Altered chords
Recognise altered dominant chords and know the bass's role over them.
Jazz players love to add tension to a dominant chord just before it resolves. The notes they add are called alterations.
Altering a dominant
Altered chords raise or lower the 5th or the extensions of a dominant 7th chord: ♭9 and ♯9; ♭5 / ♯11; ♯5 / ♭13. From C7:
| Chord | Added note | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| C7 | — | C E G B♭ |
| C7♭9 | D♭ | C E G B♭ D♭ |
| C7♯9 | D♯ | C E G B♭ D♯ |
| C7♯11 | F♯ | C E G B♭ F♯ |
| C7♭13 | A♭ | C E G B♭ A♭ |
C7alt, an altered dominant (written alt), means a dominant 7th with altered 5th and/or 9th, and no natural 9, 11 or 13. The exact choice is up to the chord player.
Altered tones add tension to a V7 chord before it resolves (V7alt → I). They are common in jazz, less so in pop and rock.
For the bass
Play the root, and possibly the 3rd and ♭7, which do not change. Avoid the natural 5th and 9th over an altered chord, because they clash with the altered notes the other instruments play.
This lesson is an overview. Full use of altered harmony is beyond the course.
Over G7♭9 → C (or simply the roots G → C), play G B D F then land on C. The chord players’ alterations do not change your note choice here.