There are approximately 26 different altered chords you can choose to spice up your chord progressions. I cover everything you need to know about each chord.

Types of altered chords and chord extensions

When altered chords are mentioned it most often refers to the 7alt chords associated with the 7th mode of the Melodic minor scale. The strict definition of a 7alt chord is a dominant 7th chord with both an altered 5th and an altered 9th resulting in 4 possible chords:

7♭5♭9, 7♭5#9, 7#5♭9, 7#5#9

However, I prefer the not-so-strict definition of the 7alt chord with an altered 5th or an altered 9th, giving 4 more possible chords:

7♭5, 7#5, 7♭9, 7#9

Then there is my term “altered 7ths” which refers to chords with perfect 5ths and altered extensions of the 9th, 11th, and 13th. When combined with the  5ths you can build about 26 altered dominant 7th chords.

Dominant 7th chord

Technically, a dominant 7th chord is the 7th chord build on the 5th scale degree (dominant) of the major scale. Here are the intervals of a 7 chord

Altered chords make fantastic chord substitutes for regular dominant 7th chords. The flatted and sharped chord tones add a unique tone to any common chord progression.

There are approximately 26 different altered chords you can choose to spice up your chord progressions. I cover everything you need to know about each chord.

Chord extensions

Everyone knows what a 7 or dom7 chord is, but if you add the major 2nd, perfect 4th or major 6th  you get what is known as extended 7ths:

Dominant 9 = 7 (chord) + M2 = 1-3-5-♭7-9
Dominant 11 = 7 + P4 = 1-3-5-♭7-11
Dominant 13 = 7+ M6 = 1-3-5-♭7-13

It’s simple math. To understand why the 2nd is the 9th, you either:

1. Add the 2nd to the 7th interval to get the 9th, or
2. Count up to and pass the 7th to get to the 9th note, or
3. Just add the #’s 7 + 2 = 9.
4. You would do the same for the 4th/11th and the 6th/13th.

Technically, the 9th is one octave higher than the 2nd scale degree. But for guitar chords, you may not always be able to voice the chord that way.

Regardless, all the altered seventh chords have some combination of an altered 9th and/or 11th and/or 5th and/or 13th. So let’s look at the altered dominant 7th extensions first.

Altered extensions

Your choice for altered extensions, for a chord with a perfect 5th, are:

♭9, #9, #11, or ♭13

You can use any of them in combinations except for the ♭9 and #9, although I have open and closed voicings for the 7♭9/#9 chord. I also have chord shapes for 7♭5♭9/#9 and 7#5♭9/#9. They all equal other chord names so I’m not going to cover them in this article.

I mention the scale and scale degree/mode that build all of these chords. Here are the scales that I used to build these chords:

Harmonic minor scale
Melodic minor scale
Whole Tone scale
Half-Whole Diminished scale

The dominant 7th chord is the base of the “altered 7ths”. By the way, no altered dominant chords can be built from the major scale.

Check out my Chords From Scales article to see the intervals for all these chords. If you do not know all the intervals, then read my Music Intervals article.

Notes on my chord description fields:

• Alternate names: You may see these chords expressed differently. I may not have found all alternate names, but these names should give you an idea of what you may see.
• Equivalent chord: Where applicable I list the name(s) of another chord that has the same notes.
• Chord tendency: This is a suggestion of where the chord tends to come to rest. Sometimes I use music interval terms (M2, P4, etc.) and sometimes chord intervals (♭9, ♭3, 5).
• Scales: I list the scales that build each chord.
• Chord diagrams: I’m only posting one or two chord shapes per chord type. If I created all the voicings, there would be over a 100 chord (that’s member area stuff).

Here is a chart of the symbols I use on my guitar chord blocks:

7♭9 altered 7th chords

First up are the three 7♭9 chords. I’m only going to list the intervals of each chord that are added to the dominant 7th chord. Although, I’ll do it for the first few chords so that you understand.

