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Guitar scale · exotic

D Bebop Dominant Scale

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

Notes DEF#GABCC#
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

D 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.

D 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 10–14
e|-------------------------------------------------10-12-14-|
B|----------------------------------------12-13-14----------|
G|-------------------------------11-12-14-------------------|
D|-------------------10-11-12-14----------------------------|
A|----------10-12-14----------------------------------------|
E|-10-12-14-------------------------------------------------|
Position 2 · D shape frets 12–16
e|-------------------------------------------------12-14-15-|
B|----------------------------------------13-14-15----------|
G|-------------------------------12-14-16-------------------|
D|----------------------12-14-16----------------------------|
A|----------12-14-15-16-------------------------------------|
E|-12-14-15-------------------------------------------------|
Position 3 · C shape frets 14–18
e|-------------------------------------------------14-15-17-|
B|-------------------------------------------15-17----------|
G|-------------------------------14-16-17-18----------------|
D|----------------------14-16-17----------------------------|
A|----------14-15-16-17-------------------------------------|
E|-14-15-17-------------------------------------------------|
Position 4 · A shape frets 17–21
e|-------------------------------------------------17-19-20-21-|
B|-------------------------------------------19-20-------------|
G|-------------------------------17-18-19-21-------------------|
D|----------------------17-19-21-------------------------------|
A|-------------17-19-21----------------------------------------|
E|-17-19-20-21-------------------------------------------------|
Position 5 · G shape frets 19–22
e|----------------------------------------------19-20-21-22-|
B|-------------------------------------19-20-22-------------|
G|-------------------------------19-21----------------------|
D|----------------------19-21-22----------------------------|
A|-------------19-21-22-------------------------------------|
E|-19-20-21-22----------------------------------------------|

How to play D Bebop Dominant on guitar

Find the root first: D is at fret 10 on the low E string and fret 5 on the A string. The blue notes on the diagram are every D 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 10–14. 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 D
2 E
3 F#
4 G
5 A
6 B
♭7 C
7 C#

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Questions

What notes are in the D Bebop Dominant Scale?
The D Bebop Dominant Scale has 8 notes: D, E, F#, G, A, B, C, C#.
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 D Bebop Dominant on the guitar?
The root D is at fret 10 on the low E string and fret 5 on the A string. Position 1 (the E shape) covers frets 10–14, and four more positions connect it up the neck.

Bebop Dominant Scale in every key

More scales in D