Chord & FretBebop Dorian (D)
It grows out of the Dorian scale — the looser, groovier minor with a major 6th — by adding the major 3rd as a passing tone, for eight notes in all. That extra note is there for a practical reason: in continuous eighth-note phrases — in practice, quick notes one after another — it lines everything up so the tones of the minor chord fall on the strong beats. Worth knowing: the formula changes from school to school; it's more a jazz teaching convention than a fixed scale, and this is the most common version.
Example: D – E – F – F# – G – A – B – CFormula: 1 – 2 – b3 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – b7In 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.
Each instrument above shows one box of bebop Dorian — a slice of the whole neck. 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 →