A Altered Scale, Starting on Open A
A Super Locrian contains A, Bb, C, Db, Eb, F and G: the sound of an A dominant chord with altered tensions.
Let the open A string ring, then fret the root on the 5th fret of the low E string. Bb melodic minor supplies the same seven notes, one half step above the root. Practise it over a dominant seventh chord to hear the tension.
Play the A super locrian scale
Use the step menu in the player to switch between the single-string run and the box shapes.
Notes of the A super locrian scale
| Note | Degree | Interval | Semitones from root |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 1 | Root | 0 |
| Bb | b2 | Minor 2nd | 1 |
| C | b3 | Minor 3rd | 3 |
| Db | b4 | Major 3rd | 4 |
| Eb | b5 | Tritone | 6 |
| F | b6 | Minor 6th | 8 |
| G | b7 | Minor 7th | 10 |
Structure
A super locrian scale notes:
How the super locrian scale is built:
The super locrian scale is built from the degrees 1 b2 b3 b4 b5 b6 b7, which gives the step pattern H-W-H-W-W-W-W (W = whole step, H = half step).
Counting in semitones from the root: 0, 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10. That makes it a 7-note scale.
It is mode 7 of the Melodic Minor Scale, so both scales share the same notes from a different starting point.
It is also known as Altered Scale and Altered Dominant.
A Super Locrian Scale Guitar Patterns
Static diagrams of every position shown in the player above.
On one string (A)
Box pattern — position 1
Box pattern — position 2
Box pattern — position 3
Box pattern — position 4
Box pattern — position 5
3 notes per string — position 1
3 notes per string — position 2
3 notes per string — position 3
3 notes per string — position 4
3 notes per string — position 5
Chords in the A super locrian scale
Stacking thirds on each degree of the scale gives these chords.
Related modes
These scales share the same notes as the super locrian scale, starting from a different degree.
The super locrian scale in other keys
Created by
Giancarlo is a musician (teaching guitar since 2000), software engineer, AI consultant and published researcher
