Why Does G7♭9♯11♭13 Sound So Good??

Added: 2026-05-17

[00:00:00]As much as I like to say that music theory isn't important, you've got to know a little if you want to get a more sophisticated jazz sound like this.

[00:00:09]>> [music] >> So, what's going on there? I'm going to specifically be talking about the flat nine and the sharp 11 I played there on the five of two. What am I talking about? We're in the key of B flat major.

[00:00:23]What's the two chord? It's C minor seven. What's the [music] five of that chord? The five of two is G7.

[00:00:30]By the [music] way, these chord charts are free. There's a link in the description. And when I say flat nine and sharp 11, those are altered extensions that I play on top of that G7 chord. So, when I do this, this is a one, a seven, a three, a flat 13, and a flat nine. So, if you're thinking, "How am I going to be able to figure out what the flat nine and the sharp 11 are?" Well, I'm going to teach you a trick called anchor tones. So, in this case, the anchor tone is going to be the root, the one. That's G. To find the flat nine, you're going to go a half step above that G to get to A flat. To get the sharp 11, you're going to think about the five, which is D on a G7 chord. Go down a half step, and you have sharp 11. So, here's the line.

[00:01:13]And then you can continue on to the C minor seven.

[00:01:17]That's just the 11 resolving down [music] to the three. Flat nines, sharp 11s, use the anchor tones to help you get there.