The tritone scale on bass:
notes, formula and position

The tritone scale has 6 notes: 1 ♭2 2 ♯4 5 ♭6. In A, that gives A, B♭, B, D♯, E and F. Two groups of three half steps, a tritone apart: a scale of contemporary music.

Also called: two-semitone tritone scale.

Formula and notes

1 ♭2 2 ♯4 5 ♭6

The steps between the notes, from the root to the octave: half step – half step – two whole steps – half step – half step – two whole steps. In A:

One position on the neck

The tritone scale in A, in the 5th-fret position: one finger per fret, from the 4th to the 8th fret, on all four strings. The numbers are the degrees; the root is in gold.

The same position as bass tab (fret by fret, from the low E string to the G string):

G|-4--8-|
D|-7--8-|
A|-6--7--8-|
E|-5--6--7-|

For another key, move the whole shape: the root on the E string sets the key (3rd fret for G, 8th fret for C).

The sound of the tritone scale

Two groups of three semitones, a tritone apart. 6 notes. One of Messiaen’s modes of limited transposition. No third, no seventh.

You mostly hear it in contemporary music and avant-garde music.

Practice it with UnitBasse

This diagram shows a single position, in a single key. In UnitBasse, this scale is shown across the whole neck and in all twelve keys, as note names, intervals or degrees, with one color per degree. You can listen to it, see the chords that go with it, switch keys in one click, and play it over a chord chart with BackTrack, the app’s backing band. The app has 69 scales in 12 families.

Frequently asked questions