Circle Of %ths/Cdim7 Chord.

[G.Jackson@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

This is a reply to George Miklas (sorry it's late).

He rightly informed me my Cdim7 chord was not constructed properly.

I would like to comment on it though.

I agree that If i called a note Eb in the chord, I should call the
other one Gb, not F# for the sake of consistancy if not theory.
I took the notes off the guitar and wrote them down in the way I refer
to them by habit.
As Gb is enharmonic (the same as) to F#, and Eb is enharmonic to D#,
I don't think it matters a great deal anyway, as long as we understand
what is being said.

As to calling an A note in the chord a Bbb....

Well theory is all well and good as far as it goes.  

For the sake of being understood by the biggest number of people in the
simplest way, an A note in a Cdim7 will remain an A rather than a Bbb.
I imagine I am not alone ot this group I having had to go and find a 
friend who could explaine the A  is a Bbb is just due to the way it is
derived. 

(Long-and-not-as-useful-as-it-could-be explination of it all left out on
purpose here).

My postings are aimed at beginers and non music theory, non music score
readers like myself. 
In the end, I TRY (don't always manage) to include information that is 
of immediate and practical use.

I could have said more I know, but there are pitfalls, one is putting 
people off by mixing too much theory in with the other more prosaic
stuff. Another is just swamping folk with too much in total.

I personally, have only just come to terms with some of the more deep
music theory related stuff in the last six months or so. Mainly due
to a friend (hi John) here at work who is a good harp player and knows
a fair old bit about theory himself.

I play around twenty instruments, have played and sung professionally,
still perform live, and have been doing so for almost thirty years.
I still don't read the dots, and my theory is very small, so I wish
to encourage others.

I have found many musically literate people (some at work) who are poor
musicians, but can pronounce "appoggiatura" in QUITE the right way. And
what is worse, some of them (I hope he is not reading this!) seem to
take great delight in making the non musically literate of us feel small. 

He suceeded with me too for a LONG time. That is until he told me he
couldn't play ONE piece of music right through, dots or no dots. 
He's been playing instruments for about twenty years at that!

Mind you, working in a University (as I do) one may be forgiven for
thinking that academic excellence is the be all and and all of life.
Well some folk might anyway.
(Thinks, if that does not get me the sack, nothing will)!

Don't get me wrong, this is not a flame.
I have been following George Miklas's posts with interest, and he's
forgotten more than I will ever know, so I'm learning from him too.
I just think that the prickly path of music theory is not the only way.

There is a place for both, so I hope I have not offened anyone,
especially George.


Gordon.


E_MAIL me at:-     GJackson@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx