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Hi guys,

We are in F sharp minor. There is a G sharp being held over V7 (Csharp7), the second inversion tonic chord (Fsharp minor), and then the ii7 chord that follows. The G sharp is a chord tone of both the V7 and the ii7, but it is the (suspended?) second of the tonic chord in the middle.

Is this a suspension? The G sharp is a perfect 5th above the bass note of the second inversion tonic chord, so does this mean that it is not a dissonance/ suspension? I don't think i have come across suspensions over second inversion chords yet.

So, what exactly is going on here, and how do I figure this?

Any help very gratefully received,

Ed

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Why do you think the second chord in the last measure is a i6/4 ? Why not V? Then the treble G# is just the perfect fifth of the V.

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  • Thanks for the comment! I think I decided against this because that would mean we were moving from V7 to V. i thought V7 could only be followed by a tonic chord? I thought it was a passing 64, as earlier on in the piece a 64 was used in a very similar way (but this time, the bass note was doubled in the top part, so no issues). So, is V7-V legitimate? Thanks, Ed
    – EdB123
    Commented Aug 21, 2020 at 17:44
  • Absolutely. In fact the whole measure is just inversions of the same long C#dom7 chord.
    – Howlium
    Commented Aug 21, 2020 at 17:59
  • I see, so you see the whole measure as V7? There is a D though in the bass (under which i have put ii 7) which cannot be defined as an auxiliary or passing note? So i see the B and D (with a c sharp passing note in the middle) as ii half dim 7 in first inversion. (I should have put 65 instead of 6). Would you agree?
    – EdB123
    Commented Aug 21, 2020 at 18:05
  • I can’t see the key signature. If you’re in F#, it’s a D#, so sort of a passing tone. (Passing because it’s running on a scale up to the E#, but then it drops down an octave so not quite a passing tone.) If it’s really a D natural, then to me it’s what we jazzers call a C#7-flat9, which Bebop borrowed from the upper voice extensions of Romantic composers. (Or inversions of a VIIdim7, but then you have a suspension at top again. That treble note makes it feel more like a V7 to me.)
    – Howlium
    Commented Aug 21, 2020 at 18:14
  • It is a D natural but your'e absolutely right! When it comes to the dominant pretty much anything goes! Still pretty new at this - thanks for your help!
    – EdB123
    Commented Aug 21, 2020 at 18:16

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