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
diminished
ii D♭m minor
iii E♭m minor
IV+ E+ augmented
V G♭ Major
VI A♭ Major
vii° B♭° 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