Guitar scale · exotic
E 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.
E 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|---------------------------------0-2-4-| B|---------------------------1-2-4-------| G|---------------------1-2-4-------------| D|---------------1-2-4-------------------| A|-------0-2-3-4-------------------------| E|-0-2-4---------------------------------|
e|---------------------------------2-4-5-| B|-----------------------------4-5-------| G|---------------------2-4-5-6-----------| D|---------------2-4-6-------------------| A|-------2-3-4-6-------------------------| E|-2-4-5---------------------------------|
e|---------------------------------4-5-7-8-| B|-----------------------------5-7---------| G|---------------------4-5-6-8-------------| D|---------------4-6-7---------------------| A|---------4-6-7---------------------------| E|-4-5-7-8---------------------------------|
e|---------------------------------------7-8-9-11-| B|----------------------------------9-10----------| G|---------------------------8-9-11---------------| D|-----------------7-9-10-11----------------------| A|----------7-9-11--------------------------------| E|-7-8-9-11---------------------------------------|
e|---------------------------------------------9-11-12-| B|------------------------------------10-12-13---------| G|----------------------------9-11-13------------------| D|-----------------9-10-11-13--------------------------| A|---------9-11-12-------------------------------------| E|-9-11-12---------------------------------------------|
How to play E Bebop Major 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
| Degree | Note |
|---|---|
| 1 | E |
| 2 | F# |
| 3 | G# |
| 4 | A |
| 5 | B |
| ♯5 | B# |
| 6 | C# |
| 7 | D# |
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Questions
- What notes are in the E Bebop Major Scale?
- The E Bebop Major Scale has 8 notes: E, F#, G#, A, B, B#, C#, D#.
- 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 E Bebop Major 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.