Guitar scale · exotic
B Bebop Melodic Minor Scale
Melodic minor with a passing ♯5 (♭6) between the 5th and the 6th, giving eight notes.
Notes BC#DEF#GG#A#
Formula 1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♯5 6 7
Steps W H W W H H W H
Mood Swinging, Fluid, Smooth
Heard in Bebop Lines over minor-major chords
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.
B Bebop Melodic Minor 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|---------------------------------------7-9-10-| B|--------------------------------8-9-11--------| G|-------------------------7-9-11---------------| D|------------------8-9-11----------------------| A|--------7-9-10-11-----------------------------| E|-7-9-10---------------------------------------|
e|---------------------------------------------9-10-12-| B|---------------------------------------11-12---------| G|----------------------------9-11-12-13---------------| D|--------------------9-11-12--------------------------| A|---------9-10-11-13----------------------------------| E|-9-10-12---------------------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------------------------12-14-15-| B|----------------------------------------12-14-15----------| G|----------------------------11-12-13-15-------------------| D|-------------------11-12-14-------------------------------| A|----------11-13-14----------------------------------------| E|-12-14-15-------------------------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------------------------14-15-16-18-| B|-------------------------------------------15-17-------------| G|----------------------------------15-16-18-------------------| D|----------------------14-16-17-18----------------------------| A|-------------14-16-17----------------------------------------| E|-14-15-16-18-------------------------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------------------------16-18-19-| B|----------------------------------------17-19-20----------| G|-------------------------------16-18-19-------------------| D|-------------------16-17-18-20----------------------------| A|----------16-17-19----------------------------------------| E|-16-18-19-------------------------------------------------|
How to play B Bebop Melodic Minor on guitar
Find the root first: B is at fret 7 on the low E string and fret 2 on the A string. The blue notes on the diagram are every B 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 7–11. 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 | B |
| 2 | C# |
| ♭3 | D |
| 4 | E |
| 5 | F# |
| ♯5 | G |
| 6 | G# |
| 7 | A# |
Fretwise · Free on iPhone & Android
Practise B Bebop Melodic Minor 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.
Free
- 65 scales and 56 chord types in every key, with CAGED shapes
- A tuner with 10 tunings and a metronome from 30 to 260 BPM
- A new Daily 15 routine every day, plus free exercises
- Maqam & makam between the frets, and the Name the Note quiz
One purchase
- 282 exercises that play as tab, and routines with a speed trainer
- Chord & Scale Finder: tap the neck, get the name
- Theory Lab and the Progression Builder with 51 genre loops
- No subscription, ads removed
Questions
- What notes are in the B Bebop Melodic Minor Scale?
- The B Bebop Melodic Minor Scale has 8 notes: B, C#, D, E, F#, G, G#, A#.
- What is the formula of the bebop melodic minor scale?
- 1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♯5 6 7, which is the step pattern W H W W H H W H (W = whole step, H = half step).
- Where do I play B Bebop Melodic Minor on the guitar?
- The root B is at fret 7 on the low E string and fret 2 on the A string. Position 1 (the E shape) covers frets 7–11, and four more positions connect it up the neck.
Bebop Melodic Minor Scale in every key
More scales in B
B Major B Minor B Minor Pentatonic B Major Pentatonic B Blues B Major Blues B Dorian B Phrygian B Lydian B Mixolydian B Locrian B Harmonic Minor B Phrygian Dominant B Melodic Minor B Lydian Dominant B Lydian Augmented B Altered B Whole Tone B Half-Whole Diminished B Whole-Half Diminished B Bebop Dominant B Hungarian Minor B Dorian b2 B Mixolydian b6 B Locrian Natural 2 B Locrian Natural 6 B Ionian #5 B Ukrainian Dorian B Lydian #2 B Ultralocrian B Harmonic Major B Dorian b5 B Lydian b3 B Double Harmonic Major B Oriental B Neapolitan Minor B Neapolitan Major B Augmented B Bebop Major B Bebop Dorian B Yo B Hirajoshi B In B In Sen B Iwato B Phrygian b4 B Mixolydian b2 B Lydian Augmented #2 B Locrian bb7 B Lydian #2 #6 B Ultraphrygian B Ionian Augmented #2 B Locrian bb3 bb7 B Leading Whole Tone B Major Locrian B Lydian Dominant b6 B Hungarian Major B Persian B Enigmatic B Prometheus B Tritone B Bebop Harmonic Minor B Egyptian Pentatonic B Man Gong