Bebop scale.html



This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. (April 2008)

Bebop scales are frequently used in jazz improvisation and are derived from the modes of the major scale and the melodic minor scale. There are four types of frequently used bebop scales: the bebop dominant scale, the bebop Dorian scale, the bebop major scale, and the bebop melodic minor scale. Each of these scales has an extra chromatic passing tone.

Bebop dominant scale

The bebop dominant scale is derived from the Mixolydian mode and has a chromatic passing tone between the 7th and the root. This scale is often used over dominant 7th chords.

Bebop Dorian scale

The bebop Dorian scale is derived from the Dorian mode and has a chromatic passing tone between the 3rd and 4th notes. This scale is often used over minor 7th chords. The Bebop Dorian scale is a mode of the Bebop Dominant scale.

Bebop major scale

The bebop major scale is derived from the Ionian mode and has a chromatic passing tone between the 5th and 6th notes. This scale is often used over major 6th chords.

Bebop melodic minor scale

The bebop melodic minor scale is derived from the ascending form of the melodic minor scale and has a chromatic passing tone between the 5th and 6th notes. This scale is often used over minor 6th chords.

These scales are listed in David N. Baker's books on Bebop.

They are also included, with the exception of the Dorian bebop scale, in Roni Ben-Hur's book Talk Jazz: A Comprehensive Collection of Bebop Studies, which is derived from the work of Barry Harris. Ben-Hur further elaborates on the concept of placing additional chromatic passing tones between other notes in the scales.

Further reading

• David Baker, Jazz Improvisation, Alfred.
• David Baker, Arranging and Composing, Alfred.
• Mark Levine, The Drop 2 Book, Sher Music Co.

External links

• The Bebop Scale For Guitar