An Introduction to the Bebop Scale | Guitarworld 3/25/19, 11)00 PM

&

TOPICS NAMM 2019 Gear News Gear Reviews Gear Lists Artist Lists Interviews

An Introduction to the Bebop Scale

By Matt Warnock December 04, 2018 Lesson

A quick review of the Bebop scale, how it’s built and where you can
use it in your solos.
! " # $ %

When learning how to play jazz guitar, we can often get bogged down with
learning scales and arpeggios and find ourselves not spending time learning the
vocabulary that makes up the traditional and modern jazz language.

One of the best ways to build your jazz vocabulary, and your scale knowledge, is
to work on both at the same time, by running common jazz patterns through the
scales that you will need to outline chord changes when soloing over tunes.

In today’s lesson, we’ll be looking at one of the most important scales in the jazz
repertoire, the Bebop scale, as well as three must-know patterns that you can
work through the scale and bring into your solos in order to bring a sense of
Bebop vocabulary into your lines and phrases.

https://www.guitarworld.com/lessons/jazz-guitar-corner-introduction-bebop-scale Page 1 of 10
An Introduction to the Bebop Scale | Guitarworld 3/25/19, 11)00 PM

Before we begin with the licks themselves, let’s do a quick review of the Bebop
scale, how it’s built and where you can use it in your solos.

The Bebop Scale

The Dominant Bebop Scale (often just referred to as simply the Bebop Scale), is
built by taking the fifth mode of the major scale, the Mixolydian mode, and
adding in a natural 7 interval, producing the 8-note scale you see below.

Since it is built from the Mixolydian mode, you can use it to solo in the same way,
over 7th chords on their own, or over both the iim7 and 7th chord in a ii-V
progression, where you would “ignore” the iim7 chord and play the Bebop Scale
over both of these changes.

Here is one fingering I like to use with this scale that spans two octaves and
includes a shift between the first and second octaves. If you are new to this
scale, try running it in all 12 keys across the neck so that you get used to this
important melodic device before moving on to the licks themselves.

If you have this scale comfortably under your fingers, adding the licks will be
easy. But if you don’t have a good grasp of this scale, it will be much tougher to
work the licks in the lesson below.

It would also be a good idea to pop on a backing track, or record yourself coming
a C7 chord, or any dominant 7th chord, and soloing over it using only the Bebop
scale to build your lines in order to get a feel for how this scale fits into an
improvisational situation as well as seeing it across the fretboard.

Lick 1: Honeysuckle

The first lick we’ll check out over the Bebop scale is sometimes nicknamed the
“Honeysuckle” riff, as it sounds like a chromatic version of the opening line to
Fats Waller’s classic jazz tune, “Honeysuckle Rose.”

As you can see below, the lick starts on the root of the scale, in this case C,
moves down the scale by three notes, but before reaching the fourth note of the
scale it is “interrupted” by a Dm triad that breaks up the scale-wise motion of the
line. Mixing step-wise scale notes with the larger intervals of a triad within that
scale, such as you see here, is a great way to bring a sense of variety to your
lines that you won’t get if you just focus on one or the other.

Practice running this lick with a metronome in all keys around the neck to get it
under your fingers and into your ears. Then put on a C7 vamp, a ii-V-I vamp,
modal tune or jazz standard, and practice soloing over those changes using the
Honeysuckle lick as much as possible so that you get a sense of how it fits into a
soloing situation as well as a technical one.

This is a great sounding lick, and one that many legendary players use in there
solos, and so it is worth checking out this week in the practice room.

https://www.guitarworld.com/lessons/jazz-guitar-corner-introduction-bebop-scale Page 2 of 10
An Introduction to the Bebop Scale | Guitarworld 3/25/19, 11)00 PM

Lick 2: Diminished Arpeggio

The second Bebop scale lick we’ll check out is a diminished arpeggio from the
3rd of the scale, the note E in the example below.
With this lick, you play down the scale and when you reach the 3rd of the
scale, you simply play an ascending diminished 7 arpeggio that brings you back
to the top of the scale, via the b9.

By playing a dim7 arpeggio from the 3rd of the scale, you are outlining the 3rd,
5th, b7th and b9th of the underlying 7th chord, creating a sense of tension with
the b9 interval that you resolve into the root of the scale with your next note.