7♭9 = dom7 + the minor 2nd (m2) or flat nine intervals, e.g. G7♭9 = G-B-D-F-A♭

Alternate names: 7(♭9)
Chord tendency: resolves best to the M2 and P4 but also to m6 and M7, e.g. G7♭9 > A, C, E♭, F# (E♭m & F#m sound better), but Em and A♭m also sound like resolutions. That’s quite a chord!
Scale(s): 5th mode harmonic minor, odd scale degrees of the Half-Whole diminished scale.

11♭9 = dom7 + P4 + m2, e.g. G11♭9 = G-B-D-F-C-A♭

Alternate names: 11(♭9), 7(11,♭9)
Chord tendency: same as 7♭9 but E and A♭ work as well
Scale(s): 5th scale degree harmonic minor

13♭9 = dom7 + M6 + m2, e.g. G13♭9 = G-B-D-F-E-A♭ (=’s an E7♭9/#9)

Alternate names: 13-9, 13(♭9), 7(13,♭9), 7(13,-9)
Chord tendency: same as 7♭9
Scale(s): all odd scale degrees of the Half-Whole diminished scale

7#9 altered 7th chords

Only 2 chords in this group but the 7#9 is without a doubt my favorite. I think it is an ideal V7 chord going to a tonic minor.

7#9 = 7 + A2, G7#9 = G-B-D-F-A#

Alternate names: 7+9, 7(#9)
Chord tendency: same as a V7 chord but also to the ♭3, G7#9 > C, Cm, or Cm-maj7 and B♭
Scale(s): all odd scale degrees of the Half-Whole diminished scale

13#9 = 7 + A2 + M6, G13#9 = G-B-D-F-E-A#

Alternate names: 13+9, 13(#9), 7(13, #9)
Chord tendency: resolves to the M3, P4, ♭7, and M7, G13#9 > B, C, F, and F# –  seems like the relative minors work too.
Scale(s): all odd scale degrees of the Half-Whole diminished scale

7#11 altered 7th chords

The 7#11 chord is a nasty chord, also described as “crunchy” – they hurt!. I’m not a fan of the 7#11 chord – it’s just too dissonant for me. But check out the resolve tendency below for the 9#11 and 13#11 (you’re not going to believe it!)

7#11 = 7 + A4 (#11), G7#11 = G-B-D-F-C#

Alternate names: 7(#11), 7+11
Equivalent chord: equals a 7♭5♭9 on the ♭5, G7#11 = D♭7♭5♭9
Chord tendency: Strongest to ♭9 min, 4, 5, M7, but also to 9, ♭6 and ♭7, e.g. G7#11 > G#/Abm, C, D, F# and to A, E♭ and F. I didn’t check those chords as minors or try their relative minors.
Scale(s): all odd scale degrees of the Half-Whole diminished scale, 4th scale degree melodic minor

9#11 = 7 + M2 + A4, G9#11 = G-B-D-F-A-C#

Alternate names: 9(#11), 7(9, #11), 9+11
Chord tendency: Literally to every key. Strongest to ♭9, 4, 5 & M7, e.g. G9#11 > A♭, C, D, and F#. But it seems like it can come to rest on a major triad for every other chromatic note including G!
Scale(s): 4th scale degree melodic minor

13#11 = 7 + M6 + A4, G7#11 = G-B-D-F-E-C#

Alternate names: 13(#11), 7(13, +11), 13+11
Chord tendency: Same as for 9#11 – try them for yourself. You can modulate to any key with either the 9#11 or 13#11. However, the ♭9 resolution is the weakest, e.g. G13#11 > A♭ is a little off.
Scale(s): all odd scale degrees of the Half-Whole diminished scale, 4th scale degree melodic minor

The 7♭13 chord

This chord is questionable as you could just drop the perfect 5th and play a 7#5 chord. However, it does sound slightly different. I have seen this chord on other sites but it is usually the 7#5 chord that is shown.

