajoshi Scale

This is the most common version of the scale and is directly derived from a tuning for the koto. Its structure contains two characteristic semitone (half-step) intervals that create its famously poignant and dramatic sound.

• Interval Structure: Root, Major Second, Minor Third, Perfect Fifth, Minor Sixth
• Formula: 1, 2, b3, 5, b6
• Example in A: A - B - C - E - F
• Character: Melancholic, dramatic, and spacious. The jump between the C (b3) and E (5th), and the tension of the F (b6) resolving down to E or up to the octave A, are key to its sound.

Here is a short, evocative melody using the A Hirajoshi scale (koto-derived):

Form 2: The Shamisen Hirajoshi (A Mode of the In Scale)

This second common version is technically the fourth mode of a different Japanese scale called the In scale. It is often associated with the shamisen (a three-stringed lute) and folk music. Its defining feature is the very tense minor second interval right at the beginning of the scale.

• Interval Structure: Root, Minor Second, Perfect Fourth, Perfect Fifth, Minor Seventh
• Formula: 1, b2, 4, 5, b7
• Example in A: A - Bb - D - E - G
• Character: Tense, dark, and mysterious. The clash between the Root and the Minor Second (A and Bb) is a powerful source of melodic drama.

Listen to the different character of this scale in the following phrase, which emphasizes the tense 1-b2 relationship: