D Altered Guitar Scale

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

Notes

D
E♭
F
F♯
A♭
B♭
C

Solfège : Ré – Mi♭ – Fa – Fa♯ – La♭ – Si♭ – Do

Interval Structure

D ½T E♭ T F ½T F♯ T A♭ T B♭ T C D+oct. T

Scale Chords (triads)

DegreeChord (in D)Quality
diminished
ii E♭m minor
iii Fm minor
IV+ F♯+ augmented
V A♭ Major
VI B♭ 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 D Altered on guitar in the interactive app.

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Same scale in other keys