STRINGSCALES

B♭ altered Scale — Guitar Fretboard Visualization

Low E string: E, Gb, Ab, Bb, Cb, C#, D, E at frets 0, 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12

A string: Bb, Cb, C#, D, E, Gb, Ab at frets 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11

D string: D, E, Gb, Ab, Bb, Cb, C#, D at frets 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12

G string: Ab, Bb, Cb, C#, D, E, Gb at frets 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 11

B string: Cb, C#, D, E, Gb, Ab, Bb, Cb at frets 0, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 12

High E string: E, Gb, Ab, Bb, Cb, C#, D, E at frets 0, 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12

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Bb 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°

B♭dim
C♭

bii

C♭m
C♯

#ii

C♯m
D

III+

Daug
E

#IV

Emaj
G♭

bVI

G♭maj
A♭

bvii°

A♭dim

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

Same notes, different mode

Bb 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.

Cb melodic minorC# dorian b2D lydian augmentedE lydian dominantGb mixolydian b6Ab locrian #2

altered in all 12 keys, with chords and related scales

tip
  • Use Bb altered over a V7alt chord only, then resolve: the b2 (B), #2 (C#), b5 (E) and b6 (Gb) are the b9, #9, #11 and b13 of the chord.
  • Think melodic minor a half step above Bb: same notes, so your melodic minor fingerings already play this scale.
  • Land on the 3rd (D) or flat 7th (Ab) 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

A-shape barre sits all the way down at fret 1, so the lowest comfortable home for this key is the first fret of the A string. Open D sounds the major third and both open E strings the sharp fourth, which means three strings ring scale tones with nothing held down. Capo at 1 rewrites this key in A fingerings. B melodic minor walks the identical frets a semitone higher, meaning no new shape to learn. E-shape territory centers on fret 6, with the box closing at 10.

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