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D♭ altered dominant double b3 Scale — Guitar Fretboard Visualization

Low E string: Gbb, Abb, Bbb, Cb, Db, Ebb, Fbb at frets 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11

A string: Bbb, Cb, Db, Ebb, Fbb, Gbb, Abb, Bbb at frets 0, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12

D string: Ebb, Fbb, Gbb, Abb, Bbb, Cb, Db, Ebb at frets 0, 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 12

G string: Abb, Bbb, Cb, Db, Ebb, Fbb, Gbb, Abb at frets 0, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12

B string: Cb, Db, Ebb, Fbb, Gbb, Abb, Bbb, Cb at frets 0, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12

High E string: Gbb, Abb, Bbb, Cb, Db, Ebb, Fbb at frets 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11

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Db altered dominant double b3

The altered dominant double b3 scale, the seventh mode of the neapolitan major scale, is the altered scale pushed one notch further: the sharp 9 is flattened again to a double-flat 3rd. Every degree from 2 to 7 is lowered, some twice. It is about as much tension as seven notes can carry, for altered dominants at the outer edge of jazz harmony.

it consists of these notes and degrees:

D♭

I

F𝄫7no5/Db
E𝄫

bii

E𝄫m
F𝄫

bbIII+

F𝄫aug
G𝄫

bIV+

G𝄫aug
A𝄫

bV

A𝄫maj
B𝄫

bVI

B𝄫majb5
C♭

bvii°

C♭dim

Same notes, different mode

Db altered dominant double b3 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.

D neapolitan majorEb leading whole toneF lydian augmented dominantG lydian dominant b6A major locrianCb half-diminished b4

altered dominant double b3 in all 12 keys, with chords and related scales

tip
  • Every degree above the root is lowered, some twice: use Db altered dominant double b3 (E) for one bar of maximum dominant tension, then resolve.
  • The double-flat 3rd (Eb) is enharmonically the 9th of the chord a half step down; voice-lead it there and the wildness turns logical.
  • Anchor on the tritone between the root and b5 (G); it is the only interval here the ear can hold onto.
  • As the seventh mode of neapolitan major, it shares its pitch set with the neapolitan major a half step above Db.

How to play D♭ altered dominant double b3 on guitar

Four open strings hold scale tones, open B the minor seventh and open D the minor second, so pedal figures work before the fretting hand arrives. A capo on fret 1 makes this C fingering, so the 7 flats never touch your left hand. Deepest root sits nine frets up the low E string. Identical fingering serves B half-diminished b4, which means time here counts twice. At fret 13 sits box two.

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