Questions tagged [chords]
For general questions about chords like how to play them, construct them, or what symbols represent them. For more in depth analysis of the ideas behind chords themselves, please use the chord-theory tag.
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How Would I Interpret This Harmonically?
I'm sorry if this is a bit amateurish. However, this is a transcription of a song I heard online. The part that I am referring to is the instrument playing the thirds in the bass clef. The second to ...
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How to play left hand with lead sheet on the piano? [closed]
I am trying to play lead sheets and I am not sure how to play the chords on the left hand.
At first, I pressed the keys all at the same time once, and now I am trying to arpeggiate the chords.
It may/...
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How do you play half/fully diminished chords on the piano? [closed]
I am trying to play the half/fully diminished chords on the piano but it is very difficult, especially so for Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb.
Is there a tip on how to play those chords?
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1
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What is this seemingly common sounding chord progression?
I'm playing along to Liam Gallagher's I've All I Need on my acoustic, and the chords are
(capo 1st) A7sus - Cmadd9 - G (it "resolves" at the G)
I feel like I hear very similar "...
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4
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What chord progression is this for C# major to C major?
I have a simple chord progression that goes from C# major to C major and repeats. It has a distinct feel, but I am not sure what it could possibly be. The song I'm thinking of is one I composed so I ...
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universal contemporary Chord symbols
Please advise on universally understood contemporary symbols for Minor Sixth chords having the sixth in the bass eg "F minor sixth" written "D F Ab C" as a chord-chart symbol, ...
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5
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In lead sheet does tie also apply to chord?
I have a score written in form of a lead sheet. I have a note spanning over two bars, and the note is tied. This I understand.
But what am I supposed to do with the chord written over -- play it (hit ...
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4
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Why is this image from pianochord.org for A11 labeled as an inversion, when its lowest pitch note is an A?
Backstory:
Programmer.
Teaching myself piano.
Programatically building sheet music that will comprehensively cover a great number of chords, as comprehensive as it is reasonably useful and can be ...
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8
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Diminished/Half diminished
In jazz notation, the degree sign means a diminished chord, for instance CEbGb. A diminished 7 chord would be CEbGbBb? A half diminished chord, a degree sign with a slash, would be what?
How do you ...
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piano newbie confused about how this strange (maybe) chord works
i recently started trying to learn the piano with some mediocre background knowledge of notes and their usage, however when tryng to copy a sheet of music into a midi maker, i came across a strange ...
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Why both Ddim and Fdim resolve to Am nicely even though they are not in the same key?
I've been playing some chords and accidentally discovered that Ddim (triad, not dim7) transitions/resolves to Am quite nicely. That I did not expect that because I know they are not in the same key. ...
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Naming some inverted chords
I'm trying to break down an orchestral score (in C-minor) and describe the horn part, but I'm having troubles describing these chords (the second image is identical, but I mapped horns 2-4 onto the ...
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How can French A6 and V7b5/b5 be seen as the same?
While I was reading about commonalities between French A6 and tritone substitute, I kept bumping into the similarities between French A6 and V7b5/b5.
French A6 is ^b6 ^1 ^2 ^#4 and V7b5/b5 is ^5 ^7 ^...
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Cannot understand this four-way close voicing example, is there a typo?
While reading up on four-way close voicing (part of Evan Rogers' Big Band Arranging series), I have encountered something I cannot quite understand, so maybe there is a typo in the article?
The ...
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How should I see these beamed notes?
the excerpt in the picture is four-part drop 2.
I do not know what to make of the beamed notes under Cmaj7?
The first stack of notes seems to suggest Cmaj7 alright, but 2nd and 3rd stack of notes seem ...
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How do you differentiate approach note from target note?
I am trying to get a grasp on differentiating approach notes from target notes in five-part solis voicing.
But definition of target notes seems to include tensions.
Then ambiguity is certainly ...
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Isn’t the root progression or chord progression of a song meant to anchor in a foundation for rest of the instruments to experiment over?
What I mean is, isn’t the idea of creating and using a root progression or chord progression for it to be the foundation for a composition. With pop music (rap, r&b, latin, pop rock, country) the ...
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Chopin Nocturne Op. 55 No. 1 chord toward end requiring large left hand
Chopin Op.55 No. 1, m.89~97, the nine measures before the final two measures, left hand chord is A3-C3-F2, how to best do it with small hands unable to cover 10 keys? Should I just hold the C3-F2 and ...
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Inversion naming conventions
Does the name of the inversions (first, second, etc.) refer to a specific interval (3rd, 5th, etc.) or just the next chord tone?
For example, a Cmaj7 chord in first inversion starts with the 3rd, and ...
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How would you label these chords?
The piece is in Ab major.
In mm.7-8 a cadence appears and there are several non-chord tones with accidentals.
I attempted to label chord symbols on my own, but they are very uncharacteristic of ...
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The 7th chord as a gateway/bridge to?
Some time ago, I wrote a 12 bar chord loop, based on a strange use of the 7th chord:
Question on music.se
I noticed you can extend that schema (Bm, D, F#,A) somewhat, but would It loop through all the ...
