STRINGSCALES

D bebop locrian Scale — Guitar Fretboard Visualization

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

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

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

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

B string: C, D, Eb, F, G, Ab, A, Bb at frets 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11

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

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D 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:

D

I

E♭

bII

F

bIII

G

IV

A♭

bV

A

V

B♭

bVI

C

bVII

Same notes, different mode

D 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.

Eb ichikosuchoF bebop minorBb bebop

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

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

How to play D bebop locrian on guitar

Open D is the root and open A the fifth, which means a two-string pedal costs you no fingers at all. Lowest root is the 10th fret of the bottom string, where an E-shape barre also sits. Three flats, no sharps. Position one stops working at fret 14, so the upper shapes take the top of the neck; the same grip from Bb reads as Bb bebop.

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