Altered (super-Locrian) on cavaquinho (G)

Altered (super-Locrian) in G: G – Ab – Bb – Cb – Db – Eb – F. On the cavaquinho, four steel strings pack the scale into a short, bright space — there is nowhere for a note to hide. The box shown runs from fret 1 to 4; the lowest tonic sits on the 3rd string, open, and the hand stays put in the region, with no position shift. Its four steel strings give a bright, sharp attack that cuts through the mix and drives the beat.

Once the shape is memorized, play the box in thirds — the real memory test.

Read the dots by degree: 1 is the tonic (highlighted); the rest follow the scale's formula.

A scale never lives in one box — altered (super-Locrian) on cavaquinho has 4 more positions along the neck. In Chord & Fret, you hear the scale in the instrument's own voice, synthesized string by string; walk the scale box by box along the whole neck; and turn on the built-in metronome at the same BPM. Start free. Unlock everything with Pro. 100% offline. See it in Chord & Fret →

See the full explanation of the altered (super-Locrian) scale →

Updated July 9, 2026