Bebop Scales And Patterns

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Bebop Scales And Patterns Pdf

Bebop scales almost magically turn scales into jazz lines, adding melodic flow and logical forward motion to your solos. This makes hitting those 'target notes' much easier and facilitates the seamless connection of one chord to another. The one added note makes all the difference! This is a valuable little book, showing how a bebop scale can be constructed using the major, Dorian, Mixolydian, and Locrian modes/scales. Basically 1st, 3rd, 5th and 7th. It takes you through all the keys for each mode/scale, and the music is displayed in two octaves, good practice for anyone learning to read.

In the Bebop era the basic phrasing in improvisation shifted from crochets to extended quaver patterns. This caused a problem with the traditional 7-note scales, as they did not fit into patterns of 8 quavers to the bar.
To overcome this problem Bebop scales were formed by adding one extra note to three modes of the major scale. This brought them in phase with the new rhythmic pulse (but see note).
Shown below are the Bebop major, Bebop dominant and Bebop minor scales. They are resp. the Major scale with an added b6, and the Mixolydian and Dorian modes each with an added major 7th.

KeyBebop majorBebop dominantBebop minor
C C - D - E - F - G - Ab - A - B - c C - D - E - F - G - A - Bb - B - c C - D - Eb - F - G - A - Bb - B - c
G G - A - B - C - D - Eb - E - F# - g G - A - B - C - D - E - F - F# - g G - A - Bb - C - D - E - F - F# - g
D D - E - F# - G - A - Bb - B - C# - d D - E - F# - G - A - B - C - C# - d D - E - F# - G - A - B - C - C# - d
A A - B - C# - D - E - F - F# - G# - a A - B - C# - D - E - F# - G - G# - a A - B - C - D - E - F# - G - G# - a
E E - F# - G# - A - B - C - C# - D# - e E - F# - G# - A - B - C# - D - D# - e E - F# - G - A - B - C# - D - D# - e
B B - C# - D# - E - F# - G - G# - A# - b B - C# - D# - E - F# - G# - A - A# - b B - C# - D - E - F# - G# - A - A# - b
Gb Gb - Ab - Bb - B - Db - D - Eb - F - gb Gb - Ab - Bb - B - Db - Eb - E - F - gb Gb - Ab - A - B - Db - Eb - E - F - gb
Db Db - Eb - F - Gb - Ab - A - Bb - C - db Db - Eb - F - Gb - Ab - Bb - B - C - db Db - Eb - E - Gb - Ab - Bb - B - C - db
Ab Ab - Bb - C - Db - Eb - E - F - G - ab Ab - Bb - C - Db - Eb - F - Gb - G - ab Ab - Bb - B - Db - Eb - F - Gb - G - ab
Eb Eb - F - G - Ab - Bb - B - C - D - eb Eb - F - G - Ab - Bb - C - Db - D - eb Eb - F - Gb - Ab - Bb - C - Db - D - eb
Bb Bb - C - D - Eb - F - Gb - G - A - bb Bb - C - D - Eb - F - G - Ab - A - bb Bb - C - Db - Eb - F - G - Ab - A - bb
F F - G - A - Bb - C - Db - D - E - f F - G - A - Bb - C - D - Eb - E - f F - G - Ab - Bb - C - D - Eb - E - f

Bebop Scales And Patterns Free

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Bebop Scales And Patterns Chart

Note
A perhaps more effective way to deal with this problem is to play 7-note scales and modes up to and/or down from the 9th.
This also has the advantage that all chord tones fall on down-beat positions in the bar, emphasizing them in the process.

- D - - F - - A - - c - - c - - A - - F - - D -
Bebop scales and patterns free

Bebop Scales And Patterns Free

© 2016 Michael Furstner