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Guitar scale · exotic

Ab Bebop Dominant Scale

8-note scale adding a major 7th passing tone to Mixolydian for seamless downbeat chord tones.

Notes AbBbCDbEbFGbG
Formula 1 2 3 4 5 6 ♭7 7
Steps W W H W W H H H
Mood Swinging, Fluid, Classic Bebop
Heard in Charlie Parker lines, Jazz Guitar Solos

Interactive scale diagram

Ab Bebop Dominant Scale · Standard tuning

STR OP 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 E A D G B E

Tap any note to hear it.

Ab Bebop Dominant Scale tab: all 5 positions

Each tab climbs from the low E string to the high e string. Play it up, then back down.

Position 1 · E shape frets 4–8
e|---------------------------------4-6-8-|
B|---------------------------6-7-8-------|
G|---------------------5-6-8-------------|
D|-------------4-5-6-8-------------------|
A|-------4-6-8---------------------------|
E|-4-6-8---------------------------------|
Position 2 · D shape frets 6–10
e|------------------------------------6-8-9-|
B|------------------------------7-8-9-------|
G|-----------------------6-8-10-------------|
D|----------------6-8-10--------------------|
A|-------6-8-9-10---------------------------|
E|-6-8-9------------------------------------|
Position 3 · C shape frets 8–12
e|------------------------------------------8-9-11-|
B|-------------------------------------9-11--------|
G|--------------------------8-10-11-12-------------|
D|------------------8-10-11------------------------|
A|--------8-9-10-11--------------------------------|
E|-8-9-11------------------------------------------|
Position 4 · A shape frets 11–15
e|-------------------------------------------------11-13-14-15-|
B|-------------------------------------------13-14-------------|
G|-------------------------------11-12-13-15-------------------|
D|----------------------11-13-15-------------------------------|
A|-------------11-13-15----------------------------------------|
E|-11-13-14-15-------------------------------------------------|
Position 5 · G shape frets 13–17
e|-------------------------------------------------13-14-15-16-|
B|-------------------------------------------14-16-------------|
G|----------------------------------13-15-17-------------------|
D|----------------------13-15-16-17----------------------------|
A|-------------13-15-16----------------------------------------|
E|-13-14-15-16-------------------------------------------------|

How to play Ab Bebop Dominant on guitar

Find the root first: Ab is at fret 4 on the low E string and fret 11 on the A string. The blue notes on the diagram are every Ab on the neck; the gold ones are the rest of the scale's home chord (3, 5, ♭7), the safest notes to land on at the end of a phrase.

Learn it one box at a time. Position 1, the E shape, sits at frets 4–8. Once it's under your fingers, move to position 2 (the D shape) and play the notes the two boxes share, then keep going up the neck. After all five, the scale joins up into one pattern across the whole fretboard.

Degrees

DegreeNote
1 Ab
2 Bb
3 C
4 Db
5 Eb
6 F
♭7 Gb
7 G

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Questions

What notes are in the Ab Bebop Dominant Scale?
The Ab Bebop Dominant Scale has 8 notes: Ab, Bb, C, Db, Eb, F, Gb, G.
What is the formula of the bebop dominant scale?
1 2 3 4 5 6 ♭7 7, which is the step pattern W W H W W H H H (W = whole step, H = half step).
Where do I play Ab Bebop Dominant on the guitar?
The root Ab is at fret 4 on the low E string and fret 11 on the A string. Position 1 (the E shape) covers frets 4–8, and four more positions connect it up the neck.

Bebop Dominant Scale in every key

More scales in Ab