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Guitar scale · exotic

Ab Bebop Dorian Scale

Dorian with a passing natural 3rd, giving eight notes so that chord tones fall on the beat.

Notes AbBbCbCDbEbFGb
Formula 1 2 ♭3 3 4 5 6 ♭7
Steps W H H H W W H W
Mood Swinging, Fluid, Classic Bebop
Heard in Bebop Lines over minor 7th chords

Interactive scale diagram

Ab Bebop Dorian Scale · Standard tuning

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.

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.

Position 1 · E shape frets 4–8
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---------------------------------|
Position 2 · D shape frets 6–10
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-----------------------------------|
Position 3 · C shape frets 8–12
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-----------------------------------------|
Position 4 · A shape frets 11–15
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-------------------------------------------------|
Position 5 · G shape frets 13–17
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

DegreeNote
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.

Bebop Dorian Scale in every key

More scales in Ab