Guitar scale · exotic
Bb Bebop Harmonic Minor Scale
Harmonic minor with a passing ♭7 between the ♭6 and the 7, giving eight notes.
Notes BbCDbEbFGbAbA
Formula 1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7 7
Steps W H W W H W H H
Mood Swinging, Dark, Fluid
Heard in Bebop Lines, Jazz Improvisation
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.
Bb Bebop Harmonic Minor 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|------------------------------------6-8-9-| B|-----------------------------7-9-10-------| G|----------------------6-8-10--------------| D|-------------6-7-8-10---------------------| A|-------6-8-9------------------------------| E|-6-8-9------------------------------------|
e|------------------------------------------8-9-11-| B|----------------------------------9-10-11--------| G|--------------------------8-10-11----------------| D|------------------8-10-11------------------------| A|--------8-9-11-12--------------------------------| E|-8-9-11------------------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------------------------11-13-14-| B|----------------------------------------11-13-14----------| G|----------------------------10-11-13-14-------------------| D|-------------------10-11-13-------------------------------| A|----------11-12-13----------------------------------------| E|-11-13-14-------------------------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------------------------13-14-16-17-| B|-------------------------------------------14-16-------------| G|-------------------------------13-14-15-17-------------------| D|----------------------13-15-16-------------------------------| A|-------------13-15-16----------------------------------------| E|-13-14-16-17-------------------------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------------------------16-17-18-| B|----------------------------------------16-18-19----------| G|-------------------------------15-17-18-------------------| D|-------------------15-16-18-19----------------------------| A|----------15-16-18----------------------------------------| E|-16-17-18-------------------------------------------------|
How to play Bb Bebop Harmonic Minor on guitar
Find the root first: Bb is at fret 6 on the low E string and fret 1 on the A string. The blue notes on the diagram are every Bb 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 6–10. 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 | Bb |
| 2 | C |
| ♭3 | Db |
| 4 | Eb |
| 5 | F |
| ♭6 | Gb |
| ♭7 | Ab |
| 7 | A |
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Questions
- What notes are in the Bb Bebop Harmonic Minor Scale?
- The Bb Bebop Harmonic Minor Scale has 8 notes: Bb, C, Db, Eb, F, Gb, Ab, A.
- What is the formula of the bebop harmonic minor scale?
- 1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7 7, which is the step pattern W H W W H W H H (W = whole step, H = half step).
- Where do I play Bb Bebop Harmonic Minor on the guitar?
- The root Bb is at fret 6 on the low E string and fret 1 on the A string. Position 1 (the E shape) covers frets 6–10, and four more positions connect it up the neck.
Bebop Harmonic Minor Scale in every key
More scales in Bb
Bb Major Bb Minor Bb Minor Pentatonic Bb Major Pentatonic Bb Blues Bb Major Blues Bb Dorian Bb Phrygian Bb Lydian Bb Mixolydian Bb Locrian Bb Harmonic Minor Bb Phrygian Dominant Bb Melodic Minor Bb Lydian Dominant Bb Lydian Augmented Bb Altered Bb Whole Tone Bb Half-Whole Diminished Bb Whole-Half Diminished Bb Bebop Dominant Bb Hungarian Minor Bb Dorian b2 Bb Mixolydian b6 Bb Locrian Natural 2 Bb Locrian Natural 6 Bb Ionian #5 Bb Ukrainian Dorian Bb Lydian #2 Bb Ultralocrian Bb Harmonic Major Bb Dorian b5 Bb Lydian b3 Bb Double Harmonic Major Bb Oriental Bb Neapolitan Minor Bb Neapolitan Major Bb Augmented Bb Bebop Major Bb Bebop Dorian Bb Yo Bb Hirajoshi Bb In Bb In Sen Bb Iwato Bb Phrygian b4 Bb Mixolydian b2 Bb Lydian Augmented #2 Bb Locrian bb7 Bb Lydian #2 #6 Bb Ultraphrygian Bb Ionian Augmented #2 Bb Locrian bb3 bb7 Bb Leading Whole Tone Bb Major Locrian Bb Lydian Dominant b6 Bb Hungarian Major Bb Persian Bb Enigmatic Bb Prometheus Bb Tritone Bb Bebop Melodic Minor Bb Egyptian Pentatonic Bb Man Gong