F♯ altered diminished scale on ukulele

F♯ · G · A · B♭ · C · D · E♭

The course explains what this page shows in Lesson 24 · Modes.

The notes

  1. F♯1
  2. G♭2
  3. A♭3
  4. B♭♭4
  5. C♭5
  6. D♭6
  7. E♭♭♭7

The F♯ altered diminished scale is F♯, G, A, B♭, C, D, E♭.

You may also see it called Ultralocrian · Super Locrian ♭♭7 · 1 ♭2 ♭3 ♭4 ♭5 ♭6 ♭♭7.

On the staff

F♯GAB♭CDE♭F♯

On a treble staff, the F♯ altered diminished scale is written F♯ G A B♭ C D E♭.

This is one octave of the F♯ altered diminished scale, written on the treble clef. Guitar and bass music is written an octave higher than it sounds, and the small 8 under the clef is the sign for that.

Why the F♯ altered diminished scale has these accidentals

  1. F♯1
  2. S
  3. G♭2
  4. T
  5. A♭3
  6. S
  7. B♭♭4
  8. T
  9. C♭5
  10. T
  11. D♭6
  12. S
  13. E♭♭♭7
  14. T+S
  15. F♯8

A scale is a pattern of steps, and this one is S T S T T S T+S: a semitone, a tone, a semitone, and so on. S stands for a semitone, the distance of one fret or one key. T stands for a tone, which is two semitones. T+S stands for a tone and a half, which is three semitones. The pattern is what gives F♯ altered diminished its sound, and it stays the same whichever note you start on.

The second rule is that a seven-note scale uses each letter name once, from A to G, so its seven notes take seven different letters. That is why F♯ altered diminished is spelled the way it is, rather than with whichever accidental looks tidier.

Together, the two rules leave no room for choice. If you walk the pattern up from F♯, two letters cannot keep up:

  • B♭ — the flat fourth. The pattern needs a semitone from A, but A to B is only a tone, so B has to fall to B♭.
  • E♭ — the seventh. The pattern needs a semitone from D, but D to E is only a tone, so E has to fall to E♭.

None of those accidentals was a choice. Once you pick the note to start on, the pattern decides the rest, and a key signature is a record of the result.

The F♯ altered diminished scale is written with F♯, B♭ and E♭. F♯ has its accidental because that is the key, and the other notes need theirs because the S T S T T S T+S pattern of steps cannot be spelled from F♯ with plain letters.

The pattern of steps is the part of a scale that never changes. The letter names take sharps or flats to fit that pattern, and a key signature is a record of those sharps or flats.

On the piano

♭5C♭6DEF♭2G♭3AB♭5C♭6DEF♭2G♭3AB♭5C♭6DEF♭2G♭3AB♭5CC♯♭♭7E♭1F♯G♯♭4B♭C♯♭♭7E♭1F♯G♯♭4B♭C♯♭♭7E♭1F♯G♯♭4B♭C3C4C5C6

The keyboard shows the same seven notes as a shape you can see. The coloured keys are the F♯ altered diminished scale, and you can click any key to hear it.

F♯ altered diminished scale on the whole neck

GCEA123456789101112131415G♭2A♭3B♭♭4C♭5D♭6E♭♭♭7F♯1G♭2A♭3B♭♭4C♭5D♭6E♭♭♭7F♯1G♭2A♭3B♭♭4C♭5D♭6E♭♭♭7F♯1G♭2A♭3B♭♭4C♭5D♭6E♭♭♭7F♯1G♭2A♭3B♭♭4C♭5D♭6E♭♭♭7F♯1G♭2A♭3B♭♭4C♭5

39 notes of the F♯ altered diminished scale are marked across four strings.

This is every place the notes of the F♯ altered diminished scale fall on the ukulele, with each note's name and its scale degree. The roots are marked so you can find your bearings.

Position by position

Position 1 — starts on the ♭3
GCEA234567♭3♭4♭5♭6♭♭711♭2♭3♭4♭5♭6♭♭7
Position 2 — starts on the ♭4
GCEA345678♭4♭5♭6♭♭71♭2♭2♭3♭4♭5♭6♭♭7
Position 3 — starts on the ♭5
GCEA5678910♭5♭6♭♭71♭2♭3♭3♭4♭5♭6♭♭71
Position 4 — starts on the ♭6
GCEA789101112♭6♭♭71♭2♭3♭4♭5♭6♭♭71♭2
Position 5 — starts on the ♭♭7
GCEA8910111213♭♭71♭2♭3♭4♭5♭5♭6♭♭71♭2♭3
Position 6 — starts on the 1
GCEA1112131415161♭2♭3♭4♭5♭6♭♭7♭♭71♭2♭3♭4♭5

The F♯ altered diminished scale has six playable positions, at frets 2–6, 3–7, 5–9, 7–11, 8–12 and 11–15.

Each shape starts on a different degree of the scale and fits inside five frets, so your hand can play all of it without moving.

One climb up the neck

GCEA1011121314151♭2♭3♭4♭5♭6♭♭71♭2♭3♭4♭5TAB111214101214111415121315

The climb runs from fret 10 to fret 15 and plays twelve notes.

This is one path from the lowest root to the top of the neck, and it plays each note once, never on two strings. It takes three notes on every string. The widest stretch on any one string is four frets.