What are the best ways to use “Alt” chords when playing Jazz music?
It really just describes an altered chord, so they can be used almost anywhere in the composition, and modern jazz composers often do this. Hi all, I’ve been lurking on this great site for a couple of months now… and I finally have a legitimate question for you guys 😉 I’m going through Levine’s great Piano Book and I’m learning about Alt chords. I understand the theory behind them, and I’ve been practicing them somewhat, but I’m not sure when to use them. The Real Book I’m using (the “sixth edition” from Hal Leonard) never mentions Alt chords and rarely has chords with alterations that would imply an alt chord (like G7#9b13, or in this book, they would say G7#5#9). Now I’m sure a lot of dominant chords can be substituted with Alt chords, but how do you figure out which ones are best suited? I see plenty of dominant sevenths with one alteration (like #9 or #5). Are those good candidates to subsitute with an Alt chord? I’ll be curious to hear any insight anyone may have on this… Th
