Scales
A Altered Scale
A · Bb · B# · C# · D# · F · G
The seventh mode of melodic minor — every tension altered, and the most highly charged scale over a dominant chord.
Also called A super Locrian · A diminished whole tone
A Altered Scale
A · Bb · B# · C# · D# · F · G
Fingering on the piano
| Hand | Fingering | Notes | Play it on your instrument |
|---|---|---|---|
| Right hand | 3 4 1 2 3 1 2 3 | A · Bb · B# · C# · D# · F · G · A | |
| Left hand | 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 3 | A · Bb · B# · C# · D# · F · G · A |
One octave ascending; 1 is the thumb. A standard fingering, not the only one.
Tap a key or a fret to hear it.
Scale degrees
A Altered is made of the notes A · Bb · B# · C# · D# · F · G. Each is a degree counted from the tonic, and the gaps between them are the step pattern H W H W W W W.
Read on: scale degrees · building any scale
Chords in this key
Stacking thirds on each degree of A Altered gives the chords of the key; the roman numeral names the degree each is built on.
Related scales
The scales A Altered shares its notes with: the one it is a rotation of, the relative and parallel keys, the scales inside it and the ones that contain it.
Scales inside it
A Whole Tone PentatonicA · C# · Eb · F · G
Every note of this scale is in A Altered.
A Super Locrian PentatonicA · C · Db · Eb · G
Every note of this scale is in A Altered.
A Mystery #1A · Bb · C# · Eb · F · G
Every note of this scale is in A Altered.
Scales that contain it
A ChromaticA · Bb · B · C · C# · D · Eb · E · F · F# · G · G#
Contains every note of A Altered.
Open it in a tool
Understanding A Altered
Names and spellings
A Altered is also called A super Locrian, A diminished whole tone; every one of those names means exactly these notes.
The altered scale, super Locrian and diminished whole tone are three names for the seventh mode of the melodic minor. Charts write the chord it fits as 7alt, which is where the first name comes from.
How it is built
On A the scale is A · Bb · B# · C# · D# · F · G, following the step pattern H W H W W W W. It keeps the root, major third and minor seventh that make a dominant chord, and alters everything else: ♭9, ♯9, ♯11 and ♭13.
The quickest way to find it is to play the melodic minor scale a semitone above the chord root. Over a G7 altered, that is A♭ melodic minor.
How it is used
It is the sound of a dominant chord straining as hard as it can toward resolution, and it is standard vocabulary over the V of a minor ii–V–i.
It is also called the super locrian. Both names describe the same seven notes; "altered" describes what it does to a chord, "super locrian" where it sits in the melodic minor.
Learn this properly
Chapter 17: Theory in StylesCommon questions
- What notes are in the A Altered?
- The A Altered contains A · Bb · B# · C# · D# · F · G. Find every scale that contains these notes with the scale finder.
- How do I find the altered scale quickly?
- Play the melodic minor scale a semitone above the chord root.
- What chord does the altered scale fit over?
- An altered dominant — any dominant seventh carrying ♭9, ♯9, ♯5 or ♭13.
- How do I play A Altered?
- On guitar start with the 1st position, played from the lowest string upward; the instrument panel on this page shows its frets and the positions further up the neck. On the piano the right hand ascends 3 4 1 2 3 1 2 3, with 1 as the thumb. Every position plays when you press it.
- What chords are in the key of A Altered?
- Stacking thirds on each degree of A Altered gives Adim (i°), Bbm (ii), B#m (iii), C#aug (IV+), D#M (V), F (VI), Gdim (vii°). These are the diatonic chords of the key, the ones a song in this key uses most; the harmony band on this page lists them with the seventh chords built the same way.