STRINGSCALES

B bebop locrian Scale — Guitar Fretboard Visualization

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

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

D string: D, E, F, F#, G, A, B, C, D at frets 0, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 12

G string: G, A, B, C, D, E, F, F#, G at frets 0, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12

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

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

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B 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:

B

I

C

bII

D

bIII

E

IV

F

bV

F♯

V

G

bVI

A

bVII

Same notes, different mode

B 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.

C ichikosuchoD bebop minorG bebop

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

tip
  • Use B bebop locrian over m7b5 chords in eighth-note lines; the borrowed natural 5th (F#) is strictly a passing tone between bV (F) and bVI (G).
  • Anchor on the half-diminished arpeggio (root, bIII (D), bV (F), bVII (A)) 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 (C) sparingly; on a m7b5 it adds bite, but resolving it down to the root ends phrases cleanly.

How to play B bebop locrian on guitar

Open B is the tonic, so a voicing can leave that string ringing while the fretting hand moves underneath. Every open string here belongs to the key. Bass root waits at low E fret 7, which means an E-shape barre sits mid-neck and the A-shape at fret 2 handles the bottom. One sharp in this key, box one gives way at fret 11, and a capo at fret 2 relabels everything in A.

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