Guitar scale · exotic
D Bebop Melodic Minor Scale
Melodic minor with a passing ♯5 (♭6) between the 5th and the 6th, giving eight notes.
Notes DEFGAA#BC#
Formula 1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♯5 6 7
Steps W H W W H H W H
Mood Swinging, Fluid, Smooth
Heard in Bebop Lines over minor-major chords
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 Melodic 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|-------------------------------------------------10-12-13-| B|----------------------------------------11-12-14----------| G|-------------------------------10-12-14-------------------| D|----------------------11-12-14----------------------------| A|----------10-12-13-14-------------------------------------| E|-10-12-13-------------------------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------------------------12-13-15-| B|-------------------------------------------14-15----------| G|-------------------------------12-14-15-16----------------| D|----------------------12-14-15----------------------------| A|----------12-13-14-16-------------------------------------| E|-12-13-15-------------------------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------------------------15-17-18-| B|----------------------------------------15-17-18----------| G|----------------------------14-15-16-18-------------------| D|-------------------14-15-17-------------------------------| A|----------14-16-17----------------------------------------| E|-15-17-18-------------------------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------------------------17-18-19-21-| B|-------------------------------------------18-20-------------| G|----------------------------------18-19-21-------------------| D|----------------------17-19-20-21----------------------------| A|-------------17-19-20----------------------------------------| E|-17-18-19-21-------------------------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------------------19-21-22-| B|-------------------------------------20-22----------| G|----------------------------19-21-22----------------| D|-------------------19-20-21-------------------------| A|----------19-20-22----------------------------------| E|-19-21-22-------------------------------------------|
How to play D Bebop Melodic Minor 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
| Degree | Note |
|---|---|
| 1 | D |
| 2 | E |
| ♭3 | F |
| 4 | G |
| 5 | A |
| ♯5 | A# |
| 6 | B |
| 7 | C# |
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Practise D Bebop Melodic Minor 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 D Bebop Melodic Minor Scale?
- The D Bebop Melodic Minor Scale has 8 notes: D, E, F, G, A, A#, B, C#.
- What is the formula of the bebop melodic minor scale?
- 1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♯5 6 7, which is the step pattern W H W W H H W H (W = whole step, H = half step).
- Where do I play D Bebop Melodic Minor 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 Melodic Minor Scale in every key
More scales in D
D Major D Minor D Minor Pentatonic D Major Pentatonic D Blues D Major Blues D Dorian D Phrygian D Lydian D Mixolydian D Locrian D Harmonic Minor D Phrygian Dominant D Melodic Minor D Lydian Dominant D Lydian Augmented D Altered D Whole Tone D Half-Whole Diminished D Whole-Half Diminished D Bebop Dominant D Hungarian Minor D Dorian b2 D Mixolydian b6 D Locrian Natural 2 D Locrian Natural 6 D Ionian #5 D Ukrainian Dorian D Lydian #2 D Ultralocrian D Harmonic Major D Dorian b5 D Lydian b3 D Double Harmonic Major D Oriental D Neapolitan Minor D Neapolitan Major D Augmented D Bebop Major D Bebop Dorian D Yo D Hirajoshi D In D In Sen D Iwato D Phrygian b4 D Mixolydian b2 D Lydian Augmented #2 D Locrian bb7 D Lydian #2 #6 D Ultraphrygian D Ionian Augmented #2 D Locrian bb3 bb7 D Leading Whole Tone D Major Locrian D Lydian Dominant b6 D Hungarian Major D Persian D Enigmatic D Prometheus D Tritone D Bebop Harmonic Minor D Egyptian Pentatonic D Man Gong