Chord & FretBebop dominant (G)
Take Mixolydian — that is, the major scale with a lowered 7th, the natural sound of seventh chords — and give it back the major 7th as a passing tone: eight notes in all. The extra note's job is rhythmic: in running eighth-note phrases (the fast, continuous notes of an improvised line), it makes the chord tones land on the strong beats, so the line feels locked in instead of slipping. It's the most played of the family, born in jazz for improvising over dominant chords — the seventh chords that pull toward resolution.
Example: G – A – B – C – D – E – F – F#Formula: 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – b7 – 7In the formula, the numbers are degrees — positions counted in the reference major scale; "b" lowers a half step and "#" raises one.
Family: Bebop scales.
They add one chromatic note to a seven-note scale to make eight. The function is rhythmic: aligning chord tones with strong beats in continuous eighth-note lines. The naming varies between schools — these are pedagogical conventions, not families as stable as major, harmonic minor or melodic minor.
The same scale on all four instruments
In the diagrams, each dot carries its scale degree — 1 is the tonic, highlighted.
One box per instrument is just the doorway into bebop dominant. In Chord & Fret, you hear the scale in each of the four instruments' own voices; walk the scale's positions along the whole neck; and turn on the built-in metronome at the same BPM. Start free. Unlock everything with Pro. 100% offline. Open in Chord & Fret →