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Guitar scale · exotic

E Bebop Dorian Scale

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

Notes EF#GG#ABC#D
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

E 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.

E 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 0–4
e|---------------------------------0-2-3-4-|
B|-----------------------------2-3---------|
G|---------------------0-1-2-4-------------|
D|---------------0-2-4---------------------|
A|---------0-2-4---------------------------|
E|-0-2-3-4---------------------------------|
Position 2 · D shape frets 2–6
e|---------------------------------2-3-4-5-|
B|-----------------------------3-5---------|
G|-----------------------2-4-6-------------|
D|---------------2-4-5-6-------------------|
A|---------2-4-5---------------------------|
E|-2-3-4-5---------------------------------|
Position 3 · C shape frets 4–8
e|---------------------------------4-5-7-|
B|---------------------------5-7-8-------|
G|---------------------4-6-7-------------|
D|-------------4-5-6-7-------------------|
A|-------4-5-7---------------------------|
E|-4-5-7---------------------------------|
Position 4 · A shape frets 7–11
e|---------------------------------------7-9-10-|
B|--------------------------------8-9-10--------|
G|-------------------------7-9-11---------------|
D|------------------7-9-11----------------------|
A|--------7-9-10-11-----------------------------|
E|-7-9-10---------------------------------------|
Position 5 · G shape frets 9–13
e|---------------------------------------------9-10-12-|
B|---------------------------------------10-12---------|
G|----------------------------9-11-12-13---------------|
D|--------------------9-11-12--------------------------|
A|---------9-10-11-12----------------------------------|
E|-9-10-12---------------------------------------------|

How to play E Bebop Dorian on guitar

Find the root first: E is at fret 0 on the low E string and fret 7 on the A string. The blue notes on the diagram are every E 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 0–4. 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 E
2 F#
♭3 G
3 G#
4 A
5 B
6 C#
♭7 D

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Questions

What notes are in the E Bebop Dorian Scale?
The E Bebop Dorian Scale has 8 notes: E, F#, G, G#, A, B, C#, D.
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 E Bebop Dorian on the guitar?
The root E is at fret 0 on the low E string and fret 7 on the A string. Position 1 (the E shape) covers frets 0–4, and four more positions connect it up the neck.

Bebop Dorian Scale in every key

More scales in E