The “perfect” intervals that make Major or Minor scales so easy to listen to is totally absent. For one it has an extremely unsteady sound to me. It has taken me quite a long time to get really comfortable with the sound of this scale. Knowing this important mode will allow you to play over these challenging and dense chords. They have a rich and dark sound that allows you to create tension, pull you back towards the 1 chord. You’ll see these chords used very commonly as a 5 chord in a minor key. As you can see it combines the #5 AND the #9 together into one chord.

The chord type that I use in this lesson is the 7(#5,#9). The chords that I include in this group would be: So, this group includes dominant 7th chords that use any number of altered “extensions”. There is a group of dominant 7th chords that I refer to as “Altered Chords”. You play this by beginning and ending your scale on the 7th scale degree of Melodic Minor. The 7th mode of Melodic Minor is what we’re calling the “Altered” scale. Specifically in styles and genres that use rich harmony. Melodic Minor has a very interesting sound that is used widely in jazz and other styles. The only difference is that you would lower the 3rd from the Major scale to get the Melodic Minor of the same root note. In case you aren’t familiar the Melodic Minor scale is almost identical to the regular major scale. This is one name for the 7th mode of the melodic minor scale. It is very brief, but is intended to give you a “positional” framework to use as a starting point for improvising with this scale. Sometimes things are less than they seem.This lesson is an introduction to the Altered Scale. Someday your ear will get friendly with it, too! This is one you'll just have to trust on, for now. Granted, initially the Altered Scale can be quite foreign to the unaccustomed ear. How can you beat that? The trick is to get this into your fingers, the fret relationships, where you skip frets and/or cross strings, and over time, they become subliminally fertile. Notice if you start the same sequence of notes on the G, you have a third delicious scale, a G Melodic Minor Scale, G, A, Bb, C, D, E, F# G. With the F# Altered Scale, you also have a tasty treat, our favorite Aug 11th Scale (start on the C): In an Altered Scale, you have three in one. Learn a major scale cold, and all you have to do is start it on a different scale degree to get these other precious modes. The first? Why a major scale of course, because with its WWHWWH step sequence, you have all the modes ( Dorian, Mixolydian, Lydian, etc) covered. We believe the Altered Scale is the second most important scale you can learn. C is a color tone we added when we arbitrarily flatted the 9th of the V7 chord. A is the 7th, and can either be raised or lowered as part of the B minor scale. Note the harmonic and enharmonic similarities really, the only superfluous notes are A and C ( Bb and A# are the same note). Key of B minor, V7(b9) = F#, A#, C#, E, Gį# Altered scale = F#, G, A, Bb, C, D, E, F# When you spell out the individual elements of a V7 chord, especially one with a b9 added, you have some commonality: Simply a matter of personal taste, we like its harmonic flavoring in the minor mode, but nothing says you can't use it elsewhere. The answer is yes, it can be used in Major Scales. I am somewhat curious as to whether this scale is only used to resolve to minor keys (such as in Minor in Possession) or does it resolve equally to major keys as well?' Peter writes, 'I have practiced the diminished whole tone, half tone scale which you introduced in Jazz Mandology. Recently we received a question about Altered Scales we thought appropriate to share. | The perfect swing » Septem| Altered States Effective melodies manipulate harmonic content through the use of guide tones and preparatory gravity notes, masterfully woven in systematic tension, release, and transparent harmonic definition.' 'Good improvisation communicates harmonic progression melodically.