Your Online Guide to Playing Better Jazz Guitar
Altered Scale
The Altered Mode is the seventh mode of the Melodic Minor Scale and it contains 7 notes.
These notes are:
Root – m2nd – m3rd – M3rd – D5th – m6th – m7th
So, for a C Altered Mode, these notes would be:
C – Db – Eb – E – Gb – Ab – Bb
There are three different fingerings presented for both the one and two octave Mode. These fingerings start with your index, middle and pinky fingers respectively. Not everyone will find every fingering comfortable or practical, so feel free to experiment with these different fingerings and find one, or two or three, that fit well with your hands.
Notice how the Altered Mode is only one note different than the Locrian Mode we’ve added a flat 4th compared to the Locrian Mode. Knowing this will not only raise your theory chops, but it also makes it easier to learn these fingerings on the guitar. Just take any Locrian Mode, lower the 4th note by one fret, and voila, instant Altered Mode.
Each fingering is presented on a C Altered Mode, but make sure to practice these in all 12 keys so that you learn you neck, as well as take these fingerings into every possible spot on the neck.
Click on any example to see a larger, printable version of the page.
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Altered Mode One Octave Fingerings
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Altered Mode Two Octave Fingerings
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2 Responses to "Altered Scale"
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Hi Matt, another way to approach the altered scale is to take the tonic of major (Ionian mode) scale and raise the tonic by a 1/2 step.
So, a B major scale would be:
B – C# – D# – E – F# – G# – A# – B
Raising the tonic by 1/2 step yields:
C – C# – D# – E – F# – G# – A# – C
which is enharmonic to:
C – Db – Eb – Fb – Gb – Ab – Bb – C
I thought this might be an easier way for students to think of the altered scale since it’s a minor tweak to a major (i.e. known) scale.
For sure, that’s an easy way to think of it as well. I prefer the Locrian with the b4, only because I like to connect the modes to their scale degrees, so Locrian is the 7th degree and so is the Locrian b4. Neither is right or wrong, just how I like to think about it. Good to have options!