Also written Altered Dominant, Diminished Whole-Tone or Dominant Whole-Tone
A♭ altered uses A♭, B♭♭, C♭, D♭♭, E♭♭, F♭, G♭. Its Box 1 shape places the root on string 6, fret 4 for a low altered run.
A♭ altered is the seventh mode of B♭♭ melodic minor. The scale spells 1, ♭2, ♭3, ♭4, ♭5, ♭6, ♭7, with D♭♭ as the ♭4 and E♭♭ as the ♭5. Compared with A♭ locrian, the fourth drops from D♭ to D♭♭. The pattern H, W, H, W, W, W, W keeps half steps at the start and middle.
Use A♭ altered over A♭7♭5 or A♭7♯5 chords in jazz, fusion, and bebop. It fits dominant chords that resolve to D♭ minor or D♭ major. The altered fifths and ninths add tension before a ii–V–I in D♭. Try it over A♭ 7th flat 5 or A♭ 7th sharp 5.
Practise Box 1 first. It keeps the root on string 6, fret 4 and covers frets 0–3, making the half-step from A♭ to B♭♭ easy to hear and finger.
A♭ altered in box 1 runs from fret 0 to fret 3, 14 notes across 6 strings, from F♭ on the low E string at fret 0 up to G♭ on the high e string at fret 2. The root falls on the G string at fret 1.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 6 (E) | 0, 2 | F♭, G♭ |
| 5 (A) | 0, 2, 3 | B♭♭, C♭, D♭♭ |
| 4 (D) | 0, 2 | E♭♭, F♭ |
| 3 (G) | 1, 2 | A♭, B♭♭ |
| 2 (B) | 0, 1, 3 | C♭, D♭♭, E♭♭ |
| 1 (e) | 0, 2 | F♭, G♭ |
A♭ altered in box 2 runs from fret 2 to fret 5, 16 notes across 6 strings, from G♭ on the low E string at fret 2 up to B♭♭ on the high e string at fret 5. The root falls on the low E string at fret 4 and the high e string at fret 4.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 6 (E) | 2, 4, 5 | G♭, A♭, B♭♭ |
| 5 (A) | 2, 3, 5 | C♭, D♭♭, E♭♭ |
| 4 (D) | 2, 4 | F♭, G♭ |
| 3 (G) | 2, 4, 5 | B♭♭, C♭, D♭♭ |
| 2 (B) | 3, 5 | E♭♭, F♭ |
| 1 (e) | 2, 4, 5 | G♭, A♭, B♭♭ |
A♭ altered in box 3 runs from fret 4 to fret 7, 16 notes across 6 strings, from A♭ on the low E string at fret 4 up to C♭ on the high e string at fret 7. The root falls on the low E string at fret 4, the D string at fret 6 and the high e string at fret 4.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 6 (E) | 4, 5, 7 | A♭, B♭♭, C♭ |
| 5 (A) | 5, 7 | E♭♭, F♭ |
| 4 (D) | 4, 6, 7 | G♭, A♭, B♭♭ |
| 3 (G) | 4, 5, 7 | C♭, D♭♭, E♭♭ |
| 2 (B) | 5, 7 | F♭, G♭ |
| 1 (e) | 4, 5, 7 | A♭, B♭♭, C♭ |
A♭ altered in box 4 runs from fret 7 to fret 10, 16 notes across 6 strings, from C♭ on the low E string at fret 7 up to E♭♭ on the high e string at fret 10. The root falls on the B string at fret 9.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 6 (E) | 7, 8, 10 | C♭, D♭♭, E♭♭ |
| 5 (A) | 7, 9 | F♭, G♭ |
| 4 (D) | 7, 9, 10 | B♭♭, C♭, D♭♭ |
| 3 (G) | 7, 9 | E♭♭, F♭ |
| 2 (B) | 7, 9, 10 | G♭, A♭, B♭♭ |
| 1 (e) | 7, 8, 10 | C♭, D♭♭, E♭♭ |
A♭ altered in box 5 runs from fret 10 to fret 13, 13 notes across 6 strings, from E♭♭ on the low E string at fret 10 up to F♭ on the high e string at fret 12. The root falls on the A string at fret 11 and the G string at fret 13.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 6 (E) | 10, 12 | E♭♭, F♭ |
| 5 (A) | 11, 12 | A♭, B♭♭ |
| 4 (D) | 10, 12 | D♭♭, E♭♭ |
| 3 (G) | 11, 13 | G♭, A♭ |
| 2 (B) | 10, 12, 13 | B♭♭, C♭, D♭♭ |
| 1 (e) | 10, 12 | E♭♭, F♭ |
A♭ altered, position 1 of the three-notes-per-string shapes, starts on the ♭6 and runs from fret 0 to fret 5, three notes on each of 6 strings. The root falls on the low E string at fret 4, the G string at fret 1 and the high e string at fret 4.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 6 (E) | 0, 2, 4 | F♭, G♭, A♭ |
| 5 (A) | 0, 2, 3 | B♭♭, C♭, D♭♭ |
| 4 (D) | 0, 2, 4 | E♭♭, F♭, G♭ |
| 3 (G) | 1, 2, 4 | A♭, B♭♭, C♭ |
| 2 (B) | 1, 3, 5 | D♭♭, E♭♭, F♭ |
| 1 (e) | 2, 4, 5 | G♭, A♭, B♭♭ |
