C ionian ♯5 scale on bass

C · D · E · F · G♯ · A · B

The course explains what this page shows in Lesson 24 · Modes.

The notes

  1. C1
  2. D2
  3. E3
  4. F4
  5. G♯♯5
  6. A6
  7. B7

The C ionian ♯5 scale is C, D, E, F, G♯, A, B.

You may also see it called Ionian augmented · 1 2 3 4 ♯5 6 7.

On the staff

CDEFG♯ABC

On a bass staff, the C ionian ♯5 scale is written C D E F G♯ A B.

This is one octave of the C ionian ♯5 scale, written on the bass clef. Guitar and bass music is written an octave higher than it sounds, and the small 8 under the clef is the sign for that.

Why the C ionian ♯5 scale has this sharp

  1. C1
  2. T
  3. D2
  4. T
  5. E3
  6. S
  7. F4
  8. T+S
  9. G♯♯5
  10. S
  11. A6
  12. T
  13. B7
  14. S
  15. C8

A scale is a pattern of steps, and this one is T T S T+S S T S: a tone, a tone, a semitone, and so on. S stands for a semitone, the distance of one fret or one key. T stands for a tone, which is two semitones. T+S stands for a tone and a half, which is three semitones. The pattern is what gives C ionian ♯5 its sound, and it stays the same whichever note you start on.

The second rule is that a seven-note scale uses each letter name once, from A to G, so its seven notes take seven different letters. That is why C ionian ♯5 is spelled the way it is, rather than with whichever accidental looks tidier.

Together, the two rules leave no room for choice. If you walk the pattern up from C, one letter cannot keep up:

  • G♯ — the sharp fifth. The pattern needs a tone and a half from F, but F to G is only a tone, so G has to rise to G♯.

That accidental was not a choice. Once you pick the note to start on, the pattern decides the rest, and a key signature is a record of the result.

The C ionian ♯5 scale is written with G♯, because the T T S T+S S T S pattern of steps cannot be spelled with plain letters from C.

The pattern of steps is the part of a scale that never changes. The letter names take sharps or flats to fit that pattern, and a key signature is a record of those sharps or flats.

On the piano

1C2D3E4FG6A7B1C2D3E4FG6A7B1C2D3E4FG6A7B1CC♯D♯F♯♯5G♯A♯C♯D♯F♯♯5G♯A♯C♯D♯F♯♯5G♯A♯C1C2C3C4

The keyboard shows the same seven notes as a shape you can see. The coloured keys are the C ionian ♯5 scale, and you can click any key to hear it.

C ionian ♯5 scale on the whole neck

EADG123456789101112131415E3F4G♯♯5A6B7C1D2E3F4A6B7C1D2E3F4G♯♯5A6B7C1D2E3F4G♯♯5A6B7C1D2E3F4G♯♯5A6B7C1D2E3F4G♯♯5A6

50 notes of the C ionian ♯5 scale are marked across four strings.

This is every place the notes of the C ionian ♯5 scale fall on the bass, with each note's name and its scale degree. The roots are marked so you can find your bearings.

Position by position

Position 1 — starts on the 4
EADG1234564♯5671234♯5671
Position 2 — starts on the ♯5
EADG456789♯5671234♯56712
Position 3 — starts on the 6
EADG5678910671234♯567123
Position 4 — starts on the 7
EADG78910111271234♯5671234
Position 5 — starts on the 1
EADG89101112131234♯5671234
Position 6 — starts on the 2
EADG101112131415234♯5671234♯56
Position 7 — starts on the 3
EADG12131415161734♯5671234♯567

The C ionian ♯5 scale has seven playable positions, at frets 1–5, 4–8, 5–9, 7–11, 8–12, 10–14 and 12–16.

Each shape starts on a different degree of the scale and fits inside five frets, so your hand can play all of it without moving.

One climb up the neck

EADG891011121314151617181234♯5671234♯5671TAB81012131112141512141513141617

The climb runs from fret 8 to fret 17 and plays fifteen notes.

This is one path from the lowest root to the top of the neck, and it plays each note once, never on two strings. It takes a different number of notes on different strings. The widest stretch on any one string is five frets.