Doralice in B

Doralice in B

Doralice in B — Humberto Porto / Antônio Almeida's samba classic. Explore Bebop Major and Mixolydian scales over these sophisticated changes. Chords: B – B7 – E – Em – F#7 – G#m – D#7 – C#7 – C#m.

Doralice in B

B major mixes barre and open elements. The B chord itself is a barre at fret 2, but E and A are comfortable open chords forming the IV and V. The open B string rings as the root, allowing creative drone-based arrangements. B is a intermediate-level key on guitar because the open B string rings as the root and the open E strings provide the 4th — useful for sus4 voicings and drone effects. This key mixes open and barre shapes, making it a good intermediate challenge that builds fretboard fluency.

Voice Leading

The bass line moves through B to B (ascending unison), B to E (ascending perfect fourth), E to E (ascending unison), E to F# (ascending whole step), F# to G# (ascending whole step), G# to D# (descending perfect fourth), D# to C# (descending whole step), C# to C# (ascending unison). The predominantly stepwise bass motion creates smooth, connected voice leading. When the progression loops, the bass returns from C# to B by whole step.

Scales for Improvisation

B major pentatonic works because every note is either a chord tone or a safe passing tone — there are no avoid notes. For soloing, this means you can play freely without clashing. Over dominant seventh chords, B Mixolydian adds the flat seventh for an authentic blues-rock edge.