7♭13 = 7 + m6, G7♭13 = G-B-D-F-E♭

Alternate names: 7(♭13)
Equivalent chord: maj9#5 on the ♭13, G7♭13 = E♭maj9#5
Chord tendency: Strongest to the 4 and weakly to the ♭13, G7♭13 > C and E♭
Scale(s): 5th scale degree melodic minor

Double extended altered chords

Alright, now we are getting into some truly nasty and crunchy chords. The 7♭9#11 chord is one of the two altered seventh chords that is made up of 3 separate tritones. The 7#9#11 is one of the nastiest chords there is!

7♭9#11 = 7 + m2 + A4, G7♭9#11 = G-B-D-F-A♭-C#

Alternate names:7(♭9, #11)
Equivalent chord: equals 7♭9#11 on the ♭5, G7♭9#11 = D♭7♭9#11 (symmetrical chord)
Chord tendency: resolves to the ♭9, 9, 4, 5, ♭6, ♭7, G7♭9#11 > A♭, A, C, D, E♭ and F# (3 tritones and tritones invert to tritones).
Scale(s): all odd scale degrees of the Half-Whole diminished scale

7♭9♭13 = 7 + m2 + m6, G7♭9♭13 = G-B-D-F-A♭-E♭

Alternate names: 7(♭9, ♭13)
Chord tendency: resolves to ♭9, 4, 5, M7, G7♭9♭13 > A♭, C, D, F#
Scale(s): 5th scale degree melodic minor

7#9#11 = 7 + A2 + A4, G7#9#11 = G-B-D-F-A#-C#

Alternate names: 7(#9, #11), 7+9+11
Equivalent chord: equals 13♭5♭9 on ♭5, G7#9#11 = D♭13♭5♭9
Chord tendency: resolves to ♭9, 4, 5, M7, G7#9#11 > A♭, C, D, F#. This chord also seems to resolve to a major chord on every chromatic note except for the M3, ♭5, and M6, so for G not to B, D♭ or E.
Scale(s): all odd scale degrees of the Half-Whole diminished scale

7#9♭13 = 7 + A2 + m6, G7#9♭13 = G-B-D-F-A#-E♭

Alternate names: 7(#9, ♭13)
Chord tendency: Here’s another one – resolves best to the 4 and M7 (C & F# for G7#9♭13) and to every chromatic scale note except the 9, ♭5 and ♭7. So for G, any major chord other than A, D♭, and F.
Scale(s): The only scale I know that builds this chord is the 3rd mode of the Major Bebop scale.

Altered fifths

Dominant 7th chords with an altered 5th are called 7alt chords, especially if they have an altered 9th. This first section covers the various 7♭5 and 7#5 chords without the altered 9th.

7#5 = Root, major 3rd, augmented 5th, minor 7th = R-M3-A5-m7 = 1-3-#5-♭7, G7#5 = G-B-D#-F

Alternate names: 7+5, 7(#5)
Chord tendency: resolves best to the 4 but also sounds good to the ♭9, ♭3 and 6, G7#5 > C, A♭, B♭, and E
Scale(s): 5th scale degree harmonic minor, 7th scale degree melodic minor, each degree of the whole tone scale

9#5 = 7#5 + M2, G9#5 = G-B-D#-F-A

Alternate names: 9+5, 9(#5), 7#5(9)
Equivalent chord: equals 7♭5♭13 on the M3 and 9♭5 on the ♭7, G9#5 = B7♭5♭13 = F9♭5
Chord tendency: resolves best to ♭3, 4, 6, weakly to M7 but also to 5 and #5. So G9#5 to B♭, C, E, F# (weak), and D and E♭.
Scale(s): 5th scale degree melodic minor, each degree of the whole tone scale

7♭5 = Root, major 3rd, diminished 5th, minor 7th = R-M3-d5-m7 = 1-3-♭5-♭7, G7♭5 = G-B-D♭-F

