Guitar scale · exotic
B 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.
Tap any note to hear it.
B 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.
e|---------------------------------------7-9-11-| B|--------------------------------8-9-11--------| G|-------------------------8-9-11---------------| D|------------------8-9-11----------------------| A|--------7-9-10-11-----------------------------| E|-7-9-11---------------------------------------|
e|---------------------------------------------9-11-12-| B|---------------------------------------11-12---------| G|----------------------------9-11-12-13---------------| D|--------------------9-11-13--------------------------| A|---------9-10-11-13----------------------------------| E|-9-11-12---------------------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------------------------11-12-14-15-| B|-------------------------------------------12-14-------------| G|-------------------------------11-12-13-15-------------------| D|----------------------11-13-14-------------------------------| A|-------------11-13-14----------------------------------------| E|-11-12-14-15-------------------------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------------------------14-15-16-18-| B|-------------------------------------------16-17-------------| G|----------------------------------15-16-18-------------------| D|----------------------14-16-17-18----------------------------| A|-------------14-16-18----------------------------------------| E|-14-15-16-18-------------------------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------------------------16-18-19-| B|----------------------------------------17-19-20----------| G|-------------------------------16-18-20-------------------| D|-------------------16-17-18-20----------------------------| A|----------16-18-19----------------------------------------| E|-16-18-19-------------------------------------------------|
How to play B Bebop Major on guitar
Find the root first: B is at fret 7 on the low E string and fret 2 on the A string. The blue notes on the diagram are every B 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 7–11. 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 | B |
| 2 | C# |
| 3 | D# |
| 4 | E |
| 5 | F# |
| ♯5 | G |
| 6 | G# |
| 7 | A# |
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Questions
- What notes are in the B Bebop Major Scale?
- The B Bebop Major Scale has 8 notes: B, C#, D#, E, F#, G, G#, A#.
- 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 B Bebop Major on the guitar?
- The root B is at fret 7 on the low E string and fret 2 on the A string. Position 1 (the E shape) covers frets 7–11, and four more positions connect it up the neck.