Guitar scale · exotic
D Bebop Major Scale
Major scale with a passing ♯5 (♭6) between the 5th and the 6th, giving eight notes so that chord tones fall on the beat.
Tap any note to hear it.
D Bebop Major 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|-------------------------------------------------10-12-14-| B|----------------------------------------11-12-14----------| G|-------------------------------11-12-14-------------------| D|----------------------11-12-14----------------------------| A|----------10-12-13-14-------------------------------------| E|-10-12-14-------------------------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------------------------12-14-15-| B|-------------------------------------------14-15----------| G|-------------------------------12-14-15-16----------------| D|----------------------12-14-16----------------------------| A|----------12-13-14-16-------------------------------------| E|-12-14-15-------------------------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------------------------14-15-17-18-| B|-------------------------------------------15-17-------------| G|-------------------------------14-15-16-18-------------------| D|----------------------14-16-17-------------------------------| A|-------------14-16-17----------------------------------------| E|-14-15-17-18-------------------------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------------------------17-18-19-21-| B|-------------------------------------------19-20-------------| G|----------------------------------18-19-21-------------------| D|----------------------17-19-20-21----------------------------| A|-------------17-19-21----------------------------------------| E|-17-18-19-21-------------------------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------------------19-21-22-| B|----------------------------------19-20-22----------| G|----------------------------19-21-------------------| D|-------------------19-20-21-------------------------| A|----------19-21-22----------------------------------| E|-19-21-22-------------------------------------------|
How to play D Bebop Major on guitar
Find the root first: D is at fret 10 on the low E string and fret 5 on the A string. The blue notes on the diagram are every D 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 10–14. 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 | D |
| 2 | E |
| 3 | F# |
| 4 | G |
| 5 | A |
| ♯5 | A# |
| 6 | B |
| 7 | C# |
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Practise D Bebop Major 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.
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Questions
- What notes are in the D Bebop Major Scale?
- The D Bebop Major Scale has 8 notes: D, E, F#, G, A, A#, B, C#.
- What is the formula of the bebop major scale?
- 1 2 3 4 5 ♯5 6 7, which is the step pattern W W H W H H W H (W = whole step, H = half step).
- Where do I play D Bebop Major on the guitar?
- The root D is at fret 10 on the low E string and fret 5 on the A string. Position 1 (the E shape) covers frets 10–14, and four more positions connect it up the neck.