Every Gospel pianist should see this video.

[ltljake]

This video hits the nail on the head....

Uses of Altered Dominant Chords

[4hisglory]

Nice video

[jlewis]

so let me get this straight.

He is basically saying that   you can substitute a #5#9 chord for the 3 chord within a scale. and that typically you can use a #5#9 chord  as a method to  resolve to a 6 chord within a song.

The rest is about voicing.  So he is saying that one method to voice a #5#9  is to play the tritone of the 3 dominant in the left hand,  and play the 1 ( of the scale degree) in the right hand?   so you get a rootless dominant altered chord ( since you are not playing  the  root in the base)?   So in a band setting  I would assume the  bass player would play  root?

Its very good stuff, and I will definitely try and incorporate it into my  music.  I am pretty sure I already do some of this  I just didn't know the theory behind it.

Did I also get this right,  he said something about substituting a #5#9 on the 7 ( scale degree as well)?

Jlewis

[4hisglory]

Yeah, he did say that which I wouldn't per se agree with just that statement.  You can really substitue a dominant on any degree.

[jlewis]

its just that I am noticing that typically the  3 chord is a minor chord

So if I look at what is being played in the right hand, is really a minor 3  with a sharp 5.

so if I take the  tritone out of the left hand  and just play the flatted 7th,  what I have is a  minor7 with a sharp 5.


I guess the tritone  is really what changes the chord to a #5#9,    otherwise this would really only be a minor chord.


That was a surprise to me ( although   this might be  extremely clear to other folks).

Jlewis

[PianoClubhouse]

This video hits the nail on the head....

Uses of Altered Dominant Chords

Seems like the perfect time for a plug  . The video referenced in the first post is the one and only Joel McCray, pianist extraordinaire, and music theory guru (as you can tell by the video). He will be one of the two instructors teaching our theory course. So if you like the video and want to dig more into some advanced theory, check out the course. Info is below:

The Practical Musician Fall 2014

....Now back to your regularly schedule programming.

[jlewis]

I played around with this some more..    The method he uses to voice the #5#9 chord only works   when the   #5#9 chord you use  is the 3 chord  of the current scale degree you are in.

for example if you are  in the key of B natural,  then you can use his method  of voicing a Eb #5#9.     but if you wanted to  use  the 2 ( Db )  as a #5#9,   you could not use this method ( unless you can visualize in your mind  that the scale  you should be using is "A" natural).


Its still a really good method and I have incorporated it into my playing,   but  the  method explained  works  for the 3 chord  of the current  scale degree you are  in ( vs as a general method  to voice any  #5#9 chord). 

maybe everybody else had this already figured out, but it took some time for me to grasp that paticular sticking point of the concept.

Jlewis