E Altered Guitar Scale

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

Notes

E
F
G
G♯
B♭
C
D

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

Interval Structure

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

Scale Chords (triads)

DegreeChord (in E)Quality
diminished
ii Fm minor
iii Gm minor
IV+ G♯+ augmented
V B♭ Major
VI C 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 E Altered on guitar in the interactive app.

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Same scale in other keys