C Altered Scale

What is the C Altered Scale?

The altered scale (also called Super Locrian) is the seventh mode of the melodic minor scale, and it lives up to its name — every possible tension is altered (♭9, #9, ♭5/#11, #5/♭13). It's the ultimate dominant tension scale in jazz, used over V7 chords when you want maximum harmonic tension before resolving. Here's how the C Altered Scale lays out on the fretboard.

Notes and Positions

All altered tensions over V7; 7th mode of melodic minor. On bass, the fretboard view helps you visualize where the important tones sit for building lines across positions. Use a finger-per-fret approach first, then add shifts only when the line needs a wider range. In the key of C, the notes are: C, Db, D#, E, F#, Ab, Bb.

How to Use It

You'll often hear it in Jazz, Fusion, and Altered dominant chords. A good way to internalize the sound is to sing the root, then sing a few scale degrees before you play them.

Practice root-on-E and root-on-A boxes separately, then connect them with one clean position shift. Use the interactive fretboard above to spot repeats of the same note on different strings and frets.