Altered · A · Guitar
The A Altered scale is A B♭ C D♭ E♭ F G — formula 1 ♭2 ♭3 ♭4 ♭5 ♭6 ♭7, step pattern H–W–H–W–W–W–W. Use it over A7alt: it is the scale for altered dominant chords (7♭9, 7♯9, 7♯5, 7♭13) resolving to a tonic — the V7alt in a ii–V–I. Below, every note is marked on the fretboard in standard tuning; press play to hear it on a synthesized guitar while each note lights up, or tap any fret to sound that note.
Visualizer
Guitar · standard tuning
Piano
Tap any note on the diagram to hear it. Play loops the scale up and down one octave in eighth notes (switch Loop off for a single pass) in the position starting at fret 5. “Show” switches or combines the fretboard and keyboard; “Sound” picks the instrument you hear. Audio is synthesized in the browser.
Reference
| Degree | Note | Interval from A | Step to next |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A | unison (0 semitones) | H |
| ♭2 | B♭ | minor 2nd (1 semitones) | W |
| ♭3 | C | minor 3rd (3 semitones) | H |
| ♭4 | D♭ | major 3rd (4 semitones) | W |
| ♭5 | E♭ | tritone (6 semitones) | W |
| ♭6 | F | minor 6th (8 semitones) | W |
| ♭7 | G | minor 7th (10 semitones) | W |
Chord it implies: A7alt (A – C – E♭ – G). Use it for: altered dominant chords (7♭9, 7♯9, 7♯5, 7♭13) resolving to a tonic — the V7alt in a ii–V–I.
Common questions
A B♭ C D♭ E♭ F G. As scale degrees: 1 ♭2 ♭3 ♭4 ♭5 ♭6 ♭7. It has 7 notes.
A Altered fits A7alt and, more generally, altered dominant chords (7♭9, 7♯9, 7♯5, 7♭13) resolving to a tonic — the V7alt in a ii–V–I.
1 ♭2 ♭3 ♭4 ♭5 ♭6 ♭7 — the step pattern from the root is H W H W W W W (W = whole step, H = half step).
Start on the root A on the low E string at fret 5, and play the one-octave position shown: E-string fret 5, E-string fret 6, E-string fret 8, E-string fret 9, A-string fret 6, A-string fret 8, D-string fret 5, D-string fret 7. Every A on the neck is a root, so the same shape works in every position where the notes are marked.
Keep going
Same scale on piano · all Altered pages: Altered hub · theory: chord-scale theory.
Other scales from A