That altered chord is almost every minor key jazz or bossa nova piece. You could start from the turnaround into the C minor in the much covered Blue Bossa (every time the G altered is used to get into the C minor, and explicitly voiced in the horns) and move forward from there:nasenmann wrote:I have to agree with the flat 3rd flat 9th one, though we'd probably just have to wait for a knowledgeable jazzer to show us someone making good use of it in the right context
The G7(alt) is essentially a Db7 played on top of a G bass note. Doesn't sound too dissonant, does it? Not to me, at least. I don't know what instrument you play, but on an acoustic piano it sounds completely logical immediately as long as it leads into the appropriate resolution. It opens up the possibility of playing the G triad and the C minor triad on top of one another too, so you can obscure the resolution somewhat, and blur the barlines a bit. If I'm playing a blues or rhythm changes i use those altered chords all the time to avoid sounding like I'm trapped in a 1920's speakeasy.
What I wish I could pull off with altered chords, this just kills:
Even if you know the form and can follow along, the structure is obscured by the altered chords and the imposition of bitonal harmonies, so the piece floats along effortlessly without that choppy chord/chord/chord/chord feeling.
Sometimes that altered chord going to a minor key resolution is almost a little too inside for my tastes, actually. Then again, there's few chords I love more than Maj7(+5) sitting by itself, or moving around in whole steps. So I'm more than a little fond of the dissonance.
Sorry for going on like this. Just couldn't stop once I got going. If I was a smiley type of guy I'd put one in here now.