Guitar scale · exotic
Ab Bebop Dominant Scale
8-note scale adding a major 7th passing tone to Mixolydian for seamless downbeat chord tones.
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.
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---------------------------------|
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------------------------------------|
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------------------------------------------|
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-------------------------------------------------|
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
| Degree | Note |
|---|---|
| 1 | Ab |
| 2 | Bb |
| 3 | C |
| 4 | Db |
| 5 | Eb |
| 6 | F |
| ♭7 | Gb |
| 7 | G |
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Practise Ab Bebop Dominant anywhere, even offline.
This page is a small slice of Fretwise. The app adds practice: exercises that play as tab, a new routine every day, and the tools to tune and keep time. On iPhone, iPad and Android, no sign-up.
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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.