Chords
Bb Altered
Bb · D · Ab · Cb
The altered dominant — every tension raised or lowered, and maximum pull toward resolution.
Bb Altered
Bb · D · Ab · Cb
Voicings on the piano
| Voicing | Notes | Play it on your instrument |
|---|---|---|
| Closed, root position | Bb3 · D4 · Ab4 · Cb4 | |
| Open (drop 2) | Ab3 · Bb3 · Cb4 · D4 | |
| Shell | Bb3 · D4 · Ab4 | |
| Rootless | D3 · Ab3 · Cb3 |
Tap a key or a fret to hear it.
Anatomy
Bb Altered (Bbalt7) contains the notes Bb · D · Ab · Cb, each with a role measured as an interval from the root.
Read on: how triads are built · seventh chords · extensions
Inversions
An inversion of Bb Altered puts a chord tone other than Bb in the bass; the name after the slash is that bass note.
Where it lives
The keys and the scales Bb Altered belongs to.
In which keys
Bb Altered is diatonic to 1 key; the numeral is its degree and the label its harmonic function.
- D# minorValt7Dominant
Scales that contain it
Bb Altered fits inside these scales, each built on Bb.
- Bb AlteredBb · Cb · C# · D · E · Gb · Ab
- Bb Phrygian DominantBb · Cb · D · Eb · F · Gb · Ab
- Bb Half-Whole DiminishedBb · Cb · Db · D · E · F · G · Ab
- Bb Prometheus NeapolitanBb · Cb · D · E · G · Ab
- Bb Mystery #1Bb · Cb · D · Fb · Gb · Ab
- Bb OrientalBb · Cb · D · Eb · Fb · G · Ab
- Bb FlamencoBb · Cb · Db · D · E · F · Ab
- Bb EnigmaticBb · Cb · D · Fb · Gb · Ab · A
Understanding the Bb Altered chord
Names and symbols
Bbalt7 is the chord symbol for Bb Altered.
How it is built
On Bb it is Bb · D · Ab · Cb, stacking 1P · 3M · 7m · 9m. The third and seventh stay — they are what make it a dominant — and every other note is altered.
How it is used
It is the V of a minor ii–V–i and the most highly charged dominant in the jazz vocabulary. The altered scale, the seventh mode of melodic minor, fits it exactly, which is why players learn the two together.
Learn this properly
Chapter 17: Theory in StylesCommon questions
- What notes are in Bbalt7?
- Bbalt7 contains Bb · D · Ab · Cb. Name any set of notes with the chord identifier.
- What does "altered" mean on a chord symbol?
- That the fifth and ninth are raised or lowered — any combination of ♭5, ♯5, ♭9 and ♯9 — while the third and seventh stay put.
- What scale fits an altered chord?
- The altered scale, also called the super Locrian: the seventh mode of the melodic minor a semitone above the chord root.
- What notes are in the Bb Altered chord?
- The Bb Altered chord contains the notes Bb · D · Ab · Cb: the root Bb with the intervals 1P, 3M, 7m, 9m stacked above it. Play them together for the chord or one after another for an arpeggio. The lowest note is normally Bb, but any chord tone can take the bass in an inversion.
- What intervals make up the Bb Altered chord?
- Measured from Bb, the Bb Altered chord stacks the intervals 1P, 3M, 7m, 9m. The quality of the third and of the seventh, if there is one, is what gives the chord its character; the rest of the notes colour it. Every interval in the formula links to its own page, with its sound.