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Guitar scale · exotic

C Bebop Dorian Scale

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

Notes CDEbEFGABb
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

C 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.

C 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 8–12
e|--------------------------------------------8-10-11-12-|
B|--------------------------------------10-11------------|
G|----------------------------8-9-10-12------------------|
D|--------------------8-10-12----------------------------|
A|------------8-10-12------------------------------------|
E|-8-10-11-12--------------------------------------------|
Position 2 · D shape frets 10–14
e|-------------------------------------------------10-11-12-13-|
B|-------------------------------------------11-13-------------|
G|----------------------------------10-12-14-------------------|
D|----------------------10-12-13-14----------------------------|
A|-------------10-12-13----------------------------------------|
E|-10-11-12-13-------------------------------------------------|
Position 3 · C shape frets 12–16
e|-------------------------------------------------12-13-15-|
B|----------------------------------------13-15-16----------|
G|-------------------------------12-14-15-------------------|
D|-------------------12-13-14-15----------------------------|
A|----------12-13-15----------------------------------------|
E|-12-13-15-------------------------------------------------|
Position 4 · A shape frets 15–19
e|-------------------------------------------------15-17-18-|
B|----------------------------------------16-17-18----------|
G|-------------------------------15-17-19-------------------|
D|----------------------15-17-19----------------------------|
A|----------15-17-18-19-------------------------------------|
E|-15-17-18-------------------------------------------------|
Position 5 · G shape frets 17–21
e|-------------------------------------------------17-18-20-|
B|-------------------------------------------18-20----------|
G|-------------------------------17-19-20-21----------------|
D|----------------------17-19-20----------------------------|
A|----------17-18-19-20-------------------------------------|
E|-17-18-20-------------------------------------------------|

How to play C Bebop Dorian on guitar

Find the root first: C is at fret 8 on the low E string and fret 3 on the A string. The blue notes on the diagram are every C 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 8–12. 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 C
2 D
♭3 Eb
3 E
4 F
5 G
6 A
♭7 Bb

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Questions

What notes are in the C Bebop Dorian Scale?
The C Bebop Dorian Scale has 8 notes: C, D, Eb, E, F, G, A, Bb.
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 C Bebop Dorian on the guitar?
The root C is at fret 8 on the low E string and fret 3 on the A string. Position 1 (the E shape) covers frets 8–12, and four more positions connect it up the neck.

Bebop Dorian Scale in every key

More scales in C