Alternate names: 7(♭5), 7-5
Equivalent chord: equals 7♭5 on the ♭5, G7♭5 = D♭7♭5 (symmetrical chord)
Chord tendency: resolves best to ♭9, 4, 5 and M7 but also to the ♭5, G7♭5 > A♭, C, D, F#, and D♭
Scale(s): 4th & 7th scale degrees melodic minor, each degree of the whole tone scale, all odd scale degrees of the Half-Whole diminished scale

9♭5 = 7♭5 + M2, G9♭5 = G-B-D♭-F-A

Alternate names: 9(♭5), 7♭5(9)
Equivalent chord: equals 7♭5♭13 on the ♭5, and 9#5 on the 9, G9♭5 = D♭7♭5♭13 = A9#5
Chord tendency: same as 7♭5 but also to every chromatic major chord except the M3 and m6, so no B or E♭ for G.
Scale(s): 4th scale degree melodic minor, each degree of the whole tone scale

13♭5 = 7♭5 + M6, G13♭5 = G-B-D♭-F-E

Alternate names: 13(♭5)
Equivalent chord: equals 7♭5#9 on the ♭5, G13♭5 = D♭7♭5#9
Chord tendency: same as 7♭5 but also the ♭7
Scale(s): 4th scale degree melodic minor, all odd scale degrees of the Half-Whole diminished scale

Altered fifths and altered extensions

So here are the 4 “true” 7alt chords with some additional 7♭5 chords. I have some notes for three of the chords.

1. The 7♭5♭13 is also called 7#5#11 – I prefer the chord name 7♭5♭13.
2. I built a chord called 9♭5♭13 which uses every scale degree from the whole tone scale.
3. The 13♭5#9 is the other chord that is made up of 3 different tritones, though it sounds better than the 7♭9#1. Also, I was not able to find any closed chords for it, so I have an open chord as an example.

Augmented 7alt chords

7#5♭9 = 7#5 + m2, G7#5#9 = G-B-D#-F-A♭

Alternate names: 7(#5, ♭9), 7alt
Equivalent chord: equals m9♭5 on the ♭7, G7#5♭9 = Fm9♭5
Chord tendency: G7#5♭9 resolves best to C, weak to F# but also to A♭, B♭, D, and E (♭9, ♭3, 4, 5, 6)
Scale(s): 5th scale degree harmonic minor, 7th scale degree melodic minor

7#5#9 = 7#5 + A2, G7#5#9 = G-B-D#-F-A#

Alternate names: 7(#5, #9), 7(+5+9), 7alt
Chord tendency: resolves best to ♭3, 4, 6 and M7 but also ♭9, 3 and ♭6, G7#5#9 > B♭, C, E, and F# as well as A♭, B, and E♭.
Scale(s): 7th scale degree melodic minor

♭5 7alt chords

7♭5♭9 = 7♭5 + m2, G7♭5♭9 = G-B-D♭-D-A♭

Alternate names: 7(♭5, ♭9), 7♭5(♭9), 7alt
Equivalent chord: equals a 7#11 on the ♭5, G7♭5♭9 = D♭7#11
Chord tendency: resolves best to ♭9, 4, 5 and M7 but also to ♭5 and ♭6, so G7♭5♭9 > A♭, C, D, and F# but also D♭ and E♭.
Scale(s): 7th scale degree melodic minor, all odd scale degrees of the Half-Whole diminished scale

7♭5#9 = 7♭5 + A2, G7♭5#9 = G-B-D♭-F-A#

Alternate names: 7(♭5, #9), 7♭5(+9), 7alt
Equivalent chord: equals 13♭5 on the ♭5, G7♭5#9 = D♭13♭5
Chord tendency: same as 7♭5♭9
Scale(s): 7th scale degree melodic minor, all odd scale degrees of the Half-Whole diminished scale

