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{{Short description|Musical terminology}}{{For|similar terms|Alteration (disambiguation)|Modification (disambiguation){{!}}Modification}}{{Distinguish|Leading tone}}{{Image frame|content= {override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##frelative c'' { } }

caption=An altered dominant chord in C major}}An altered chord is a chord that replaces one or more notes from the diatonic scale with a neighboring pitch from the chromatic scale. By the broadest definition, any chord with a non-diatonic chord tone is an altered chord. The simplest example of altered chords is the use of borrowed chords, chords borrowed from the parallel key, and the most common is the use of secondary dominants. As Alfred Blatter explains, "An altered chord occurs when one of the standard, functional chords is given another quality by the modification of one or more components of the chord."Blatter, Alfred (2007). Revisiting Music Theory: A Guide to the Practice, p. 186. {{ISBN|0-415-97440-2}}.For example, altered notes may be used as leading tones to emphasize their diatonic neighbors. Contrast this with chord extensions:{{blockquote|Whereas chord extension generally involves adding notes that are logically implied, chord alteration involves changing some of the typical notes. This is usually done on dominant chords, and the four alterations that are commonly used are the {{music|b}}5, {{music|#}}5, {{music|b}}9 and {{music|#}}9. Using one (or more) of these notes in a resolving dominant chord greatly increases the bite in the chord and therefore the power of the resolution.Baerman, Noah (1998). Complete Jazz Keyboard Method: Intermediate Jazz Keyboard, p. 70. {{ISBN|0-88284-911-5}}.|sign=|source=}}In jazz harmony, chromatic alteration is either the addition of notes not in the scale or expansion of a [chord] progression by adding extra non-diatonic chords.Arkin, Eddie (2004). Creative Chord Substitution for Jazz Guitar, p. 42. {{ISBN|0-7579-2301-1}}. For example, "A C major scale with an added D{{music|sharp}} note, for instance, is a chromatically altered scale" while, "one bar of Cmaj7 moving to Fmaj7 in the next bar can be chromatically altered by adding the ii and V of Fmaj7 on the second two beats of bar" one. Techniques include the ii–V–I turnaround, as well as movement by half-step or minor third.Arkin (2004), p. 43. (File:Altered_chord_progression_jazz.png|frameless|400x400px) The five most common types of altered dominants are: V{{music|+}}, V{{sup|7}}{{music|sharp}}5 (both with raised fifths), V{{sup|{{music|b}}5}}, V{{sup|7}}{{music|flat}}5 (both with lowered fifths), and V{{music|halfdim}}{{sup|7}} (with lowered fifth and third, the latter enharmonic to a raised ninth).Benward and Saker (2009), p. 193. Background {hide}Image frame|content= {relative c' { clef treble time 4/4 key c major 1 bar "||" } }

caption=Chord progression with chords borrowed from the parallel minor{edih}"Borrowing" of this type appears in music from the Renaissance music era and the Baroque music era (1600–1750)—such as with the use of the Picardy third, in which a piece in a minor key has a final or intermediate cadence in the tonic major chord. "Borrowing" is also common in 20th century popular music and rock music.For example, in music in a major key, such as C major, composers and songwriters may use a B{{music|b}} major chord, that they "borrow" from the key of C minor (where it is the VII chord). Similarly, in music in a minor key, composers and songwriters often "borrow" chords from the tonic major. For example, pieces in C minor often use F major and G major (IV and V chords), which they "borrow" from C major.More advanced types of altered chords were used by Romantic music era composers in the 19th century, such as Chopin, and by jazz composers and improvisers in the 20th and 21st century. For example, the chord progression on the left uses four unaltered chords, while the progression on the right uses an altered IV chord and is an alteration of the previous progression:Erickson, Robert (1957). The Structure of Music: A Listener's Guide, p. 86. New York: Noonday Press. {{ISBN|0-8371-8519-X}} (1977 edition). {|| new PianoStaff > >> | new PianoStaff > >>

The A{{music|b}} in the altered chord serves as a leading tone to G, which is the root of the next chord.{{Blockquote|The object of such foreign tones is: to enlarge and enrich the scale; to confirm the melodic tendency of certain tones...; to contradict the tendency of others...; to convert inactive tones into active [leading tones]...; and to affiliate the keys, by increasing the number of common tones.}}{{Image frame|content= {{Image frame|content=>