Also written Altered Dominant, Diminished Whole-Tone or Dominant Whole-Tone
F altered contains F, G♭, A♭, B♭♭, C♭, D♭, and E♭. Box 3 keeps the root on string 3, fret 8 for a high-position altered run.
F altered lowers the fourth of F locrian to B♭♭, producing 1, ♭2, ♭3, ♭4, ♭5, ♭6, ♭7. The tritone lies between F and C♭. Compare with F locrian to hear the ♭4 change.
F altered fits F 7th flat 5 and F 7th sharp 5 chords. Use it over F 7th flat 5 in modal jazz or fusion. The ♭2 and ♭6 add tension to dominant resolutions.
Practise Box 3 first. The root on string 3, fret 8 places the scale in a comfortable mid-neck position.
F altered in box 1 runs from fret 0 to fret 4, 12 notes across 4 strings, from F on the E string at fret 1 up to C♭ on the G string at fret 4. The root falls on the E string at fret 1 and the D string at fret 3.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 4 (E) | 1, 2, 4 | F, G♭, A♭ |
| 3 (A) | 0, 2, 4 | B♭♭, C♭, D♭ |
| 2 (D) | 1, 3, 4 | E♭, F, G♭ |
| 1 (G) | 1, 2, 4 | A♭, B♭♭, C♭ |
F altered in box 2 runs from fret 4 to fret 7, 10 notes across 4 strings, from A♭ on the E string at fret 4 up to D♭ on the G string at fret 6. No root falls inside this box; it sits between two of them.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 4 (E) | 4, 5, 7 | A♭, B♭♭, C♭ |
| 3 (A) | 4, 6 | D♭, E♭ |
| 2 (D) | 4, 6, 7 | G♭, A♭, B♭♭ |
| 1 (G) | 4, 6 | C♭, D♭ |
F altered in box 3 runs from fret 7 to fret 10, 8 notes across 4 strings, from C♭ on the E string at fret 7 up to F on the G string at fret 10. The root falls on the A string at fret 8 and the G string at fret 10.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 4 (E) | 7, 9 | C♭, D♭ |
| 3 (A) | 8, 9 | F, G♭ |
| 2 (D) | 7, 9 | B♭♭, C♭ |
| 1 (G) | 8, 10 | E♭, F |
F altered in box 4 runs from fret 9 to fret 12, 9 notes across 4 strings, from D♭ on the E string at fret 9 up to G♭ on the G string at fret 11. The root falls on the G string at fret 10.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 4 (E) | 9, 11 | D♭, E♭ |
| 3 (A) | 9, 11, 12 | G♭, A♭, B♭♭ |
| 2 (D) | 9, 11 | C♭, D♭ |
| 1 (G) | 10, 11 | F, G♭ |
F altered in box 5 runs from fret 11 to fret 14, 11 notes across 4 strings, from E♭ on the E string at fret 11 up to B♭♭ on the G string at fret 14. The root falls on the E string at fret 13.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 4 (E) | 11, 13, 14 | E♭, F, G♭ |
| 3 (A) | 11, 12, 14 | A♭, B♭♭, C♭ |
| 2 (D) | 11, 13 | D♭, E♭ |
| 1 (G) | 11, 13, 14 | G♭, A♭, B♭♭ |
F altered, position 1 of the three-notes-per-string shapes, starts on the root and runs from fret 0 to fret 4, three notes on each of 4 strings. The root falls on the E string at fret 1 and the D string at fret 3.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 4 (E) | 1, 2, 4 | F, G♭, A♭ |
| 3 (A) | 0, 2, 4 | B♭♭, C♭, D♭ |
| 2 (D) | 1, 3, 4 | E♭, F, G♭ |
| 1 (G) | 1, 2, 4 | A♭, B♭♭, C♭ |
F altered, position 2 of the three-notes-per-string shapes, starts on the ♭2 and runs from fret 2 to fret 6, three notes on each of 4 strings. The root falls on the D string at fret 3.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 4 (E) | 2, 4, 5 | G♭, A♭, B♭♭ |
| 3 (A) | 2, 4, 6 | C♭, D♭, E♭ |
| 2 (D) | 3, 4, 6 | F, G♭, A♭ |
| 1 (G) | 2, 4, 6 | B♭♭, C♭, D♭ |
F altered, position 3 of the three-notes-per-string shapes, starts on the ♭3 and runs from fret 4 to fret 8, three notes on each of 4 strings. The root falls on the A string at fret 8.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 4 (E) | 4, 5, 7 | A♭, B♭♭, C♭ |
| 3 (A) | 4, 6, 8 | D♭, E♭, F |
| 2 (D) | 4, 6, 7 | G♭, A♭, B♭♭ |
| 1 (G) | 4, 6, 8 | C♭, D♭, E♭ |
F altered, position 4 of the three-notes-per-string shapes, starts on the ♭4 and runs from fret 5 to fret 10, three notes on each of 4 strings. The root falls on the A string at fret 8 and the G string at fret 10.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 4 (E) | 5, 7, 9 | B♭♭, C♭, D♭ |
| 3 (A) | 6, 8, 9 | E♭, F, G♭ |
| 2 (D) | 6, 7, 9 | A♭, B♭♭, C♭ |
| 1 (G) | 6, 8, 10 | D♭, E♭, F |
F altered, position 5 of the three-notes-per-string shapes, starts on the ♭5 and runs from fret 7 to fret 11, three notes on each of 4 strings. The root falls on the A string at fret 8 and the G string at fret 10.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 4 (E) | 7, 9, 11 | C♭, D♭, E♭ |
| 3 (A) | 8, 9, 11 | F, G♭, A♭ |
| 2 (D) | 7, 9, 11 | B♭♭, C♭, D♭ |
| 1 (G) | 8, 10, 11 | E♭, F, G♭ |
F altered, position 6 of the three-notes-per-string shapes, starts on the ♭6 and runs from fret 9 to fret 13, three notes on each of 4 strings. The root falls on the E string at fret 13 and the G string at fret 10.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 4 (E) | 9, 11, 13 | D♭, E♭, F |
| 3 (A) | 9, 11, 12 | G♭, A♭, B♭♭ |
| 2 (D) | 9, 11, 13 | C♭, D♭, E♭ |
| 1 (G) | 10, 11, 13 | F, G♭, A♭ |
F altered, position 7 of the three-notes-per-string shapes, starts on the ♭7 and runs from fret 11 to fret 15, three notes on each of 4 strings. The root falls on the E string at fret 13 and the D string at fret 15.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 4 (E) | 11, 13, 14 | E♭, F, G♭ |
| 3 (A) | 11, 12, 14 | A♭, B♭♭, C♭ |
| 2 (D) | 11, 13, 15 | D♭, E♭, F |
| 1 (G) | 11, 13, 14 | G♭, A♭, B♭♭ |
Every chord here uses only notes from the scale. Tap one to open it.
F altered contains F, G♭, A♭, B♭♭, C♭, D♭, and E♭. The scale degrees are 1, ♭2, ♭3, ♭4, ♭5, ♭6, ♭7. It is also called Altered Dominant.
F altered fits F 7th flat 5 and F 7th sharp 5 chords. The scale works over dominant chords with altered fifths. Use it for modal jazz or fusion.
F altered lowers the fourth degree from B♭ to B♭♭. This creates a ♭4 interval instead of a perfect fourth. The rest of the scale matches F locrian.