C# Altered Guitar Scale

6-string guitar  ·  Mode VII mel.  ·  7 notes  ·  minor family

Notes

C♯
D
E
E♯
G
A
B

Solfège : Do♯ – Ré – Mi – Mi♯ – Sol – La – Si

Interval Structure

C♯ ½T D T E ½T E♯ T G T A T B C♯+oct. T

Scale Chords (triads)

DegreeChord (in C#)Quality
C♯° diminished
ii Dm minor
iii Em minor
IV+ E♯+ augmented
V G Major
VI A Major
vii° diminished

About this scale

The altered scale (superlocrian) contains all altered tensions: b9, #9, b5, #5. On guitar, it is the scale for the most expressive V7alt→i resolutions in jazz. John Scofield, Pat Metheny, and Mike Stern use it over altered dominants to create maximum tension before resolution in minor.

See fretboard positions for C# Altered on guitar in the interactive app.

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Same scale in other keys