Guitar scale · exotic
Ab Bebop Dorian Scale
Dorian with a passing natural 3rd, giving eight notes so that chord tones fall on the beat.
Tap any note to hear it.
Ab Bebop Dorian 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|---------------------------------4-6-7-8-| B|-----------------------------6-7---------| G|---------------------4-5-6-8-------------| D|---------------4-6-8---------------------| A|---------4-6-8---------------------------| E|-4-6-7-8---------------------------------|
e|-----------------------------------6-7-8-9-| B|-------------------------------7-9---------| G|------------------------6-8-10-------------| D|---------------6-8-9-10--------------------| A|---------6-8-9-----------------------------| E|-6-7-8-9-----------------------------------|
e|-----------------------------------------8-9-11-| B|---------------------------------9-11-12--------| G|-------------------------8-10-11----------------| D|---------------8-9-10-11------------------------| A|--------8-9-11----------------------------------| E|-8-9-11-----------------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------------------------11-13-14-| B|----------------------------------------12-13-14----------| G|-------------------------------11-13-15-------------------| D|----------------------11-13-15----------------------------| A|----------11-13-14-15-------------------------------------| E|-11-13-14-------------------------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------------------------13-14-16-| B|-------------------------------------------14-16----------| G|-------------------------------13-15-16-17----------------| D|----------------------13-15-16----------------------------| A|----------13-14-15-16-------------------------------------| E|-13-14-16-------------------------------------------------|
How to play Ab Bebop Dorian on guitar
Find the root first: Ab is at fret 4 on the low E string and fret 11 on the A string. The blue notes on the diagram are every Ab 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 4–8. 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 | Ab |
| 2 | Bb |
| ♭3 | Cb |
| 3 | C |
| 4 | Db |
| 5 | Eb |
| 6 | F |
| ♭7 | Gb |
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Questions
- What notes are in the Ab Bebop Dorian Scale?
- The Ab Bebop Dorian Scale has 8 notes: Ab, Bb, Cb, C, Db, Eb, F, Gb.
- What is the formula of the bebop dorian scale?
- 1 2 ♭3 3 4 5 6 ♭7, which is the step pattern W H H H W W H W (W = whole step, H = half step).
- Where do I play Ab Bebop Dorian on the guitar?
- The root Ab is at fret 4 on the low E string and fret 11 on the A string. Position 1 (the E shape) covers frets 4–8, and four more positions connect it up the neck.