A Bebop Minor Guitar Scale — Drop B
Guitar scale in Drop B tuning — fretboard diagram
A Bebop Minor in Drop B — Notes and Intervals
The A Bebop Minor scale is a specialized eight-note scale for minor-key jazz. On Guitar, it contains the notes A, B, C, C#, D, E, F#, G. It adds a chromatic note to the Dorian mode to maintain rhythmic drive and harmonic clarity during fast improvisations over minor seventh chords. Commonly used in Jazz, Bebop, Hard Bop. Notable players include Wes Montgomery, Joe Henderson, Dexter Gordon. Use over m7 chords in jazz. The chromatic addition keeps the phrasing rhythmically clean during fast improvisation.
Notes: A, B, C, C#, D, E, F#, G
Intervals: 1P, 2M, 3m, 3M, 4P, 5P, 6M, 7m
Degrees: 1 2 b3 4 5 6 7 b8
Formula: W-H-H-H-W-W-H-W
Number of notes: 8
Tuning: Drop B (B-F#-B-E-G#-C#)
About Drop B Tuning
Drop B tuning (B-F#-B-E-G#-C#) takes the guitar into territory traditionally reserved for 7-string instruments, delivering a subsonic heaviness that you can feel in your chest. This tuning has become essential in modern extreme metal, deathcore, and djent, where low-end clarity and rhythmic precision are paramount.
Drop B represents the practical limit of what a standard 6-string guitar can handle before tone quality degrades. With the right string gauge (12-60 or heavier) and proper setup, it delivers the crushing lows of a 7-string while keeping the familiar 6-string layout. Bands like Architects, Periphery (on some tracks), and Parkway Drive have used Drop B to create some of the heaviest riffs in modern metal.
Notable artists: Architects, Parkway Drive, Whitechapel, Born of Osiris, Emmure
Best for: Extreme metal riffs, deathcore breakdowns, djent chugs, and any style demanding the lowest possible 6-string tuning
Explore This Scale in Other Tunings
- A Bebop Minor in Standard Tuning
- A Bebop Minor in Drop D
- A Bebop Minor in DADGAD
- A Bebop Minor in Open G
- A Bebop Minor in Baritone (B Standard)
- A Bebop Minor in 7-string
- A Bebop Minor in 8-string
- A Bebop Minor in Drop C
- A Bebop Minor in Open D
- A Bebop Minor in Half Step Down
- A Bebop Minor in Open E
- A Bebop Minor in Open A
- A Bebop Minor in Double Drop D
- A Bebop Minor in Open C