Skip to content

B♭ bebop dominant scale

Jazz8 notes · B♭ + E♭ + A♭

B♭bebop dominant

KeyboardRight hand · 1 = thumb

RootIn scale

Fingering guideOne octave · both hands

Crossing
Fingering for B♭ bebop dominant, going up
HandB♭CDE♭FGA♭AB♭
Right hand41thumb under2341thumb under234
Left hand2144 over32144 over32

1 thumb · 2 index · 3 middle · 4 ring · 5 little

Right hand: the thumb tucks under onto C, then the thumb tucks under onto G. Left hand: finger 4 crosses over onto D, then finger 4 crosses over onto A♭.

Chords in the key

The bebop scale is Mixolydian with one passing note added, so its chords are Mixolydian's.

Hand
Tempo
100 BPM

How to read a scale

Steps, degrees, fingers.

  1. The step pattern

    Every scale is a pattern of whole and half steps. B♭ bebop dominant goes W–W–H–W–W–H–H–H.

  2. The degrees

    Number the notes from the root: 1 B♭, 2 C, 3 D, 4 E♭, 5 F, 6 G, ♭7 A♭, 7 A. The degrees stay the same in every key, so a pattern learned in B♭ works in any other.

  3. The fingering

    Right hand: the thumb tucks under onto C, then the thumb tucks under onto G. Left hand: finger 4 crosses over onto D, then finger 4 crosses over onto A♭. Practise the crossings slowly; once they're smooth, raise the tempo.

All 216 scales

Every scale and mode on every root, each with its own page.

C

D♭

D

E♭

E

F

G♭

G

A♭

A

B♭

B

Practise it on a real keyboard.

Plug in a MIDI keyboard: the Melodio app shows every scale with its fingering and chords, and names what you play. Free, offline.

Download Melodio

Windows · macOS · Linux