Unit 5-5: Altered & Extended Chords

Objectives

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

Spell and identify altered and extended chords, including extended tertian chords (e.g., ninths, elevenths, thirteenths) and altered dominants.
Analyze musical excerpts that utilize altered and extended chords, identifying their use and discussing their impact on the harmonic and expressive qualities of the piece.
Compare and contrast altered and extended chords with more traditional chord structures, highlighting their unique characteristics and applications in various musical contexts.
Compose short harmonic progressions and melodies that incorporate altered and extended chords, demonstrating an understanding of their construction, voice leading, and functional roles.

Preparation for Class

Read:

Extended Tertian Chords and Altered Dominants (Multimodal Musicianship)
Augmented Options (Open Music Theory)

Watch

Altered Dominants
(Enoch Jacobus, 6 mins) - Start the video at 1:20

Songs that Use 9ths, 11ths, and 13ths
(David Bennett, 16 mins)

Explore

Chord Player. Experiment with chord progressions that incorporate altered and extended chords from the reading. Build a standard T-PD-D-T chord progression, then add in extensions and alterations. See the “Study Aid” section below with a chord chart for ideas.

Study Aids

Advanced Chord Chart with Voicing
(Source: Philip Tagg, Everyday Tonality, pp. 232–233)

In-Class Activities

Activities

Online Worksheets: [Description]
- - Mixed Practice (Multimodal Musicianship)
    - - Exercise 47.1: Spelling Dominant 9ths & 13ths (screen-reader version)
      - Exercise 47.2: Spelling Extended Tertian Chords
      - Exercise 47.3: Spelling Altered Dominants
      - Exercise 47-4: Mixed Chord Spelling (screen-reader version)
      - Exercise 47.5: Analysis with Extended Tertian and Altered Dominant Chords (excerpts by Chopin and Dennis & Brent)
  - Spelling & Analysis with Altered Chords: Activities 34-1, 2, and 3 (Fundamentals, Function, and Form)
  - Chord Extensions (spelling & analysis): Music Theory for Today's Musician Workbook, pp. 294–298 (available online through the library)
Composition: Compose a chord progression that uses an altered dominant, augmented chord, or extended chord (9th, 11th, or 13th). Then, part-write the progression in 4-voice keyboard or chorale style. Swap with a partner to check voice leading. If there's time, add texture and a melody to your chord progression. (See sample accompanimental patterns in the anthology here.)
Recomposition: Select an example from the Music Theory Anthology. Using the chord extensions and alterations discussed in the readings, embellish the excerpt. Play both your embellished version and the original, and compare the differences. As a class, evaluate which changes were most effective and discuss why certain alterations worked better than others.

Repertoire for Practice

Anthology: This section of the anthology includes altered dominants, other augmented chords, and extended tertian harmony (9ths, 11ths, and 13ths).

Anthology: Other Chromatic Chords

NEXT STEP

Next Lesson: Chromatic Mediants

Practice

Musition: [levels]
Auralia: [levels]

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