The bebop scale is a dominant (Mixolydian) scale with chromatic passing notes added so that chord tones land on the downbeats. On guitar, over a 2-5-1 like C minor 7, F7, B flat major 7, you drop the 2 chord, descend F Mixolydian, and add zero, one, two or three chromatic notes depending on where you start.
This is a really beautiful system, developed by Barry Harris, an amazing artist, musician and educator. I wish I knew about it when I started improvising. This lesson shows how it works, the rule for every starting note, and the arpeggio device that turns it into lines.
What is the bebop scale?
It’s a dominant scale with chromatic notes added in specific places, so that you hit as many chord tones as possible on the downbeats. That’s the whole system, and it’s very systematic and very simple.
In jazz there’s one progression that repeats itself quite a bit: the 2-5-1. In C major that’s D minor 7, G7, C major 7. The question is what to play on it, and the bebop scale is almost an instant recipe to play bebop. Of course, like anything, you need to practice it, hear it, feel it and work with it. If you want the chords first, the ii-V-I guitar lesson builds the progression up level by level.
What does dropping the 2 chord mean?
It means ignoring the 2 chord and thinking only about the dominant when you solo. Barry Harris talks about this, because the real motion in a 2-5-1 is the tension of the 5 resolving to the 1.
Take a 2-5-1 in B flat: C minor 7, F7, B flat major 7. The 2 is the subdominant, the 5 is the dominant, a point of tension, and the tension leads to the resolution. The main point we want to think about is that F7 resolving to B flat. Dropping the 2 gives you a lot of time. If you have two chords per bar, now you have one chord, which is easier to think about.
So the line is basically an F7 scale, F Mixolydian, with one chromatic note added. Play it so that F, E flat, C and A land on the downbeats, and those notes, not by chance, are the notes of F7. As simple as that line is, it’s articulating the chord. That matters more and more as the music gets complex and shifts between centers.
It also helps to see that F Mixolydian is part of the B flat major tonality. It’s like looking at the white keys and saying, this is C major, and it can also be A minor or D Dorian. If you know the fingering for B flat major 7, you’ll see the connection. The guitar modes lesson goes deeper into modes.
Where do the chromatic notes go?
There are only three places: between the 1 and the flat 7, between the 2 and the 1, and between the 3 and the 2. How many you use depends on which note of F Mixolydian you start descending from.
- From the 1 (F). One chromatic, between the 1 and the 7. It’s basically a two-bar line, and the only difference from plain F Mixolydian is that one note.
- From the 2 (G). Zero chromatics, or two: between the 2 and the 1 and between the 1 and the 7. One chromatic would mess up the downbeats.
- From the 3 (A). One chromatic (between the 1 and the 7), or three: between the 3 and the 2, the 2 and the 1, and the 1 and the 7. With three, you also hit the 9 on the resolution, which is beautiful.
- From the 4 (B flat). Zero or two, in the same places as from the 2.
- From the 5 (C). One or three. With three, it’s nice to keep descending a little.
- From the 6 (D). Zero or two. With two, I’d probably play two octaves.
- From the 7 (E flat). One or three. Almost like a two-bar thing, or condensed into one bar in eighth notes or 16th notes, depending on the tempo.
Notice the pattern: from the chord tones (1, 3, 5, 7) it’s one or three chromatics, and from the 2, 4 and 6 it’s zero or two. Every time, the reason is the same: chord tones on downbeats.
It will give you a lot of highlights and a lot of information about the neck and the board and how to improvise.
Rotem Sivan
How do you practice the bebop scale on guitar?
Play it in time. Put the metronome, or any steady beat, on 2 and 4 as a starting point, and descend from each degree using the rules.
Knowing the fingering and being able to play it matters, but be as aware as you can of the notes and how they relate. Slow it down and say it to yourself: this is the 3, I’m descending the dominant scale, three chromatic notes, then 7, 6, and resolution to 1. It took me some time to figure this out too. I’m now also working on it on the piano, and it’s really cool to play it on a different instrument.
Here’s one way to practice it today:
- One position. Learn F Mixolydian in one position, and know which note is the 1, the 3, the flat 7.
- Descend in time. Metronome on 2 and 4. Descend from the 1 with one chromatic, landing on beat one.
- Climb the starting notes. Then from the 2 (zero or two), the 3 (one or three), and so on up to the 7.
- Say it out loud. Name each degree and each chromatic as you play it, slowly.
How do you turn the bebop scale into jazz lines?
Add an arpeggio. Play a 7th chord ascending, then descend the scale from its top note using the same rules. This is the device that starts to make it music.
Start with G minor 7. Its top note, F, is the 1 of F7, so from there you descend with one chromatic. Then go systematically up the scale. A half diminished tops out on G, the 2 of F7, so it’s zero or two. B flat major 7 tops out on A, the 3, so it’s one or three. Then C minor 7 (top note B flat, the 4), D minor 7 (C, the 5), E flat major 7 (D, the 6), and F7 (E flat, the 7). Each arpeggio lands on a degree, and the degree tells you the rule.
Start in one position to get comfortable, then move around the board, then take different songs. Later it doesn’t have to be that strict. You can start with a B flat major 7 arpeggio, descend from the 3 by the rule, and then shift into a diminished scale. That’s just one example. There are many colors, scales and sounds to draw from.
If you want the bigger picture of improvising, Solo Mastery is my full framework: over 40 concepts for soloing, 10 real performances broken down note by note, plus shell chords, harmony, ear training and rhythm work.
Frequently asked questions
Who developed the bebop scale system?
Barry Harris, an amazing artist, musician and educator. His system looks at the 2-5-1 through the dominant chord and adds chromatic notes in specific places so chord tones fall on the downbeats. It’s well worth checking out his work and his educational work.
What do the chromatic notes in the bebop scale do?
They put as many chord tones as possible on the downbeats. Over F7, that puts F, E flat, C and A on the beats, the notes of the chord itself, so even a simple descending line clearly articulates the harmony.
How many chromatic notes do you add?
It depends on the starting note. From the 1, 3, 5 or 7 of the dominant, add one or three. From the 2, 4 or 6, add zero or two. The chromatics go only between the 1 and 7, the 2 and 1, and the 3 and 2.
What scale do you use over the 5 chord?
The Mixolydian, the dominant scale. Over F7 in a 2-5-1 to B flat, that’s F Mixolydian, which has the same notes as B flat major. The bebop scale is that Mixolydian with the chromatic notes added.
Put the metronome on 2 and 4, pick one starting note of F7, and get its rule into your hands and ears before you move on to the next.