Again, this is a classic lick that can quickly bring that Bebop “tension-release”
sound into your lines, so work it in all 12 keys and then take it to a tune or
progression you are working on in order to explore it in a technical and
improvisational context in the woodshed.

Lick 3: Enclosures

The last lick we’ll look at is called an enclosure. This technique involves picking a
target note. I used the root and 5th in the example below, but you can pick just
about any note and make this technique work.

Once you have your target note picked out, you play one fret above that note,
one fret below that note, and then resolve into the target note from there. This
lick creates a good amount of tension, which is then resolved into your target

https://www.guitarworld.com/lessons/jazz-guitar-corner-introduction-bebop-scale Page 3 of 10
An Introduction to the Bebop Scale | Guitarworld 3/25/19, 11)00 PM

note, and it is one of the most commonly used pieces of vocabulary by jazz
musicians across the eras.

Work this idea over the root and fifth of the scale the begin with, in all keys and
by using it to solo over vamps and tunes, and then experiment with enclosing
other notes of the scale as you move forward with it in the practice room and on
the bandstand.

If you enjoyed this lick and want to explore these concepts further, check out my
article “21 Bebop Scale Patterns for Jazz Guitar.”

Working on licks and patterns through the Bebop scale is a great way to expand
your vocabulary and to dig deeper into the language used by great jazz
musicians when blowing over standards and Bebop-inspired tunes.

Matt Warnock is the owner of mattwarnockguitar.com, a free website that

provides hundreds of lessons and resources designed to help guitarists of all
experience levels meet their practice and performance goals. Matt lives in the
UK, where he is a senior lecturer at the Leeds College of Music and an examiner
for the London College of Music (Registry of Guitar Tutors).

MORE ABOUT... LATEST

Eerie Arpeggios: Using Movable Addb2 Shapes to Create CruzTools Changes Name to GrooveTech '
Haunting Lead Lines '

SEE MORE RELATED ( SEE MORE LATEST '

VIDEOS FROM GUITARWORLD

https://www.guitarworld.com/lessons/jazz-guitar-corner-introduction-bebop-scale Page 4 of 10
An Introduction to the Bebop Scale | Guitarworld 3/25/19, 11)00 PM

video playing

22/06/18

Make Your Blues Solos

Awesome Using...

Video Smart Player invented by Digiteka 10/04/18

You May Like Sponsored Links by Taboola

If You're Over 40 And Own A Computer, This Game Is A Must-Have!

Vikings: Free Online Game

The Real Story Behind The Car Wash Scene of Cool Hand Luke No
One Talks About
IcePop

This Is Why You Shouldn't Throw Away Empty Soda Cans

Money Versed

Tiny Pomeranian Got A Huge Mastiff Pregnant And Their Puppy

Looks Completely Wild
Honest To Paws

KBB's Overview Of The Acura RLX Models Since 2014

Kelley Blue Book

Woman's Heart Breaks as She Gives Her Dog to the Zoo

Living Magazine

Search For Any High School Yearbook, It's Free

Classmates

Teen Kicked Out Of Prom When Adults Can't Stop Staring

EternalLifeStyle

USA's 25 Most Powerful Sports Cars Ever Made

DriveZing

This Is What Stars Wore After The 2019 Grammys

StyleBistro

https://www.guitarworld.com/lessons/jazz-guitar-corner-introduction-bebop-scale Page 5 of 10
An Introduction to the Bebop Scale | Guitarworld 3/25/19, 11)00 PM

The U.S. military brought this battleship back from the dead for
one more war...
CNET

Reclusive Millionaire Warns: "Get Out Of Cash Now"

Investing Outlook

Photoshop Didn't Exist Back Then So Yes These Pictures Are Real
DirectExpose

Positive Grid Unveils BIAS FX 2 Guitar Amp and Effects Processor

Remember The 'Feral Kid' From 'Mad Max'? Take A Deep Breath
Before You See What He Looks Like Now
Miss Penny Stocks

Metallica Announce Concert with San Francisco Symphony

Promoted Links

MOST POPULAR

Guitarists' Seven Most Common Mistakes in the

Recording Studio
By Ron Zabrocki March 22, 2019 READ MORE '

