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