7♭5♭13 = 7♭5 + m6, G7♭5♭13 = G-B-D♭-F-E♭

Alternate names: 7(♭5, ♭13), 7♭5(♭13), 7#5#11
Equivalent chord: equals 9♭5 on the ♭5 and 9#5 on the ♭13, G7♭5♭13 = D♭9♭5 = E♭9#5
Chord tendency: resolves to the ♭9, 4, 5 and M7, G7♭5♭13 > A♭, C, D, and F#
Scale(s): 7th scale degree melodic minor, each degree of the whole tone scale

9♭5♭13 = 7♭5 + M2 + m6, G9♭5♭13 = G-B-D♭-F-A-E♭

Alternate names: n/a
Equivalent chord: equals a 9♭5♭13 on each chord tone, G9♭5♭13 = A, B, D♭, E♭ & F9♭5♭13
Chord tendency: Every key! Six strongest by tritone and the other six somehow else.
Scale(s): each degree of the whole tone scale

13♭5♭9 = G7♭5 + M6 + m2, G13♭5♭9 = G-B-D♭-F-E-A♭

Alternate names: 13(♭5, ♭9)
Equivalent chord: equals a 7#9#11 on the ♭5, G13♭5♭9 = D♭7#9#11
Chord tendency: same as 9♭5♭13
Scale(s): all odd scale degrees of the Half-Whole diminished scale

13♭5#9 = 7♭5 + M6 + A2, G13♭5#9 = G-B-D♭-F-E-A#

Alternate names: 13(♭5, #9)
Equivalent chord: equals a 13♭5#9 on the ♭5, G13♭5#9 = D♭13♭5#9 (symmetrical chord)
Chord tendency: same as 9♭5♭13
Scale(s): all odd scale degrees of the Half-Whole diminished scale

No root chords (NR) and no fifth chords (N5), NR/N5

Below is a list of resulting chords when you omit either the Root (NR), the perfect 5th (N5) or both (NR/N5).

On dropping the 5th, you do not omit the 5th if it is a 7♭5 or 7#5, otherwise, what’s the point. But omitting the perfect 5th can be a sub for a ♭5 or #5 chords, e.g. 7#9 N5 can sub for a 7♭5#9 or 7#5#9.

Also, do not drop the perfect fifth for a chord that has either a #11 or ♭13, unless you change the chord name to reflect the resulting ♭5 or #5 fifth. For example, a 7#11 no 5th equals a 7♭5 chord.

I abbreviate chords without the root as NR, without the 5th as N5, and without the 3rd as N3.

No root chords (NR)

Here are the resulting chords if you drop the root notes on the chords above. I chose random root note chords as examples:

4-note chords

7#5 NR = maj ♭5 on the M3 (G7#5 NR = Bmaj ♭5)
7♭5 NR = 7 N5 on the ♭5 (B7♭5 NR = F7 N5)

5-note chords

7♭9 NR = dim7 on each chord tone (G7♭9 NR = Bdim7 = Ddim7 = Fdim7 – A♭dim7)
7#11 NR = n/a, G7#11 NR = G7#11 NR
7♭13 NR = 13♭5 N3 on the ♭7 (E7♭13 NR = D13♭5 N3)
7#9 NR = m-maj7♭5 on M3, and 13♭9 NR/N5 on ♭5 (E7#9 NR = G#m-maj7♭5 = B♭13♭9 NR/N5)
7#5♭9 NR = m6 on m2, (F#7#5♭9 NR = Gm6)
9#5 NR = 7♭5 on M3 (C9#5 NR = E7♭5)
7#5#9 NR = maj7♭5 on M3 (D♭7#5#9 NR = Fmaj7♭5)
7♭5#9 NR = 13 N5 on ♭5, (E♭7♭5#9 NR = A13 N5)
7♭5♭9 NR = 7 on ♭5, (A7♭5♭9 NR = E♭7)
9♭5 NR = 7#5 on ♭5, (D9♭5 NR = A♭7#5)
13♭5 NR = 7#9 N5 on ♭5 (A13♭5 NR = E♭7#9 N5)

