Score says C not CMaj7???

[John H. Power]

I am putting together a simple (my level folks) chord melody arrangement to It Had to Be You. I bought the piano version of the tune in the key of C and as I am working thru this I noticed that the melody note for the word "you" is B but the chord notation above that note is a C chord.

G+ C <-- Chords in score
It had to be you
g a g a b <-- Notes

In building a C chord with the melody note on top I realize that this is really a CMaj7. I am teaching myself to read music iand my understanding of theory is very basic so I am confused as to why the chord notation here would be a C rather than a Cmaj7.

My wife will be singing this song if I just strum the chords and I would have play a C chord here had I not looked at the actual melody line and realized there was also a B note.

Again, my main question is why they wouldn't list this chord as a C maj7 rather than a straight C chord if in fact that's what it is.

Thanks

I would never trust what a publisher puts as changes w/o using my judgement. It could be they wanted a simpler presentation so they just left the basic triads. It could be transferred from some older score that listed the changes as such. It could be an error. Either way, most musicians are going to substitute their own harmony.

[lindydanny]

Play what sounds right not what is written.

~DB

[John H. Power]

I thought that when you purchase the authentic sheet music you were buying the original version as written by the composer. Wouldn't that have the proper chord structure? Or maybe I am just not familiar with how these things are done.

[FatJeff]

Originally Posted by John H. Power

I thought that when you purchase the authentic sheet music you were buying the original version as written by the composer. Wouldn't that have the proper chord structure? Or maybe I am just not familiar with how these things are done.

What makes you think that the copy you purchased is the "authentic" version? For songs as popular as IHTBY, there are innumerable arrangements that have been floating around out there for the past 75 years. Not all of them are going to be dead-on.

My bet is that since this song was written in the 20s, that it was originally written with simple chords like C, not Cmaj7. The maj7 is only implied because of the melody note. And I'm not even convinced that the song was originally in the key of C, although it could have been. This is one of those songs that is probably played in every different key, depending on the range of the vocalist.

Something one learns to do as they get more accustomed to this stuff is to just figure out the exact chord to accompany with (e.g. Cmaj7 in this case), based solely on the quality of the chord (maj) and how the melody note alters that on top (B = maj7 of C). Or, in the 5th measure ("I wandered around..."), the E melody note on top of the D7 chord makes it a D9. etc etc etc...

[bako]

There are charts that aim to be super specific in their chord symbols, others that just indicate the simple functional harmony
and some that are plain wrong. It is always informative to factor in the melody to your harmonic understanding as you did in this instance.

[mr. beaumont]

Originally Posted by bako

There are charts that aim to be super specific in their chord symbols, others that just indicate the simple functional harmony
and some that are plain wrong. It is always informative to factor in the melody to your harmonic understanding as you did in this instance.

This^^^^


Think about it--If you had two bars of a C chord, and a quarter note melody that went from B-A-D-C-B-etc---you'd have a different chord written on every beat.

It's part of arranging...always use the sheet music as a guide--not an ultimatum.

[bako]

Originally Posted by mr. beaumont

always use the sheet music as a guide--not an ultimatum.

Very well said.

[backliner]

It's OK to leave off the maj 7th from the guitar since the voice is covering it anyway. Perhaps they wanted to avoid an octave sound, or masking of the vocal.
In the same way, it's OK to leave off the root from the guitar if there's a bass player, to avoid redundancy.

Sevenths are frequently added to music to add interest (especially by jazz players), but a simple arrangement may just be sketching out the basics for the accompianist to interpret.

[musicalbodger]

Originally Posted by backliner

It's OK to leave off the maj 7th from the guitar since the voice is covering it anyway. Perhaps they wanted to avoid an octave sound, or masking of the vocal.
In the same way, it's OK to leave off the root from the guitar if there's a bass player, to avoid redundancy.

Sevenths are frequently added to music to add interest (especially by jazz players), but a simple arrangement may just be sketching out the basics for the accompianist to interpret.

But then again, if the vocalist is not experienced it may help to add the maj 7th as a guide note.

[GodinFan]

I've gotten in the habit of playing most major chords in standards as 6 or 6/9 chords. Then again, I tend to play a lot of older mainstream tunes, and I'm not going for super hip voicing.

[BigDaddyLoveHandles]

Originally Posted by GodinFan

I've gotten in the habit of playing most major chords in standards as 6 or 6/9 chords. Then again, I tend to play a lot of older mainstream tunes, and I'm not going for super hip voicing.

Try this for a G7->C resolution

x43453 -> x32442

[wkriski]

The chord in the music doesn't have to reflect the melody note. C is the simplest chord you can put there but jazz musicians know that they can play maj7, C6, C6/9 etc. Don't forget the chords will be used for improvising solos so there won't be a melody note rom the 'head' during this round of solos.

[max_power]

Originally Posted by mr. beaumont

Think about it--If you had two bars of a C chord, and a quarter note melody that went from B-A-D-C-B-etc---you'd have a different chord written on every beat.

I've seen sheet music written like this, and it's damn near impossible to follow. When you see the following in one bar:

D7 D9+ D13 D#9

...you get flustered. Whereas it could simply be written as D7, and you'd make your own extensions.

[FatJeff]

That's pretty typical in big band arrangements. I agree, it's a PITA. You just have to be able to mentally boil down the chords to their essences and go with those.