Bebop Dorian scale in D on electric guitar
Bebop Dorian scale in D: D, E, F, F#, G, A, B and C, the degrees 1–2–b3–3–4–5–6–b7. The box shown is in open position, from the open strings up to fret 5; the lowest tonic sits on the 4th string, open, and the hand stays put in the region, with no position shift.
On electric guitar, the slimmer neck invites legato — the same fingering runs with less effort, and the high positions stay comfortable. Plugged into an amp, each chord sustains for as long as you hold it, and the tone — clean or driven — shapes the whole sound.
Climb it slowly and name each degree out loud before speeding up.
Text description
Open strings and frets 1 to 5, 6 strings. Root (D): string 4 open and string 2, fret 3.
- String 6 (E): fret 1, F, flat third, finger 1; fret 2, F sharp, third, finger 2; fret 3, G, fourth, finger 3
- String 5 (A): open, A, fifth; fret 2, B, sixth, finger 2; fret 3, C, flat seventh, finger 3
- String 4 (D): open, D, root; fret 2, E, second, finger 2; fret 3, F, flat third, finger 3
- String 3 (G): open, G, fourth; fret 2, A, fifth, finger 2; fret 4, B, sixth, finger 4
- String 2 (B): fret 1, C, flat seventh, finger 1; fret 3, D, root, finger 2; fret 5, E, second, finger 4
- String 1 (E): fret 1, F, flat third, finger 1; fret 2, F sharp, third, finger 2; fret 3, G, fourth, finger 3
In the diagram, each dot carries its scale degree; 1 is the tonic, highlighted.