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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 C#D#EE#F#G#A#B
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 9–13
e|---------------------------------------------9-11-12-13-|
B|---------------------------------------11-12------------|
G|----------------------------9-10-11-13------------------|
D|--------------------9-11-13-----------------------------|
A|------------9-11-13-------------------------------------|
E|-9-11-12-13---------------------------------------------|
Position 2 · D shape frets 11–15
e|-------------------------------------------------11-12-13-14-|
B|-------------------------------------------12-14-------------|
G|----------------------------------11-13-15-------------------|
D|----------------------11-13-14-15----------------------------|
A|-------------11-13-14----------------------------------------|
E|-11-12-13-14-------------------------------------------------|
Position 3 · C shape frets 13–17
e|-------------------------------------------------13-14-16-|
B|----------------------------------------14-16-17----------|
G|-------------------------------13-15-16-------------------|
D|-------------------13-14-15-16----------------------------|
A|----------13-14-16----------------------------------------|
E|-13-14-16-------------------------------------------------|
Position 4 · A shape frets 16–20
e|-------------------------------------------------16-18-19-|
B|----------------------------------------17-18-19----------|
G|-------------------------------16-18-20-------------------|
D|----------------------16-18-20----------------------------|
A|----------16-18-19-20-------------------------------------|
E|-16-18-19-------------------------------------------------|
Position 5 · G shape frets 18–22
e|-------------------------------------------------18-19-21-|
B|-------------------------------------------19-21----------|
G|-------------------------------18-20-21-22----------------|
D|----------------------18-20-21----------------------------|
A|----------18-19-20-21-------------------------------------|
E|-18-19-21-------------------------------------------------|

How to play C# Bebop Dorian on guitar

Find the root first: C# is at fret 9 on the low E string and fret 4 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 9–13. 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 E
3 E#
4 F#
5 G#
6 A#
♭7 B

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Questions

What notes are in the C# Bebop Dorian Scale?
The C# Bebop Dorian Scale has 8 notes: C#, D#, E, E#, F#, G#, A#, B.
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 9 on the low E string and fret 4 on the A string. Position 1 (the E shape) covers frets 9–13, and four more positions connect it up the neck.

Bebop Dorian Scale in every key

More scales in C#