How to Use Altered: A Beginner’s Guide in 2025?

Want to add some spice to your music?

That’s what altered chords do!

They add cool, unexpected sounds to your songs.

Let’s learn how to use Altered and make your music awesome!

Understanding the Basics

Okay, so you’re ready to dive into altered chords?

Awesome! Let’s get you started. First things first, we need to understand what we’re working with.

Dominant Chords

In music, we have this thing called music theory, which is like a set of rules or guidelines that helps us understand how music works.

One important idea in music theory is the tonic.

This is the “home base” of a song, usually the first chord. In the key of C major, the tonic is a C major chord.

Altered Scales

Think of a minor scale – it has a slightly darker, more mysterious sound than a major scale.

Well, the melodic minor scale is a type of minor scale with a brighter feel.

It’s this melodic minor scale that gives us the tools to alter our dominant chords.

An altered scale is basically a melodic minor scale starting on the 7th note.

It gives us a bunch of notes we can use to change the flavor of our dominant chord. 

These changes are called alterations.

For example, we can add a b9 to our G7 chord in C major.

This b9 is a note that’s not in the regular C major scale, so it adds a chromatic, jazzy feel. 

It’s like adding a pinch of chili powder to your recipe – it gives it a kick!

Putting It Into Practice

Alright, let’s take a look at how to actually use these altered scales!

The easiest way to understand is to start with a dominant 7th chord.

You probably know dominant 7th chords as 7th chords – they’re super common in music. 

A dominant 7th chord in C major is G7. It has the notes G, B, D, and F.

How to Find the Altered Scale

1. Find the 5th of the tonic: In C major, the 5th is G. This will be the root of the dominant chord.
2. Build an ascending melodic minor scale from that note: G A B C D E F# G
3. Start the altered scale on the 7th note of that melodic minor scale: F# G A B C D E F#

Now we have our altered scale (F# A B C D E F#), which is also called the C altered scale because it’s related to the G7 chord in C major.

Making Altered Dominant Chords

This altered scale gives us a bunch of options. We can raise or lower different notes in our dominant seventh chord to get different chords with cool, altered sounds. For example:

• We could add an altered 5th to our G7 chord by raising the D to D#. This gives us G7(#5).
• We could add an altered 9th by lowering the A to Ab. This gives us G7(b9).
• We could even combine alterations, like G7(b9,#5).

Chord Symbols: A Helpful Guide

Jazz musicians use special chord symbols to show these alterations.

When you see the chord symbol, you’ll know which notes to change. 

For example, if you see the chord symbol G7alt, it means you can use any notes from the C altered scale to create your altered dominant chord.

Important Notes

• The 3rd and the 7th of the dominant seventh chord usually stay the same. This helps the chord keep its dominant function.
• Make sure to check if the song is in a major or minor key. This will affect which altered scale you use.
• You can use scale fragments from the altered scale to create interesting melodies over your altered dominant chords.

Beyond the Altered Scale

While the altered scale is a great starting point, there are other ways to create altered sounds. For example:

• Chromatically altered: You can chromatically alter any chord by raising or lowering one or more notes by a half step.
• Borrowed chords: These are chords “borrowed” from the minor key. They can add a cool, unexpected flavor to your progression by adding extra color.
• Leading tones: One or more tones in a chord can be used as leading tones to emphasize certain notes.

Keep Exploring!

The best way to understand altered chords is to experiment!

Play piano, listen to music with altered chords, and try to identify the altered sound. 

There are tons of online resources and tutorials to help you. Sure to check those out to learn more about how these chords work.

Ultimately, altered chords add a unique flavor to your music.

They can make your chord progressions more interesting, your melodies more exciting, and your overall sound more sophisticated.

So go ahead, give them a try!

Different Altered Sounds

Alright, now that you know how to find the altered scale, let’s have some fun and experiment with different altered notes!

Remember, the goal is to add some spice and color to your dominant chords.

Adding Some Spice

Here are a few ideas to get you started:

• Altered 5th: This means changing the 5th of the chord. You can either raise it (like making the D in G7 into a D#) or lower it (making the D into a Db). This creates a really cool, dissonant sound that adds a lot of tension.
• Altered 9th: This is a very common alteration. You take the 9th (which would be A in our G7 chord) and lower it by a semitone (making it Ab). This gives the chord a jazzy, almost mysterious feel.
• Altered 11th: The 11th of G7 would be C. Try raising it to C# for a really unique sound.
• Altered 13th: The 13th of G7 would be E. You can lower it to Eb to create a more melancholic feel.

You can even combine these altered tones! Imagine a G7 chord with a #5 and a b9. That’s G7(#5b9), and it has a really intense, almost “outside” sound.

Thinking Outside the Box

Don’t be afraid to get creative and try different combinations. You might discover some really cool and unexpected sounds.

Here are a few things to keep in mind:

• The 3rd and 7th: While you can alter almost any note in the dominant seventh chord, try to keep the 3rd and the 7th the same. This helps the chord keep its dominant function, meaning it still wants to resolve to the tonic.
• Context is Key: The way an altered chord sounds depends a lot on the chords around it. Experiment with different chord progressions and see what works best.

More Ways to Alter

Remember, the altered scale is just one way to create altered sounds.

You can also use other scales, like the whole tone scale or the diminished scale, to find interesting notes to add to your chords.

Chromatic alteration is another option. This means you can take any note in a chord and raise or lower it by a half step.

This can create some really cool, unexpected sounds.

Making Music with Altered Chords

The best way to learn about altered chords is to actually use them!

Sit down at your instrument (or use a virtual one online) and play around with these ideas. 

Try creating your own chord progressions with different dominant chords and see how they sound.

Altered chords make music more interesting and expressive. They add color, tension, and surprise. So go ahead, experiment, and see what kind of amazing sounds you can create!

Conclusion

That’s it! You’ve learned the basics of altered chords.

We covered dominant chords, altered scales, and how to use alterations to create cool, new sounds.

Remember, the altered scale is like a toolbox full of spices for your music. 

You can use it to add flavor and make your songs more interesting.

Don’t be afraid to experiment and try new things.

Music is all about creativity and having fun!

Keep learning and exploring, and you’ll be writing awesome music with altered chords in no time.

Frequently Asked Questions