Jazz Guitar Scales
Video Lessons

 Bebop Scale Demystified

The bebop scales are derived from jazz rhythms. They simply help the melodic lines to be "aligned" properly with the bar lines.

Historically, jazz musicians used more and more chromaticism towards the bebop era. The "extra notes" in this chromatic approach to improvisation helped the musicians play lines rhythmically.

We now formalized this way of playing by adding notes to "regular" diatonic scales. The added notes permit better "alignment" of the notes with the 4/4 time signature.

This principle can be applied rather freely but a few scales are in common use today (bebop dominant and bebop major most of the time).

Bebop Modes

As a follow-up to my other video ("Bebop Scale Demystified") here are the 7 modes of C major played with a bebop passing note.

(by the way, all the modes are to be played diagonally...)

This kind of playing really opens up new rhythmic possibilities and fingering options for you. Practice them with the "pickup" ( on the "and of 3") on each bar and you'll soon be wailing some neat bebop-like lines.

Check out this great book for even more pickup and rhythmic concept for jazz phrasing : Forward Motion by Hal Galper

What I like the most about bebop modes it that you find the chord tones (notes 1 3 5 7 of the chord/scale) that fall on downbeats. It really anchors the sound of the chord/scale in your ears.

As always, practice with a metronome!

Each mode has usually only 7 notes, in C major we get :

C Major C D E F G A B
D Dorian D E F G A B C
E Phrygian E F G A B C D
F Lydian F G A B C D E
G Mixolydian G A B C D E F
A Aeolian A B C D E F G
B Locrian B C D E F G A

(It's all in C major, so don't panic!)

To each mode, we add 1 notes (to get even 8-notes scales that fit the bar of 4/4). They're called "bebop" scales.

For the first and fourth mode (C major and F Lydian), we add a passing tone between the degrees five and six.

For the rest (modes #2, 3, 5, 6, 7), we add a note between the degrees seven and eight.

Like this :

C Major C D E F G *G#* A B

D Dorian D E F G A B C *C#*

E Phrygian E F G A B C D *D#*

F Lydian F G A B C *C#* D E

G Mixolydian G A B C D E F *F#*

A Aeolian A B C D E F G *G#*

B Locrian B C D E F G A *A#*

Diagonal Playing Lesson

The technique employed by all master jazz guitarists : connecting positions with shifts!

Learn to play all over the guitar neck on any scale. Learn to phrase more smoothly and accurately by using "dedicated fingerings" for each notes (much like the piano!)

Please read this diagonal jazz guitar scales article for a text explanation.

Jazz Guitar Scales :  Practicing Intervals

Here's how to REALLY learn scales in-and-out. This is a great musical tool ... and it's (almost too) obvious!

To me, working on intervals is better than learning licks, patterns or running scales up and down. All you have to do is pick one interval and work it through the scale.

In this video, I demonstrated thirds and fourths, but this can be done with any interval on any scale!