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Guitar scale · exotic

Ab Bebop Major Scale

Major scale with a passing ♯5 (♭6) between the 5th and the 6th, giving eight notes so that chord tones fall on the beat.

Notes AbBbCDbEbEFG
Formula 1 2 3 4 5 ♯5 6 7
Steps W W H W H H W H
Mood Swinging, Bright, Fluid
Heard in Bebop Lines, Jazz Improvisation

Interactive scale diagram

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

How to play Ab Bebop Major 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
♯5 E
6 F
7 G

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Questions

What notes are in the Ab Bebop Major Scale?
The Ab Bebop Major Scale has 8 notes: Ab, Bb, C, Db, Eb, E, F, G.
What is the formula of the bebop major scale?
1 2 3 4 5 ♯5 6 7, which is the step pattern W W H W H H W H (W = whole step, H = half step).
Where do I play Ab Bebop Major 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 Major Scale in every key

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