Lessons

Lesson 85: The Alt Scale

The Alt Scale

The alt scale is also known as the diminished/whole-tone scale and the super-locrian mode. You can also think melodic minor ( jazz minor) from a half step above or lydian b7 ( overtone) from the tritone. This is a G alt scale:

Harmony ( Ab Melodic Minor Scale Harmony)

The following triads can be found inside the G alt scale:

How about seventh chords, then? The following seventh chords can be found inside the G alt scale:

Wait, there's even more! The following chords can also be found inside the G alt scale:

The most important are:

the Ab minor major seventh chord
the fully altered G seventh chord
the complete non-altered Db seventh chord
the augmented B major seventh chord

Very interesting is the Bbsusb9 = Abm/Bb, which can be used as a dominant in another key - the relative of C minor, which is Eb major!

The Dominant Pentatonic Scale

There's even more to the alt scale! Inside the g alt scale can be found a dominant pentatonic scale:

The dominant pentatonic scale comes in two flavors. The first type, starting on Ab, can be played over a G7alt chord and the second type, starting on Db, can be played over a Db7(9,#11) chord!