Re: [Harp-L] Re: Aebersold Chord Notation Questions

[Winslow Yerxa <winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx>]

There may or may not be a difference.

Someone suggested that the parentheses may indicate that whatever is inside 
those parentheses may be optional.

That may or may not be true.

Notation is inconsistent in two ways:
-- Not everyone writes consistently, even in the same piece of music
-- Different writers and systems have developed different conventions.

For instance, the "Broadway" school of writing *always* puts parentheses around 
added notes. It doesn't mean that they're optional, just that they're added. For 
instance 

C7(b9). This is a C7 chord - C E G Bb, with a flat 9th (Db).

In a sense, that b9 is optional  - you could just play a C7 chord on piano or 
guitar and it probably wouldn't hurt anything.

But if you're running a scale over that chord, you'd better not play a D-natural 
because it will clash with the D-flat. You absolutely need to know about the 
flat 9th (D-flat).

Now you could also write this chord without the parentheses, as C7b9. It conveys 
exactly the same information and everything I wrote above remains true. You can 
argue about which one is easier to comprehend at a glance on the page.

Winslow
 Winslow Yerxa
Author, Harmonica For Dummies ISBN 978-0-470-33729-5
Harmonica instructor, The Jazzschool for Music Study and Performance
Resident expert, bluesharmonica.com
Columnist, harmonicasessions.com




________________________________
From: Tom Skailes <tom.skailes@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Sat, January 29, 2011 2:05:45 AM
Subject: [Harp-L] Re: Aebersold Chord Notation Questions

Lizzie

You asked some questions, not all of which have been answered. I play a bit of 
sax as well as harp and for a few years played a bit of jazz, so here's my 
understanding:

There is a chord symbol here that I don't know how to decipher:  It's 
Eb<triangle>+4.  I've seen the triangle before, and take it to mean major 7th.  
And I would think that "+4" means augmented 4th.  So, would the notes for this 
chord be Eb G A Bb D?

There is another measure where the "+4" is in parentheses, Eb<triangle>(+4).  
What's the difference...?



On 28/01/2011 22:27, harp-l-request@xxxxxxxxxx wrote:
> Aebersold Chord Notation Questions