F♯ altered (F# altered) scale on piano
F♯ altered has 7 notes: F♯ G A B♭ C D E. Degrees: 1 ♭2 ♭3 ♭4 ♭5 ♭6 ♭7. Formula: H W H W W W W.
What notes are in the F♯ altered scale?
F♯, G, A, B♭, C, D and E. It has 7 notes; its formula in whole and half steps is H W H W W W W.
What does F♯ 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 F♯ altered
| Degree | Triad | Seventh chord |
|---|---|---|
| i° | F♯° | F♯m7♭5 |
| ♭ii | Gm | Gm(maj7) |
| ♭iii | Am | Am7 |
| ♭IV+ | B♭+ | B♭maj7♯5 |
| ♭V | C | C7 |
| ♭VI | D | D7 |
| ♭vii° | E° | Em7♭5 |
Chord progressions to improvise with F♯ 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 keyboard lights up the notes of each chord as it plays. It's a backing track made for this scale in F♯:
- Altered vamp (I7alt): a F♯7alt vamp. A 7alt: ♭9, ♯9, ♯11 and ♭13, every tension at once.
- Resolution (I7alt–IVmaj7): F♯7alt | Bmaj7. Tension in the first bar, arrival in the second: Bmaj7 is outside the scale, so land on its highlighted notes.
F♯ altered on the keyboard
It uses 2 black keys: F♯ and B♭. On the interactive keyboard above you can hear it, show its degrees or intervals and practice its chords.
Same notes as
G melodic minor (ascending) · G melodic minor · B♭ Lydian augmented · C Lydian dominant · D Mixolydian ♭6 · E Locrian ♮2