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Mastering altered dominants is essential for jazz guitarists and improvisers looking to add tension and color to their solos. Understanding how to navigate these chords with appropriate scales and arpeggios can significantly enhance your improvisational vocabulary.
What Are Altered Dominants?
Altered dominants are chords that contain altered tones, typically used to create dissonance before resolving to a tonic. Common alterations include b9, #9, b5, and #5. These chords are often notated as V7alt and are prevalent in jazz standards and improvisations.
Understanding the Scale Choices
Choosing the right scale over an altered dominant is crucial. The most common options include:
- Altered Scale (Super Locrian): Contains all altered tones, ideal for maximum tension.
- Half-Whole Diminished Scale: Useful when resolving to a minor or major chord.
- Locrian Mode: Derived from the natural minor scale, suitable for less dissonant sounds.
Using the Altered Scale
The altered scale is built by raising the 4th and 7th degrees of the locrian mode, resulting in a scale with all altered tones. For example, over a G7alt chord, the altered scale would be:
G – Ab – Bb – B – Db – Eb – F – G
Arpeggios for Altered Dominants
Arpeggios outline the chord tones and can be combined with scales for melodic improvisation. Key arpeggios include:
- Altered Dominant Arpeggio: 1 – ♭9 – #9 – ♭3 – #5 – ♭7
- Half-Whole Diminished Arpeggio: 1 – ♭9 – #9 – 3 – #5 – 7
Practicing these arpeggios across the fretboard helps develop fluidity and improvisational confidence when navigating altered chords.
Practical Tips for Improvisation
When improvising over altered dominant chords, keep these tips in mind:
- Start slow and focus on target notes within the arpeggio.
- Use chromatic passing tones to connect scale tones smoothly.
- Experiment with different arpeggio and scale combinations for unique sounds.
- Listen to recordings of jazz legends to internalize altered sounds.
Conclusion
Mastering scales and arpeggios for altered dominants opens up new expressive possibilities on the guitar. Regular practice and listening will help you incorporate these sounds seamlessly into your playing, adding tension and resolution that captivate your audience.