6-note chords

7♭9♭13 NR = 11♭9 NR on m3 (G7♭9♭13 NR = B♭11♭9 NR)
11♭9 NR = 7♭9♭13 NR on M6, reverse of above (B♭11♭9 NR = G7♭9♭13 NR)
13♭9 NR = 7♭9 on M6, (C13♭9 NR = A7♭9)
13#9 NR = n/a, G13#9 NR = G13#9 NR
7♭9#11 NR = 7♭9 on #11, (C7♭9#11 = F#7♭9)
7#9#11 NR = 13♭9 N5 on #11 (C7#9#11 NR = F#13♭9 N5)
9#11 NR = m9♭5 on M3, (G9#11 NR = Bm9♭5)
13#11 NR = n/a, E13#11 NR = E13#11 NR
13♭5♭9 NR = 7#9 on ♭5 (B♭13♭5♭9 NR = E7#9)
13♭5#9 NR = 13#9 N5 on ♭5 (B♭13♭5#9 NR = E13#9 N5)

No fifth chords (N5, shell voicings) and 2 NR/N5 chords

Here are the resulting chords if you drop the perfect fifth on some of the chords above.

5-note chords

7♭9 N5 = n/a, F7♭9 N5 = F7♭9 N5, however, you lose one of the tritones in the chord.
7#9 N5 = 13♭5 NR on ♭5 (A7#9 N5 = E♭13♭5 NR)

6-note chords

11♭9 N5 = n/a G11♭9 N5 = G11♭9 N5
13♭9 N5 = 7#9#11 NR on ♭5 (E13♭9 N5 = B♭7#9#11 NR)
13#9 N5 = 13♭5#9 NR on ♭5 (E13#9 N5 = B♭13♭5#9 NR)

6-note chords NR/N5

As far as I’m concerned, these are the only 2 valid chords where you can drop the root and the perfect 5th. You can drop both chord tomes for other chords, but I can pretty much guarantee you that it will just end up equaling another chord.

13♭9 NR/N5 = 7#9 NR on the ♭5 and m-maj7♭5 on the ♭7 (G13♭9 NR/N5 = D♭7#9 NR = Bm-maj7♭5)
13#9 NR/N5 = 13#9 NR/N5 on the ♭5 (double tritone / symmetrical chord), e.g. E13#9 NR/N5 = B♭13#9 NR/N5

Altered chords FAQs

Question 1: Why, how and when to use altered chords?

1. Use them when you are bored with regular 7ths. Use them as a substitute for a regular dom7 (V7 or V\V).

2. To change things up, add color and variety, provide some unique licks, …

3. The melody comes first though. If the altered tones conflict with the melody, then don’t use them or try a different altered chord.

Question 2: How many types of altered chords?

1. I came up with 23 common names, 26 if you accept 7#9♭13, 7♭5♭13 instead of the 7#5#11 and 9♭5♭13.

2. If you build dominant 7th chords from other scales than the ones I used then maybe there are more, but I think I got them all.

Question 3: How to resolve altered chords?

1. Resolve altered 7th chords as a V7 to I major or minor or a ♭9 to the tonic chord (I, i).

2. It’s the tritone(s) that will point to how/where to resolve all that dissonance.

3. I listed all the resolve tendencies for each chord so try those first.

Question 4: How to play over altered chords?

1. I’m more of a rhythm player than a lead player. Here is what I would do – as little as possible! I’m not about to learn every mode of every scale for these types of chords. I play arpeggios, either the base dom7 chord or the whole chord. These chords rarely last more than one measure.

Other quality altered chords

Here is a brief list of other altered chord types on different quality triads. Do not confuse these chords with 7alts or altered dominant 7th chords.  They are not! They all are either build on different triad/chord types or have major 7th intervals. Remember, an altered 7th or 7alt chord has a major 3rd (M3) and a minor or flat 7 (m7/♭7).

Major 7th: maj7♭5, maj7#11, maj9#11, maj13#11 – awesome Lydian chords.

