The altered scale, also called the super Locrian or diminished whole tone scale, is the seventh mode of the melodic minor and supplies every altered tension over a dominant chord.
The Altered Scale
Also known as Super Locrian and the Diminished Whole Tone scale. It is the seventh mode of melodic minor, and the single most useful scale jazz musicians know for improvising over altered dominant chords. Every available tension a V7 chord can carry (♭9, ♯9, ♯11, ♭13) lives inside it.
01. What the Altered Scale Is
Build C melodic minor: C, D, E♭, F, G, A, B. Now start that scale on its seventh degree, B, and play through to the next B. You get B, C, D, E♭, F, G, A. That is B altered, the seventh mode of C melodic minor, and the same procedure on every melodic minor scale produces the twelve altered scales.
The shorthand is straightforward: the altered scale on a given root is the melodic minor scale a half step above that root, rearranged to start on the lower note. C altered is D♭ melodic minor; G altered is A♭ melodic minor; F altered is G♭ melodic minor. Once that pattern clicks, you can derive all twelve altered scales from a single shape.
It earned the name “Super Locrian” because it looks like the Locrian mode (1, ♭2, ♭3, 4, ♭5, ♭6, ♭7) with the 4th degree lowered to ♭4. One more flat below Locrian, “super” in the sense of more so, and you arrive here.
02. Two Formulas, One Scale
The altered scale is unusual in that it has two standard formulas, each useful in a different situation. The first matches the modal spelling, one note per letter name. The second matches the chord-tone alterations of a dominant 7 chord.
Modal spelling (Super Locrian)
1 · ♭2 · ♭3 · ♭4 · ♭5 · ♭6 · ♭7
This spelling makes the relationship to other modes obvious. Compare it against Locrian (1, ♭2, ♭3, 4, ♭5, ♭6, ♭7): everything matches except the 4th, which the altered scale lowers to ♭4. The strict alphabetical order also makes notation cleaner, though in one key it produces a double flat, which is why the second formula often takes over in practice.
Jazz spelling (altered dominant)
1 · ♭9 · ♯9 · 3 · ♯11 · ♭13 · ♭7
Same seven pitches (F♭ is E, G♭ is F♯), different labels. This is the spelling jazz pianists actually think in, because it names every note as a chord tone or an available tension over a V7 chord. The chord tones of C7, the 1, 3 and ♭7, sit unchanged at C, E and B♭. The remaining four notes are exactly the four altered tensions ♭9, ♯9, ♯11 and ♭13.
03. Built on the Seventh Degree of Melodic Minor
Every mode of melodic minor has a use: the second mode (Dorian ♭2) handles minor-7 chords with a flat 9, the fourth (Lydian dominant) handles dominant chords with a ♯11, and so on. The seventh mode is the most useful of all, because it covers every alteration of a dominant chord at once.
The shortcut is worth memorizing. To find the altered scale on any root, build the melodic minor scale a half step higher. The notes are identical; only the starting point changes.
| Altered Scale | Parent (Melodic Minor) |
|---|---|
| C altered | D♭ melodic minor |
| G altered | A♭ melodic minor |
| D altered | E♭ melodic minor |
| F altered | G♭ melodic minor |
| B altered | C melodic minor |
If you already know your melodic minor scales, you already know your altered scales. The note content is the same set; the harmonic role and the starting note are what change.
04. Hear It in Every Key
Click a root to highlight that altered scale on the keyboard, then press play to hear it ascending and descending. Notice how strange it sounds standing on its own, and how much its dissonance starts to make sense once you imagine it sitting on top of a dominant 7 chord.
Widget · Altered Scale in 12 Keys
C altered: C · D♭ · E♭ · F♭ · G♭ · A♭ · B♭
Parent scale: D♭ Melodic Minor (the altered scale is its seventh mode).