Enhancing a Basic Progression with Unusual

Arpeggios
By Joel Hoekstra March 22, 2019 READ MORE '

10 Tips to Boost Your Practice Session

By Metal Mike Chlasciak March 22, 2019 READ MORE '

Tapper's Delight: 20 Challenging Tapping Licks

By Guthrie Govan March 22, 2019 READ MORE '

Tosin Abasi Lesson: Seven-String Arpeggios

By Tosin Abasi March 21, 2019 READ MORE '

How to Tune Your Guitar by Ear Using Octaves

https://www.guitarworld.com/lessons/jazz-guitar-corner-introduction-bebop-scale Page 6 of 10
An Introduction to the Bebop Scale | Guitarworld 3/25/19, 11)00 PM

By Guitar World Staff March 21, 2019

READ MORE '

How to Play Guitar Like Delta Blues Legend Son

House
By Dale Turner March 21, 2019 READ MORE '

Riffs in the Key of Sister Rosetta Tharpe

READ20,
By Damian Fanelli and Jonathan Graham March MORE
2019'

How to Incorporate Suspended Chords into Heavy

Metal Rhythm Guitar Parts
By Metal Mike Chlasciak March 20, 2019 READ MORE '

Jazz Guitar Corner: Building a Jazz Vocabulary —

Melodic Minor Over iim7
By Matt Warnock March 20, 2019 READ MORE '

A Guide to Randy Rhoads' Acoustic Techniques and

Riffs
By Dale Turner March 19, 2019 READ MORE '

Steve Stevens: The Right Way to Play Billy Idol's

"Rebel Yell"
By Damian Fanelli March 19, 2019 READ MORE '

Randy Rhoads' Scales, Blues Licks and Daring

Chromatic Maneuvers
By Tom Kolb March 19, 2019 READ MORE '

TOPICS

MATT WARNOCK JAZZ GUITAR CORNER LESSONS BLOGS

Advertisement

https://www.guitarworld.com/lessons/jazz-guitar-corner-introduction-bebop-scale Page 7 of 10
An Introduction to the Bebop Scale | Guitarworld 3/25/19, 11)00 PM

COMING UP

! Don't Miss! - 03/25

Mirror, Mirror On The Wall! What

! is Going on with Disney Theme
Park Bathroom Mirrors?
LOADING…
Hammock Havoc! Man Caught
! Sleeping In Hammock At The
Airport!

NEXT Mirror, Mirror On The Wall!

in What
This is Going Are
on w…
!
People Born Month
Apparently the Best Students

RECOMMENDED

Mike Campbell Discusses His

New Gig with Fleetwood Mac and
an Epic New Tom Petty Box Set

The Secrets Behind the Guitar Tone

on Blue Oyster Cult's "(Don't Fear)
The Reaper"

Advertisement

https://www.guitarworld.com/lessons/jazz-guitar-corner-introduction-bebop-scale Page 8 of 10
An Introduction to the Bebop Scale | Guitarworld 3/25/19, 11)00 PM

MORE FROM GUITARWORLD...

1 Guitarists' Seven Most Common Mistakes in the Recording Studio

2 Watch Queensrÿche's New "Man the Machine" Playthrough Video

3 Hear Yngwie Malmsteen's New Song, "Blue Lightning"

4 50 Classic Wah Riffs from 50 Years in One Take

5 Enhancing a Basic Progression with Unusual Arpeggios

Advertisement

https://www.guitarworld.com/lessons/jazz-guitar-corner-introduction-bebop-scale Page 9 of 10
An Introduction to the Bebop Scale | Guitarworld 3/25/19, 11)00 PM

? ABOUT OUR DEALS

We sort through thousands of deals to offer the best prices from the most trustworthy retailers. You can support us by clicking these
independently selected links, as we may earn a commission on any purchase you make, at no extra cost to you.

Contact us if you have any questions or have found a better price

Do you find our price comparison useful?

Yes No

Guitarworld is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

Terms and conditions Privacy policy Cookies policy

© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number
2008885.

https://www.guitarworld.com/lessons/jazz-guitar-corner-introduction-bebop-scale Page 10 of 10