Guitar scale · exotic
A 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.
A 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|---------------------------------5-7-9-| B|---------------------------6-7-9-------| G|---------------------6-7-9-------------| D|---------------6-7-9-------------------| A|-------5-7-8-9-------------------------| E|-5-7-9---------------------------------|
e|---------------------------------------7-9-10-| B|----------------------------------9-10--------| G|------------------------7-9-10-11-------------| D|-----------------7-9-11-----------------------| A|--------7-8-9-11------------------------------| E|-7-9-10---------------------------------------|
e|---------------------------------------------9-10-12-13-| B|---------------------------------------10-12------------| G|----------------------------9-10-11-13------------------| D|--------------------9-11-12-----------------------------| A|------------9-11-12-------------------------------------| E|-9-10-12-13---------------------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------------------------12-13-14-16-| B|-------------------------------------------14-15-------------| G|----------------------------------13-14-16-------------------| D|----------------------12-14-15-16----------------------------| A|-------------12-14-16----------------------------------------| E|-12-13-14-16-------------------------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------------------------14-16-17-| B|----------------------------------------15-17-18----------| G|-------------------------------14-16-18-------------------| D|-------------------14-15-16-18----------------------------| A|----------14-16-17----------------------------------------| E|-14-16-17-------------------------------------------------|
How to play A Bebop Major on guitar
Find the root first: A is at fret 5 on the low E string and fret 0 on the A string. The blue notes on the diagram are every A 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 5–9. 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 | A |
| 2 | B |
| 3 | C# |
| 4 | D |
| 5 | E |
| ♯5 | E# |
| 6 | F# |
| 7 | G# |
Fretwise · Free on iPhone & Android
Practise A 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 A Bebop Major Scale?
- The A Bebop Major Scale has 8 notes: A, B, C#, D, E, E#, F#, G#.
- 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 A Bebop Major on the guitar?
- The root A is at fret 5 on the low E string and fret 0 on the A string. Position 1 (the E shape) covers frets 5–9, and four more positions connect it up the neck.