STRINGSCALES

B altered Scale — Guitar Fretboard Visualization

Low E string: E#, G, A, B, C, C##, D# at frets 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11

A string: A, B, C, C##, D#, E#, G, A at frets 0, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12

D string: C##, D#, E#, G, A, B, C, C## at frets 0, 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 10, 12

G string: G, A, B, C, C##, D#, E#, G at frets 0, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 12

B string: B, C, C##, D#, E#, G, A, B at frets 0, 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12

High E string: E#, G, A, B, C, C##, D# at frets 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11

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B altered

The altered scale, also called super locrian, is the seventh mode of the melodic minor scale a half step up, and jazz's default over altered dominant chords. It contains the flat 9, sharp 9, sharp 11 and flat 13: every standard alteration and no plain tensions. Play it over a V7alt chord and resolve into the I; the wrongness is the point until the landing.

it consists of these notes and degrees:

B

i°

Bdim
C

bii

Cm
C𝄪

#ii

C𝄪m
D♯

III+

D♯aug
E♯

#IV

E♯maj
G

bVI

Gmaj
A

bvii°

Adim

Characteristic notes: C (b9) and G (b13), every tension flattened, the go-to scale over altered dominant chords.

Same notes, different mode

B altered uses the same notes as the scales below. Start from a different note and you get a new mode built on the very same note set.

C melodic minorD dorian b2D# lydian augmentedE# lydian dominantG mixolydian b6A locrian #2

altered in all 12 keys, with chords and related scales

tip
  • Use B altered over a V7alt chord only, then resolve: the b2 (C), #2 (D), b5 (F) and b6 (G) are the b9, #9, #11 and b13 of the chord.
  • Think melodic minor a half step above B: same notes, so your melodic minor fingerings already play this scale.
  • Land on the 3rd (D#) or flat 7th (A) on strong beats; they are the only stable tones, and they keep the chaos intelligible.
  • Practice resolving each altered tension by half step into the I chord's nearest chord tone; that voice leading is the whole point.

How to play B altered on guitar

Open B carries the root while open A and open G add the flat seventh and flat sixth, so three of the four available open strings outline this key by themselves. Fretted roots stay manageable: fret 2 on the A string, fret 7 on both E strings. Capo at fret 2 turns the whole thing into A fingerings, letting you borrow open-position vocabulary. C melodic minor occupies these exact frets from one semitone above, which means practice in one pays out in the other. Box one hands over at fret 11.

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