Minor: m7#11, a horrible sounding chord (IMO) built on the 4th mode of the harmonic minor scale

Diminished: m7♭5, m9♭5, m11♭5, m-maj7♭5 (All great)

Augmented: maj7#5 and maybe maj9#5 (=’s 7♭13 on M3) and maj13#5 (=’s m9-maj7 on M6)

Suspended: 7sus ♭9, 13sus ♭9 (both good)

Lydian adds: add#11, add9/#11, 6 add9/#11 (all good)

Invalid altered chords

Here is a brief list of chords which you will never see and you will not want to use:

11#9: three chromatic notes in a row (#9, M3, 11)

9♭13 & 11♭13: I suppose it’s possible to build them but no one does – neither should you.

Major 7ths: Adding either a ♭9, #9 or ♭13 are not options IMO. Don’t mess with a beautiful major 7 chord. Don’t believe me, then try a maj7#9 chord and you’ll see what I mean. Sharp 11’s are fine though.

Final Thoughts

This and my last article on the all the C Major Scale Chords is heavy lifting for the head. The take away is that you can play more than just a dominant 7th chord. Some of the chords above are super nasty-sounding – I don’t use them all.

I’m not a jazz player so I don’t use the 7♭9 chord, but I love the 7#9. Count me out for the 7#11 chord but 9#11 and some of the 7♭5 chords are nice. Also, the 7#5 chord is fantastic. I could list other chords I like and dislike, but just try them all and pick a handful that sounds good to you.

Take a look at the Wikipedia page on Altered Chords if you have any questions that I did not address in this article. Or feel free to add a comment below or send me a message using the form in the sidebar.

The post Altered Chords: Altered Dominant 7th Chords appeared first on Every Guitar Chord.

Major 13 and dominant 13 guitar chords sometimes include the 9 in the voicing as well. I call that a “double extended” chord. I have 27 guitar chord voicings for the double extended chords that I notate as 9/11, 9/13 and 11/13.

Dominant 7th extended chords

If you are unfamiliar with the term extended chords, or extended 7th chords, then here is a brief explanation. Read my Music Intervals and Triads in Music articles if you are unfamiliar with how to build chords.

1. Triads have 3 notes: the root name, a third and a fifth.
2. Seventh chords are 4 notes chord which adds the 7th scale degree to the triad.
3. Any additional note added to a 7th chord, not already in the chord, is called an extension.
4. The word “extension” means to add or make bigger, so adding a non-chord tone to the 4-note 7th chord makes it a 5-note chord – it’s larger, it’s been extended.
5. The extended note does not change the chord quality or tendency/function of the 7th chord.

Here are all the possible extended notes that you will see in any type of extended 7th chord: ♭9, 9, #9, 11, #11, ♭13 and 13.  Some examples are 7♭9, 7#9, maj9, m11, etc. Sharp or flat fifths are not 7th chord extensions, rather they are just called altered 5ths.

The 5-note extended chords built on the dominant scale degree of the major scale are as follows:

9 = dominant 7 + the major second (7+2)
11 = dominant 7 + the perfect fourth (7+4)
13 = dominant 7 + the major sixth (7+6)

Here are the other “normal” extended chord types from the major scale:

Major: maj9, maj13, maj9/13, maj7#11, maj9#11, maj13#11
Minor: m9, m11, m13
Diminished: m11b5
Suspended: 9sus, 7sus b9, 13sus

That’s about it. There other extended chord types that can be built from other scales, but I’ll skip those chords for this article. Check my other categories for those chords.

Also, don’t confuse “add” chords with extensions. The 6 chord is not the same as the extended chords of 13, maj13 or m13 chord. The same is true for an  add9 vs 9, maj9 and m9 chords.

Double extended dominant 7th chords

Another special note is that music theory includes the 9th in 11 chords, and the 9th and 11th in 13 chords. Seven note chords are not possible on guitar, so that’s out. However, one of my chords below does include the 9th and 11th – the 9/11 chord.

By the way, I came up with the phrase “double extended” so if you google that term you won’t find a music-related site. The term doesn’t apply to the 9/11 chord but it fits the 9/13 and 11/13 chords.

