Altered (super-Locrian) scale in G#
Altered (super-Locrian) scale in G#: G#, A, B, C, D, E and F#, the degrees 1–b2–b3–b4–b5–b6–b7. 7th mode of the melodic minor: b9, #9, b5 and b13 at once, maximum tension over 7alt dominants that beg to resolve.
The last mode of the melodic minor, starting from its 7th degree, is the scale of dominants pushed to the limit: a seventh chord — the kind that builds expectation of resolution — carrying every altered tension at once: b9, #9, b5 and b13. The page's formula spells the degrees as a scale (b2, b3, b4, b5, b6, b7); over the dominant chord, the same sounds are read by function: b9, #9, major 3rd, b5, b13 and minor 7th. The result is maximum tension asking for a landing: in jazz it is a common choice over 7alt chords resolving down a fifth.
Example: G# – A – B – C – D – E – F#Formula: 1 – b2 – b3 – b4 – b5 – b6 – b7In the formula, the numbers are degrees — positions counted in the reference major scale; "b" lowers a half step and "#" raises one.
Family: Melodic (jazz) minor and its modes.
The jazz-minor modes are central to jazz and sophisticated harmony. The #2/b3/#5 spelling is functional: enharmonically some notes sound the same, but the notation marks the tension they represent.
Chords in the harmonic field
These are the seven chords born from this scale — one built on each of its notes. Put another way: the set of chords that sounds naturally "inside" the scale. See the harmonic field of every key →
The same scale on all four instruments
In the diagrams, each dot carries its scale degree — 1 is the tonic, highlighted.