FrankK, that is a technique I've passed along here every so often, having discovered it in BIAB by accident. The more detail you specify in the chord, the fewer choices BIAB has to guess what you might want.

If you just say "D", you could get a major seven or even a minor seven or a sixth added in, or a second, or a ninth, or a 6/9 or a Major 9 or ... depending on the style and somewhat on the "jazz up the chords" setting.

If you write a 9th chord, like "D9", it implies the dominant/minor seventh is present and especially prevents the occurrence of a sharp nine or flat nine. If you write a "D7", you could get those alterations, and that may be what you are hearing and objecting to.

Now, having said that, although I might write D9 in a BIAB song, I would generally put D7 in a chart, and let the piano and guitar decide.

For another example, if you write D7alt, you could get a flat five, a sharp five, a flat nine and/or a sharp nine. Jazz players mix these on the fly. If you want a particular voicing, especially to match a melody, you should write it (for example, D7#9).



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