Here are the chords I’ll be covering:

9/11 = dominant 7 + the major second AND the perfect fourth
9/13 = dominant 7 + the major second AND the major sixth/thirteen
11/13 = dominant 7 + the perfect fourth AND the major sixth/thirteen

The 6 add9 and add9/11 chords equate to the 9/13 and 9/11 double extended 7th chords respectively. There is no “add” parallel for the 11/13 chord.

9 /11 chord

Chord intervals: Root, major 3rd, perfect 5th, minor 7th, major 2nd, perfect 4th= R-M3-P5-m7-M2-P4 = 1-3-5-♭7-9-11
Equivalent chord: the polychord 6 add9/#11 on the ♭7, e.g. D9/11 = C6 add9/#11
Chord tendency: The tendency for all the dominant 7th chords in this article resolve to the tonic of the scale, so G9/11, G9/13, and G11/13 resolves to C major.

9 /13 chord

Chord intervals: Root, major 3rd, perfect 5th, minor 7th, major 2nd, major 6th= R-M3-P5-m7-M2-M6 = 1-3-5-♭7-9-13
Alternate names: sometimes just called 13

11 /13 chord

Chord intervals: Root, major 3rd, perfect 5th, minor 7th, perfect 4th, major 6th= R-M3-P5-m7-P4-M6 = 1-3-5-♭7-11-13

12 Open double extended dominant G7 chords

Below are the notes in each G7 extended chord. I included the versions without the perfect 5th and the root note:

G9/11 chord tones: G-B-D-F-A-C, equals F6 add9/#11
G9/11 no 5th chord tones: G-B-F-A-C, equals F add9/#11

G9/13 chord tones: G-B-D-F-A-E
G9/13 no 5th chord tones: G-B-F-A-E

G11/13 chord tones: G-B-D-F-C-E
G11/13 no root chord tones: B-D-F-C-E
G11 /13 no 5th chord tones: G-B-F-C-E

Note that 5 and 6-note chords can be unwieldy and hard to hold, so it is common to drop the perfect 5th and sometimes even the root note.

You can play the 9/11 chord without the 5th, but when you do that it equals an add9/#11 on the ♭7 (G9/11 no 5 = F add9/#11).

You can play the 9/13 chord without the 5th and it remains unique as it does not equal another chord.

You can play the 11/13 chord without the 5th or the root note and both omissions remain unique as they do not equal other chords.

Here is a chord diagram of the symbols I use in my chord blocks:

 

 

 

Notes on the chords

G9/11 chords: I don’t like the open B over the F in #1, so I prefer #2 even though that one doesn’t sound great AND it’s hard to hold.

G9/13 chords: Love #1 and #3 is good as well. #2 has the dissonance of the open B and F thing so I don’t like that one. #4 is a problem because it’s hard not to mute the open A string.

G 11/13 chords: It’s hard to hold the C note on the B string of #1 – my fingernail prevents fretting that note correctly, but it sounds good. #2 sounds fantastic, #3 on the other hand, doesn’t sound that great. #’s 4, 5 and 6 are just “okay”.

Go to my Downloads page to get a PDF copy of every open G guitar chord built from the C major scale. That PDF file also includes the 11 open B diminished chords from C major as they have the same tendency of G7 chords. Or check out the PDF file directly and download if you like what you see: G-maj-B-dim-in-C.pdf.

Check out these articles for more G chords from C major:

• G7 Guitar Chords: 71 chords for G7, G9, G11 & G13
• Major Chords from C Major: All the triads and “add” chords for C, F, and G

Final Thoughts

Try these chords out when a 9, 11 or 13 isn’t enough or when the extra extended note contains a melody note. And using the Mixolydian mode over any of these chords would sound great so give that a try as well.

Check out the Wikipedia Extended Chord page for more on these types of chords. Also, take a look at my Comprehensive List of Chords article for every chord type that can be build from the most popular scales.

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