F♯ AlteredScale

Formula

H W H W W W W 1 ♭2 ♭3 ♭4 ♭5 ♭6 ♭7
The family

F♯ Altered on the chromatic circle

F♯ Altered is the 7th mode of the Melodic minor family. Pick another note on the circle to open the scale that starts there.

W H W W W W H ♭2 GI Melodic minor ♭3 AII Dorian ♭2 ♭4 B♭III Lydian augmented ♭5 CIV Lydian dominant ♭6 DV Mixolydian ♭6 ♭7 EVI Locrian ♮2 1 F♯VII Altered F♯ Altered
The whole neck

F♯ Altered across the fretboard

Every note of the scale up to the 16th fret, named by its degree. The root is a ring. Step through the five CAGED positions one at a time in the scale library.

3 5 7 9 12 15 ♭7 1 ♭2 ♭3 ♭4 ♭5 ♭6 ♭7 1 ♭2 ♭3 ♭4 ♭5 ♭6 ♭7 1 ♭2 ♭3 ♭4 ♭5 ♭6 ♭7 1 ♭2 ♭3 ♭4 ♭5 ♭6 ♭7 ♭2 ♭3 ♭4 ♭5 ♭6 ♭7 1 ♭2 ♭3 ♭4 ♭5 ♭6 ♭7 1 ♭2 ♭3 ♭4 ♭5 ♭6 ♭7 1 ♭2 ♭3 ♭4 ♭5 ♭6 ♭7 1 ♭2
Harmony

Chords in F♯ Altered

Stack every other note of the scale from each degree and you get its chords. Open any of them in the chord library.

DegreeChordNotes
i°F♯m7♭5F♯ A C E
♭iiGm(maj7)G B♭ D F♯
♭iiiAm7A C E G
♭IV+B♭maj7♯5B♭ D F♯ A
♭VC7C E G B♭
♭VID7D F♯ A C
♭vii°Em7♭5E G B♭ D
Context

Where F♯ Altered fits

Over an altered dominant 7 (♭9, ♯9, ♯11, ♭13) resolving to the tonic in jazz: the V7alt of a ii–V–I.

F♯ Altered is mode 7 of the melodic minor family. The same notes played from each of its other degrees give the family's other modes:

Move one note by a half step and you get a different scale:

Altered scale in every key

F♯ Altered scale questions

What notes are in the F♯ Altered scale?

F♯ G A B♭ C D E. As degrees from the root: 1 ♭2 ♭3 ♭4 ♭5 ♭6 ♭7.

What is the F♯ Altered scale formula?

1 ♭2 ♭3 ♭4 ♭5 ♭6 ♭7, or in steps between the notes, H W H W W W W (W is a whole step of two frets, H a half step of one fret, 1½ three frets).

How do you play the F♯ Altered scale on guitar?

This page draws every note of F♯ Altered up to the 16th fret, each named by its degree with the root as a ring. To learn it a few frets at a time, open it in the scale library and step through its five CAGED positions, from the E shape to the D shape to the C shape to the A shape to the G shape.

What chords are in the F♯ Altered scale?

F♯m7♭5 (i°), Gm(maj7) (♭ii), Am7 (♭iii), B♭maj7♯5 (♭IV+), C7 (♭V), D7 (♭VI), Em7♭5 (♭vii°).

When is the F♯ Altered scale used?

Over an altered dominant 7 (♭9, ♯9, ♯11, ♭13) resolving to the tonic in jazz: the V7alt of a ii–V–I.