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be ecuse my ignorance on this i hope its not to basic.
sometimes i get hung up n small issue like this.
high all i am new to learning to read music and trying to understand things as i am going along.
one thing i wanted to ask is ( as example ) is Amin the same as Am?
if so why would it be labeled a Amin on one bar and Am on the next?
also when a chord is labled ( as example ) Amaj that is a chord that i would think would be made up of a 1, 3, 5 would that be correct? basic i know i want to make sure i have this all correct. spent to many years learning wrong.
so if i add a extention say a seven the it would be Amaj7
if i add a six would it be Amaj6 or just A6? this is causing me a small degree of confusion not is learn playing or reading just in proper naming. i see as example A6 written in one of my studies and the i see Amaj7 or Amaj9 so why would the A6 not be labled Amaj6?
thank pan
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05-09-2024 01:48 PM
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Originally Posted by pan60
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Originally Posted by pan60
Note that for Major 7 chords, the reason "maj" or "M" is used is to distinguish them from Dominate 7th chords.
E.g. A7 is a dominate 7th chord: 1 3 b7. Thus, to distinguish major chords from dominate chords, something had to be note to indicate if the 7th is natural or flat.
With minor chord it is assumed the 3rd, and the 7th are flatted: 1 b3, b7. Thus, one doesn't need to notate that; the "min" or "m" implies this.Last edited by jameslovestal; 05-09-2024 at 07:40 PM.
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"I see as example A6 written in one of my studies and the I see Amaj7 or Amaj9 so why would the A6 not be labeled Amaj6?"
A6 is vague, should be named either AM6 or Am6, but these are usually tonic (I) chords so the key and/or chord progression should tell you whether that A6 is major or minor.
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1 3 5 6 is major
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I haven't read this thread but saw the post below and thought I'd clarify quickly; apologies if someone else has already addressed this.
Originally Posted by Mick-7
Chord symbols are shorthand that can be used independently of whether harmony is diatonic, chromatic, functional, non-functional, or modal, so "the key and/or chord progression" is not necessarily going to tell you anything about the quality of a chord.
This shorthand relies on convention to keep it, well, short!
- The first convention is that a triad is major unless stated otherwise. So C is C major unless you explicitly say that it is minor, augmented or diminished.
- Another convention is that the sixth in any *6 chord symbol is a major sixth. That is C6 = CEGA and C-6 = CEbGA. Consider that if we add a minor sixth to our C major triad (CEGAb) we would actually have an Ab+ma7 in first inversion. Adding a major 6 to a major triad is completely diatonic, and much more common, so it gets assigned the more common (and simpler) shorthand. Similarly, if we add a minor sixth to a C minor triad (CEbGAb) we have Abma7 in first inversion. So the "sixths in chord symbols are always major 6ths" convention eliminates this ambiguity.
This came up about a month ago in another thread... maybe someone else can find it. I've already said too much :-)
PS: there's a chord chart in the beginning of The New Real Book (and all of the Jamey Aebersold play-along books ... heck, it's probably on the Web somewhere) that tells you the notes in every chord symbol.
PPS: Found it! I hope this helps.
PPPS (omg!) - I'm aware that Berklee teaches a slightly different system, where every chord always includes M for major and m for minor. I haven't studied Berklee chordal notation and I'm not here to argue the merits or drawbacks of either system.
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You might find this helpful
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Originally Posted by starjasmine
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Naming chords or reading them - in jazz, it is often not a "system". More like tradition.
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Originally Posted by Mick-7
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Originally Posted by Mick-7
(It's also common as a IV chord (subdoninant) in major keys)
How ever AM6 can in some sheets mean A major 6 and A minor 6 in other sheets.
Some sheets use M for major and m for minor. (I personally intenisvely dislike that convention.)
other sheets use M (often subscript or superscript) for minor and all chords without any kind of M are major chords. (I think it some cases it might be a m in a typeface or handwriting where M and m look similar if you don't see them next to each other).Last edited by orri; 05-10-2024 at 08:33 AM.
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And for what it’s worth, the ii chord (iv chord in minor) also has a natural sixth. Usually it’s m7 in the major key, but m6 often enough in the minor key.
Summertime, Alone Together, etc.
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Originally Posted by orri
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Yup, and there's no getting around this.
And unless you're a studio musician or playing a score, don't worry about it. If you're here at the JAZZ forum, you want to feel free to play any flavor of major chord (for example) you want.
A, A6, A6/9, etc.
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Originally Posted by pamosmusic
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Originally Posted by mr. beaumont
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Originally Posted by pamosmusic
Originally Posted by pamosmusic
Originally Posted by pamosmusic
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Originally Posted by Mick-7
It means major. Full stop. Whether it’s a perfect chord symbol is a different discussion, but you’d be hard pressed to find an instance in the long, storied history if dumb, opaque chord symbols where it means anything but a major triad with a sixth.
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Originally Posted by pamosmusic
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Originally Posted by Mick-7
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Originally Posted by mr. beaumont
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If major is a triangle, I'm happy with lower case m for minor.
I also appreciate it when the engraver takes the trouble to increase the font size of the chord symbols, especially if there are multiple extensions.
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Originally Posted by mr. beaumont
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Originally Posted by pcjazz
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When I see just a delta on its own I don’t know if the composer or arranger means major or major seventh.
According to this
Why Lead Sheets? | Berklee
it’s the latter ONLY.
For my part I follow the convention in the Sher NRB. I find those charts to be really clear, and they have a page where they set out what all the chords are.
Sent from my iPhone using TapatalkLast edited by Christian Miller; 05-11-2024 at 06:08 AM.
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