STRINGSCALES

E altered dominant double b3 Scale — Guitar Fretboard Visualization

Low E string: E, F, Gb, Ab, Bb, C, D, E at frets 0, 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12

A string: Bb, C, D, E, F, Gb, Ab at frets 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11

D string: D, E, F, Gb, Ab, Bb, C, D at frets 0, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12

G string: Ab, Bb, C, D, E, F, Gb at frets 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11

B string: C, D, E, F, Gb, Ab, Bb at frets 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11

High E string: E, F, Gb, Ab, Bb, C, D, E at frets 0, 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12

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E 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:

E

I

G♭7no5/E
F

bii

Fm
G♭

bbIII+

G♭aug
A♭

bIV+

A♭aug
B♭

bV

B♭maj
C

bVI

Cmaj♭5
D

bvii°

Ddim

Same notes, different mode

E 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.

F neapolitan majorGb leading whole toneAb lydian augmented dominantBb lydian dominant b6C major locrianD 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 E altered dominant double b3 (G) for one bar of maximum dominant tension, then resolve.
  • The double-flat 3rd (Gb) 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 (Bb); 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 E.

How to play E altered dominant double b3 on guitar

Both E strings are open roots, and the minor seventh rings on open D, so the tonic sounds without any fretting. More roots wait two frets along the D string and five along the B string, which means low phrases stay in first position. Barre points: fret 7 for the A-shape, fret 12 for the E-shape. D half-diminished b4 borrows this exact fingering, so one shape answers both. At fret 4 the shape changes.

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