Altered Dominant Chords Explained
Altered chords are dominant seventh chords with one of their upper notes bent a half step out of place, a flat ninth, sharp ninth, sharp eleventh or flat thirteenth. That single alteration piles extra tension on top of the dominant's natural pull, making it resolve even harder. Altered dominants are the spice of jazz harmony, the sound of a line leaning hungrily into the next chord.
Drill altered dominants by playing them
See a 7b9, 7#9, 7#11 or 7b13, play it, know instantly if you nailed it. No download, no signup. MIDI keyboard or microphone.
▶ Try ChordRunner Free Free in the browser - the altered dominant types are in.Why dominants love alterations
A dominant seventh chord is already restless, its tritone begging to resolve down a fifth. Altering an upper note leans on that instinct even harder. Lower the ninth, raise it, sharpen the eleventh or flatten the thirteenth, and you introduce a new dissonance that the resolution then wipes away, making the arrival feel like a bigger release. That is why alterations live almost entirely on dominant chords: stable chords have no tension to amplify, but the dominant is built to be pushed.
Everything here assumes you already own the plain dominant seventh and its extensions. Alterations are the last layer, a colour on top of shapes you know, not a new species of chord.
Hear each alteration
Pick an alteration and a root. The blue notes are the dominant 7th; the orange note is the altered tension.
Each alteration and its sound
The four common alterations each have a character. The flat ninth (7b9) is dark and dramatic, a half step above the root that clashes hard, common in resolving to minor. The sharp ninth (7#9) is the gritty Hendrix chord, major and minor thirds rubbing together. The sharp eleventh (7#11) is bright and airy, the lydian dominant colour beloved of film scores. The flat thirteenth (7b13) is tense and smoky. Stack more than one and you get the fully altered dominant, the maximum-tension launch into a resolution. Learning to hear these apart is advanced chord recognition.
Where altered dominants go
Almost always on the V chord heading home. In a ii-V-i, the V is the natural place to reach for an alteration, because the tension resolves onto the tonic and disappears. Swap a plain G7 for a G7b9 going to C minor and the landing feels twice as satisfying. This is why altered chords are worth drilling as a set with the dominant sevenths they decorate, rather than as isolated curiosities.
Practise altered chords in the game
With your dominant 7ths and extensions solid, open the game and build a Custom pool of altered dominants, the 7b9, 7#9, 7#11 and 7b13 types are in the chord database. Play each on your MIDI keyboard or into your microphone and get told instantly whether the shape was right. Drill one alteration at a time so its particular colour sinks in. Free in the browser, nothing to install.
Common questions
What are altered chords?
Altered chords are dominant seventh chords with one or more of their upper notes raised or lowered a half step: a flat ninth, sharp ninth, sharp eleventh or flat thirteenth. The alteration adds extra tension on top of the dominant's natural pull, which is why they sound so hungry to resolve.
Why do dominant chords get altered and not others?
Because the dominant's whole job is tension and release. Altering its upper notes sharpens that tension, so it resolves even more strongly to the chord a fifth below. Stable chords like major sevenths have nothing to gain from alteration; the dominant is built to be pushed.
What does 7b9 or 7#9 mean?
They name the altered note on top of a dominant 7th. C7b9 is C7 with a flat ninth (Db); C7#9 is C7 with a sharp ninth (D#), the famous Hendrix chord. 7#11 raises the eleventh, and 7b13 flats the thirteenth. Each colours the same dominant differently.
How do I practise altered chords?
Once your dominant 7ths and extensions are solid, drill the alterations. In ChordRunner the altered dominant types, 7b9, 7#9, 7#11, 7b13 and more, are in the chord database, so you can build a Custom pool and play them on a MIDI keyboard or through your microphone with instant feedback.