How to Play The Allan Holdsworth Bebop Scale

Though he is best known for his Fusion playing, studyingAllan Holdsworths playingcan also be
beneficial for more traditional players who are looking to modernize their soloing concepts, or just add a
new angle to their approach to Bebop and Post-Bop soloing.

One of the concepts that Allan has mastered, and that jazz guitarists fromall styles and
backgroundsneed to have under their fingers, is the Bebop scale (which you can find as the Jazz
Dominant Scale 2 in his bookJust for the Curious).

The Bebop scale is an essential tool for any jazz guitarist and while this scale usually conjures up images
ofWes MontgomeryandGeorge Benson, you can also gleam a vast amount of knowledge on the
subject by studying how more modern players, such as Holdsworth, use this classic sound in their playing.

First lets review the normal Dominant Bebop Scale, which is a Mixolydian mode with anadded major 7th
interval. Here is a one-octave fingering for that scale, nothing fancy but it sounds great and sits well on
the guitar.

If this scale is new to you, check out my article on Dominant Bebop Scale Fingerings for Guitar for a little
refresher on these must know scales.

Have a question or comment about this lesson? Visit theAllan Holdsworth Bebop Scales thread at the
MWG Forum.

Dominant Bebop Scale

Now well take a look atHoldsworths version of the Bebop scale.

Here, he not only adds a major 7th interval to the Mixolydian scale, but he also throws in a blue note, the
b3rd, for good measure, producing a nine-note scale.

Here is the same fingering as above only with theextra note, b3rd, added into the scale.

Play around with this for a while. Improvise with itover a static chord, take it into different keys, apply
any/all scale patterns you like to this fingering.

Getting the fingering down is a good start, but once you getthe sound of this scale in your earsand
internalize it, thats when the real fun starts.

Here is the one-octave scale in the key of C.

Allan Holdsworth Bebop Scale

One of the things that makes Holdsworths playing so unique is his ability tocreate long, fluid ideasthat
span large portions of the neck.

When I was checking out his version of the Bebop scale, I noticed that I could build a cool,3-octave
fingeringthat not only covered most of the neck, but was also very easy to play and sat well under my
fingers.

Here is thatfingeringfor you to check out.

Notice that there are a ton of4-note chromatic groupsin this fingering, which you can finger 1-2-3-4 for
ease of use.

These sections not only make it easy tomemorize this scale, but when you start to add in slurs to this
idea, you can really get that Holdsworth legato sound happening in your playing.

Here is thethree-octave scalein the key of F.

Allan Holdsworth Bebop Scale 3 8ve

How to Practice the Allan Holdsworth Bebop Scale

With theAllan Holdsworth Bebop Scaleunder your fingers and in your ears, its time to take it to the
woodshed.

Here are some ways you can practice this scale in order tomaximize your time in the practice room.

Practice the above fingering in all 12 keys, ascending-descending and then descending-ascending

Sing the root of a C7 chord and play this scale up and down, do in all 12 keys

Improvise with this scale over a static 7 chord or a static iim7-V7 progression, do this in 12 keys

ApplyBebop Scale Patternsto this scale fingering in all 12 keys

Improvise over a plain I-IV-V blues progression using this scale over every chord

Transcribe a few Holdsworth lines, writing out the patterns he uses, and apply them to this scale in
12 keys

Add slurs to any/all of the notes in this fingering

Though Holdsworth isnt known as aBebop player, his command of the Dominant Bebop scale, and any
scale for that matter, provides a cool fingering approach for this bebop scale.

Because of this, you can take his fingerings and apply them toyour own playingto modernize your
dominant 7th chords and get a little bit of that Holdsworth flare into your solos.