A♭ altered, position 2 of the three-notes-per-string shapes, starts on the ♭7 and runs from fret 2 to fret 7, three notes on each of 6 strings. The root falls on the low E string at fret 4, the D string at fret 6 and the high e string at fret 4.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 6 (E) | 2, 4, 5 | G♭, A♭, B♭♭ |
| 5 (A) | 2, 3, 5 | C♭, D♭♭, E♭♭ |
| 4 (D) | 2, 4, 6 | F♭, G♭, A♭ |
| 3 (G) | 2, 4, 5 | B♭♭, C♭, D♭♭ |
| 2 (B) | 3, 5, 7 | E♭♭, F♭, G♭ |
| 1 (e) | 4, 5, 7 | A♭, B♭♭, C♭ |
A♭ altered, position 3 of the three-notes-per-string shapes, starts on the root and runs from fret 3 to fret 9, three notes on each of 6 strings. The root falls on the low E string at fret 4, the D string at fret 6 and the B string at fret 9.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 6 (E) | 4, 5, 7 | A♭, B♭♭, C♭ |
| 5 (A) | 3, 5, 7 | D♭♭, E♭♭, F♭ |
| 4 (D) | 4, 6, 7 | G♭, A♭, B♭♭ |
| 3 (G) | 4, 5, 7 | C♭, D♭♭, E♭♭ |
| 2 (B) | 5, 7, 9 | F♭, G♭, A♭ |
| 1 (e) | 5, 7, 8 | B♭♭, C♭, D♭♭ |
A♭ altered, position 4 of the three-notes-per-string shapes, starts on the ♭2 and runs from fret 5 to fret 10, three notes on each of 6 strings. The root falls on the D string at fret 6 and the B string at fret 9.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 6 (E) | 5, 7, 8 | B♭♭, C♭, D♭♭ |
| 5 (A) | 5, 7, 9 | E♭♭, F♭, G♭ |
| 4 (D) | 6, 7, 9 | A♭, B♭♭, C♭ |
| 3 (G) | 5, 7, 9 | D♭♭, E♭♭, F♭ |
| 2 (B) | 7, 9, 10 | G♭, A♭, B♭♭ |
| 1 (e) | 7, 8, 10 | C♭, D♭♭, E♭♭ |
A♭ altered, position 5 of the three-notes-per-string shapes, starts on the ♭3 and runs from fret 7 to fret 12, three notes on each of 6 strings. The root falls on the A string at fret 11 and the B string at fret 9.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 6 (E) | 7, 8, 10 | C♭, D♭♭, E♭♭ |
| 5 (A) | 7, 9, 11 | F♭, G♭, A♭ |
| 4 (D) | 7, 9, 10 | B♭♭, C♭, D♭♭ |
| 3 (G) | 7, 9, 11 | E♭♭, F♭, G♭ |
| 2 (B) | 9, 10, 12 | A♭, B♭♭, C♭ |
| 1 (e) | 8, 10, 12 | D♭♭, E♭♭, F♭ |
A♭ altered, position 6 of the three-notes-per-string shapes, starts on the ♭4 and runs from fret 8 to fret 14, three notes on each of 6 strings. The root falls on the A string at fret 11 and the G string at fret 13.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 6 (E) | 8, 10, 12 | D♭♭, E♭♭, F♭ |
| 5 (A) | 9, 11, 12 | G♭, A♭, B♭♭ |
| 4 (D) | 9, 10, 12 | C♭, D♭♭, E♭♭ |
| 3 (G) | 9, 11, 13 | F♭, G♭, A♭ |
| 2 (B) | 10, 12, 13 | B♭♭, C♭, D♭♭ |
| 1 (e) | 10, 12, 14 | E♭♭, F♭, G♭ |
A♭ altered, position 7 of the three-notes-per-string shapes, starts on the ♭5 and runs from fret 10 to fret 16, three notes on each of 6 strings. The root falls on the A string at fret 11, the G string at fret 13 and the high e string at fret 16.
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 6 (E) | 10, 12, 14 | E♭♭, F♭, G♭ |
| 5 (A) | 11, 12, 14 | A♭, B♭♭, C♭ |
| 4 (D) | 10, 12, 14 | D♭♭, E♭♭, F♭ |
| 3 (G) | 11, 13, 14 | G♭, A♭, B♭♭ |
| 2 (B) | 12, 13, 15 | C♭, D♭♭, E♭♭ |
| 1 (e) | 12, 14, 16 | F♭, G♭, A♭ |
Every chord here uses only notes from the scale. Tap one to open it.
A♭ altered contains A♭, B♭♭, C♭, D♭♭, E♭♭, F♭, and G♭. The formula is 1, ♭2, ♭3, ♭4, ♭5, ♭6, ♭7. It is the seventh mode of B♭♭ melodic minor. It is also spelled G♯ in enharmonic notation for the same sounding root.
A♭ altered fits dominant chords with altered fifths, such as A♭7♭5 and A♭7♯5. It also works over A♭7♭9 and A♭7♯9. These chords typically resolve to D♭ minor or D♭ major.
A♭ altered has a flattened fourth (D♭♭) while A♭ locrian has a perfect fourth (D♭). The rest of the notes are identical. This single change makes altered sound more dissonant.
The step pattern is H, W, H, W, W, W, W. Starting on A♭, that gives A♭–B♭♭–C♭–D♭♭–E♭♭–F♭–G♭. The half steps fall between the first two and third and fourth degrees.