STRINGSCALES

A bebop locrian Scale — Guitar Fretboard Visualization

Low E string: E, F, G, A, Bb, C, D, Eb, E at frets 0, 1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 12

A string: A, Bb, C, D, Eb, E, F, G, A at frets 0, 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12

D string: D, Eb, E, F, G, A, Bb, C, D at frets 0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10, 12

G string: G, A, Bb, C, D, Eb, E, F, G at frets 0, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12

B string: C, D, Eb, E, F, G, A, Bb at frets 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11

High E string: E, F, G, A, Bb, C, D, Eb, E at frets 0, 1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 12

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A bebop locrian

The bebop locrian scale adds a natural 5th as a passing tone inside the locrian mode, smoothing the m7b5 sound into an eight note bebop vehicle. The borrowed 5th lets lines glide through half-diminished chords with the same downbeat logic as the other bebop scales. Use it on the ii chord of a minor ii-V-i.

it consists of these notes and degrees:

A

I

B♭

bII

C

bIII

D

IV

E♭

bV

E

V

F

bVI

G

bVII

Same notes, different mode

A bebop locrian uses the same notes as the scales below. Start from a different note and you get a new mode built on the very same note set.

Bb ichikosuchoC bebop minorF bebop

bebop locrian in all 12 keys, with chords and related scales

tip
  • Use A bebop locrian over m7b5 chords in eighth-note lines; the borrowed natural 5th (E) is strictly a passing tone between bV (Eb) and bVI (F).
  • Anchor on the half-diminished arpeggio (root, bIII (C), bV (Eb), bVII (G)) and let the scale fill the gaps.
  • It pairs with the dominant bebop scale of the V7b9 that follows: same eighth-note engine through the whole minor ii-V-i.
  • Accent the flat 2nd (Bb) sparingly; on a m7b5 it adds bite, but resolving it down to the root ends phrases cleanly.

How to play A bebop locrian on guitar

Open A gives the tonic outright and both E strings the fifth, so a pedal is on tap at either end of the range. Box one expires at fret 9, which puts the A-shape barre at fret 12 into upper-neck territory. Two flats, no sharps here. Lowest root is fret 5 down at the bottom, with the nearest-nut fretted root at fret 2 on the G string.

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