05. The Altered Scale in All Twelve Keys
Every altered scale uses the semitone pattern H · W · H · W · W · W · W (1, 2, 1, 2, 2, 2, 2). The table below lists all twelve, the readable note spelling, and the parent melodic minor scale each one comes from.
| Root | Notes | Parent |
|---|---|---|
| C | C · D♭ · E♭ · F♭ · G♭ · A♭ · B♭ | D♭ Melodic Minor |
| C♯ / D♭ | C♯ · D · E · F · G · A · B | D Melodic Minor |
| D | D · E♭ · F · G♭ · A♭ · B♭ · C | E♭ Melodic Minor |
| D♯ / E♭ | D♯ · E · F♯ · G · A · B · C♯ | E Melodic Minor |
| E | E · F · G · A♭ · B♭ · C · D | F Melodic Minor |
| F | F · G♭ · A♭ · A · B · D♭ · E♭ | G♭ Melodic Minor |
| F♯ / G♭ | F♯ · G · A · B♭ · C · D · E | G Melodic Minor |
| G | G · A♭ · B♭ · C♭ · D♭ · E♭ · F | A♭ Melodic Minor |
| G♯ / A♭ | G♯ · A · B · C · D · E · F♯ | A Melodic Minor |
| A | A · B♭ · C · D♭ · E♭ · F · G | B♭ Melodic Minor |
| A♯ / B♭ | A♯ · B · C♯ · D · E · F♯ · G♯ | B Melodic Minor |
| B | B · C · D · E♭ · F · G · A | C Melodic Minor |
Eleven of the twelve spell cleanly here, one note per letter. F altered is the exception: it is printed above as F, G♭, A♭, A, B, D♭, E♭, which repeats the letter A and skips C, because the strict modal spelling needs a double flat (F, G♭, A♭, B♭♭, C♭, D♭, E♭). The pitches are identical either way.
06. How to Use It: V7alt to I
The altered scale shines in one specific spot: the dominant chord that resolves down a 5th to its tonic. Play the chord altered, play the scale altered, then resolve. The scale gives you every tension you might want, and the resolution releases all of it.
The classic move: G7alt to CMaj7
Over the G7, play G altered: G, A♭, A♯, B, C♯, E♭, F. The chord under it is some voicing of G7♭9♯9♭13. On the bar of CMaj7, drop into the C major or C Lydian scale.
Why it works mechanically
Only two notes of G altered belong to the CMaj7 chord itself: the root G and the leading tone B. (Widen the target to the whole C major scale and F joins them, which is why F is the one altered-scale note that can sit still through the change.) Every remaining note is a half step from a CMaj7 chord tone, and that is the whole mechanism: A♭ falls to G, B♭ rises to B, D♭ falls to C, E♭ rises to E, and F falls to E. Maximum tension, and every voice already standing next to its target.
Voicing tip for piano
Avoid playing the natural 5 of the dominant chord while the altered scale is in the air. The natural 5 contradicts the ♭5 (♯11) and the ♯5 (♭13) that define the alterations. On G7alt you would voice the chord with the 3 (B), the ♭7 (F), and a pair of altered tensions, for example the ♭9 (A♭) and the ♯9 (B♭), but skip the natural D.
07. The Chord Voicings It Pairs With
The altered scale fits any dominant chord with one or more alterations. Each of the chords below contains the root, major 3rd, and ♭7 of a V chord, plus at least one tension that lives inside the altered scale. Use the scale freely over any of them.
08. Where You’ll Hear It
The altered scale is a post-bop signature. Bebop players already reached for altered tensions on dominant chords, but the scale became a default vocabulary for the generation that followed.
John Coltrane
Melodic-minor color runs through Coltrane’s dominant playing in the early 1960s, with altered lines turning up on the V chord of a II-V-I. His 1962 sessions are a good listening entry point. Worth knowing that the Giant Steps lines themselves lean more on bebop patterns and the major-3rd cycle than on the altered scale, so that album is the wrong place to start hunting for it.
Wayne Shorter
Shorter writes harmony that asks for the altered scale by structure. His Blue Note records (Speak No Evil, Adam’s Apple, Juju) place altered dominants in unexpected spots, and the solos answer with lines that sound both surprising and inevitable.
Herbie Hancock
Hancock’s comping treats an altered dominant as an invitation rather than a constraint. On his own records (Maiden Voyage, Speak Like a Child) and in the Miles Davis quintet, a dominant chord held across a bar or two is where the altered vocabulary shows up most clearly.
09. How to Practice It
The altered scale is awkward in isolation. Its tonal center is unstable, and running it up from the root sounds like a misprint. Practicing it as a stand-alone scale is necessary but never sufficient. The real skill is connecting it to the chord under it and resolving it correctly.
