B altered scale on banjo
B altered has 7 notes: B C D E♭ F G A. Degrees: 1 ♭2 ♭3 ♭4 ♭5 ♭6 ♭7. Formula: H W H W W W W.
What notes are in the B altered scale?
B, C, D, E♭, F, G and A. It has 7 notes; its formula in whole and half steps is H W H W W W W.
What does B altered sound like, and when do you use it?
Maximum tension: it holds every altered tension of a dominant chord. Use it over 7alt (7♯9, 7♭13) right before resolving.
Chords in B altered
| Degree | Triad | Seventh chord |
|---|---|---|
| i° | B° | Bm7♭5 |
| ♭ii | Cm | Cm(maj7) |
| ♭iii | Dm | Dm7 |
| ♭IV+ | E♭+ | E♭maj7♯5 |
| ♭V | F | F7 |
| ♭VI | G | G7 |
| ♭vii° | A° | Am7♭5 |
Chord progressions to improvise with B altered
In Jam mode (the Jam button above) a band of grand piano, upright bass and drums (recorded instruments) plays these progressions as swing, bossa, groove or ballad, and the fretboard lights up the notes of each chord as it plays. It's a backing track made for this scale in B:
- Altered vamp (I7alt): a B7alt vamp. A 7alt: ♭9, ♯9, ♯11 and ♭13, every tension at once.
- Resolution (I7alt–IVmaj7): B7alt | Emaj7. Tension in the first bar, arrival in the second: Emaj7 is outside the scale, so land on its highlighted notes.
B altered positions on banjo
In G D G B D tuning, keeping the hand in one area of the neck, B altered is played in 7 positions:
- Position 1: frets 9 to 12 (starts on the root)
- Position 2: frets 10 to 13
- Position 3: frets 0 to 3
- Position 4: frets 1 to 4
- Position 5: frets 3 to 6
- Position 6: frets 5 to 8
- Position 7: frets 7 to 10
Same notes as
C melodic minor (ascending) · C melodic minor · E♭ Lydian augmented · F Lydian dominant · G Mixolydian ♭6 · A Locrian ♮2
Altered in other keys
On other instruments
B altered on piano · B altered on guitar · B altered on bass · B altered on ukulele · B altered on mandolin · B altered on violin · B altered on viola · B altered on cello · B altered on alto sax · B altered on tenor sax · B altered on trumpet · B altered on flute · All scales