C bebop dominant scale on alto sax
C bebop dominant has 8 notes: C D E F G A B♭ B. Degrees: 1 2 3 4 5 6 ♭7 7. Formula: W W H W W H H H.
What notes are in the C bebop dominant scale?
C, D, E, F, G, A, B♭ and B. It has 8 notes; its formula in whole and half steps is W W H W W H H H.
What does C bebop dominant sound like, and when do you use it?
Mixolydian + passing major 7th: in eighth notes, the chord tones land on the strong beats. Use it over 7 (dominant).
Chord progressions to improvise with C bebop dominant
In Jam mode (the Jam button above) a band of grand piano, upright bass and drums (recorded instruments) plays these progressions as swing, bossa, groove or ballad, and the staff lights up the notes of each chord as it plays. It's a backing track made for this scale in C:
- Bebop blues (I7–IV7–V7): 12 bars over C7, F7 and G7. 12-bar blues: in eighth notes starting on a chord tone, the passing major 7th puts the chord tones on the beats.
- Vamp (I7): a C7 vamp. A still dominant to practice your eighth-note lines.
C bebop dominant on alto sax: written notes and fingerings
The alto sax is a E♭ instrument: written C bebop dominant sounds E♭ bebop dominant in concert pitch. Fingering for each note, from low to high (left hand | right hand):
- C: 123 | 123 + low C
- D: 123 | 123
- E: 123 | 12
- F: 123 | 1
- G: 123 | –
- A: 12 | –
- B♭: 1 | – + bis (B♭)
- B: 1 | –
- C: 2 | –
Same notes as
Bebop dominant in other keys
On other instruments
C bebop dominant on piano · C bebop dominant on guitar · C bebop dominant on bass · C bebop dominant on ukulele · C bebop dominant on mandolin · C bebop dominant on banjo · C bebop dominant on violin · C bebop dominant on viola · C bebop dominant on cello · C bebop dominant on tenor sax · C bebop dominant on trumpet · C bebop dominant on flute · All scales