1. Learn it as melodic minor a half step up
If your melodic minor scales are solid, the altered scale is already in your hands. Play C melodic minor, then play it again starting on B, its seventh degree. That is B altered. Repeat on every melodic minor scale you know.
2. Practice over II-V-I, not over V alone
Loop a Dm7, G7alt, CMaj7 progression on a backing track. Play D Dorian on the Dm7, G altered on the G7, and either C major or C Lydian on the CMaj7. The point is the resolution; the altered scale earns its keep at the bar line.
3. Target chord tones on the resolution
Every note in the altered scale has a target a half step away inside the I chord. Practice landing on the 3rd or the 7th of the I chord on beat 1, and pick as your last note on the V the altered-scale note a half step above or below it. The motion resolves every time.
10. Continue Learning
The altered scale sits inside a small family of jazz-essential scales, all of them modes of melodic minor, all of them tools for specific harmonic situations. Once it is under your fingers, the natural next steps are the rest of the melodic minor modes, the chord vocabularies that pair with them, and the practice routines that internalize them.
Minor Scales →
Natural, harmonic, and melodic: the parent scales the altered scale comes from.
The Seven Modes →
Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, and the rest of the diatonic modes.
Exotic Scales →
Whole tone, diminished, Phrygian dominant, and the rest of the palette.
Altered Chords →
The chord vocabulary that pairs with this scale: 7♯9, 7♭9, 7♯11, 7♭13.
Pentatonic and Blues →
The opposite end of the spectrum: fewer notes, broader use.
Altered Scale by Key →
Each key with notes, fingering, and an interactive keyboard.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the altered scale?
A seven-note scale built from the seventh degree of melodic minor. C altered uses the same notes as D♭ melodic minor: C, D♭, E♭, F♭, G♭, A♭, B♭. It contains every available alteration of a dominant 7 chord (♭9, ♯9, ♯11, ♭13), which is why jazz musicians reach for it over altered dominants.
Why is it also called Super Locrian?
It looks like Locrian (1, ♭2, ♭3, 4, ♭5, ♭6, ♭7) with the 4th lowered to ♭4: one more flat below Locrian, hence "super." Jazz musicians more often say "altered" or "altered dominant"; classical theorists more often say "Super Locrian." The two names describe the same notes.
Why does the altered scale have two formulas?
The modal spelling (1, ♭2, ♭3, ♭4, ♭5, ♭6, ♭7) keeps the scale alphabetically ordered, one note per letter. The jazz spelling (1, ♭9, ♯9, 3, ♯11, ♭13, ♭7) names every note as a chord-tone alteration over a V7 chord. They describe the same seven pitches; the jazz spelling is more useful when you are improvising over V7alt.
When do I use the altered scale?
Over an altered dominant chord that is moving down a 5th to its tonic, the V7alt to I cadence. The classic example is G7alt to CMaj7: play G altered over the G7, then resolve into C. The altered scale carries every available tension, so it produces maximum tension into the resolution.
What chord does the altered scale fit?
Any dominant 7 chord with one or more alterations: 7♯9, 7♭9, 7♯11, 7♭5, 7♭13, and the catch-all 7alt. The scale contains the chord tones (1, 3, ♭7) plus all four available tensions (♭9, ♯9, ♯11, ♭13). It does not contain a natural 5, 9, 11, or 13, which is exactly why "alt" is the right label.
Is the "Diminished Whole Tone" scale the same scale?
Yes, the same scale under a different name. The lower half of the altered scale (1, ♭2, ♭3, 3) opens with the same intervals as a diminished scale. The upper half (♯11, ♭13, ♭7, 1) is a whole-tone fragment. Combining the two halves on a single root produces the altered scale, which is why the descriptive name "Diminished Whole Tone" appears in older theory texts.
How many notes does G altered share with C major?
Three: G, B and F. Against the CMaj7 chord itself (C, E, G, B) only G and B are shared. Each of the other five notes of G altered sits a half step from a CMaj7 chord tone, which is what makes the resolution feel inevitable: A♭ falls to G, B♭ rises to B, D♭ falls to C, E♭ rises to E, and F falls to E.