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Why in musical notation may one notate the chord as dominant 7th, even though only the major triad of it is played?
In this arrangement of "Moonlight sonata" the author notated most of the triplets with the chords they correspond to.
One thing, however, is not clear to me. Why the first triplet in the 4th ...
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Do sus24 chords exist?
I am analyzing the song "There's a World" from Next to Normal and the first chord is confusing me. Here is an image from this source:
The first chord is labeled as a Gsus24 chord which I ...
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how do you read this chord?
The excerpt is in C# minor.
C# is present in what is apparently a dominant seventh chord in m.14.
How should I interpret presence of tonic in the dominant chord?
Is that what's called a pedal tone?
(...
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4
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Does "falling fifth" pattern follow the bass tone or the chord label in case of inversions?
I encountered this example 31-17 in a book that I am reading, and the author says that the Neapolitan chord follows the "falling fifth pattern".
I guess that would be the case if the ...
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2
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what is the proper guideline for choosing a scale over a chord?
When playing solo over a chord, a scale should be chosen.
When a musician choose a certain scale, what is the rationale behind?
I can come up with a few points but only poorly.
such scale
has ...
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3
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what scale is used for solo over bIIIMaj7 when approaching II-7?
Three ways are available when approaching II-7 via bIII.
bIIIMaj7, subV/II, bIII full dim.
I blindly thought that Ionian scale is used for solo over bIIIMaj7,
but apparently Lydian is used.
Can ...
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Is there chord V4-3 in classical music?
Maybe I am being overly meticulous on naming chords, but like Cadential64, can there be V with only 4-3 in classical music?
The excerpt above has the chord F Bb C and named it V/ii considering the ...
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deciding chord symbols for chords
Deciding chord symbols for chords is always ambiguous and leaves a room of doubt.
I attempted to write chord symbols for chords with pitches of mixed duration in m.1 from the second downbeat to the ...
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fully-diminished chord for chromatic modulation
I was reading up on modulation to distantly-related keys.
Fully-diminished chord is used for modulation to chromatic keys, because the root is changeable.
And then I encountered this picture.
If the ...
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Can secondary dominant have 2 tritones with addition of b9?
I encountered the example in the picture above today, and I found it interesting because a secondary dominant had 2 tritones with addition of b9.
A tritone is an integral part to definition of the ...
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Help with "Copacabana" chord progression analysis pls!
I'm trying to learn by ear the chord progression of "Copacabana" by Barry Manilow. I'm having some trouble with making sense of the chorus because it feels like so much is changing so fast. ...
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why does this descending whole-tone chord progression work?
i've been writing this piece and there is this section that sounds very nice to me but it goes against most of what I've been taught. here is the passage:
(sorry for the poor notation- I was in a ...
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why does V/iii to IV work?
i was writing chords when I came up with this progression:
IV-V-I-V/vi-IV-V-I
i understand why the V/vi-IV works--because there is only a one note difference between vi (which V/vi usually resolves to)...
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What is the value in analysing chords as if they were made up of stacked triads?
To my ears chords each have their own quality and how they sound (and what feelings they might evoke) depends on the context. In general plain majors are strong/simple while minors are sad, but add2 ...
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figured bass question
I have learned figured bass only using well-organized reduced excerpt.
Above picture shows a real excerpt with figured bass.
Does '8' respond to the red circled 'Eb', and
'7' to the 'Db'?
What makes ...
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When chord tones of ii are beamed to IV, is it IV ii or IV with an auxiliary sonority?
In blue-boxed measure, at 1st downbeat the chord seems to be IVMaj7.
Beamed notes seem to suggest ii triad.
I have read that IV and ii might come together from time to time and collectively they were ...
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Question about the iii chord found in the major key
Why does the chord progression that is I-vi-iii-V( is apparently not soo common in popular music with hook theory listing only over 50 songs that have this chord progression(think "You Got It&...
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How do you read chords with beams?
I am having a trouble reading chords with four-noted beams.
Do they divide up in half as marked in the picture?
And also, the score is in non-SATB setting, I assume it is because "Harp" is ...
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Is a “minor Seventh Chord” basically just a combination of a “minor Triad” and its Relative “Major Triad”?
Is a minor Seventh Chord basically just a combination of a “minor Triad” and its Relative “Major Triad”, (or a combination of a Major Triad and its Relative minor Triad)?
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Is there a way to describe this type of non-functional music?
As far as I could tell, this instrumental piece has the static chord vamp Bbmaj9-Am7 that never deviates in any section (let me know if I'm wrong). The main focus that the composer has chosen here is ...
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How to convert notes into chords?
My level: beginner.
I am learning with the easiest version of song, which consists only of single notes. I thought I convert LH notes into chords, treating the given notes as root notes of the chords ...
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What does "prevailing harmony" mean?
While I was reading up on passing tones, I encountered this example:
Example 15–7 presents an expansion of a C-major chord over two beats: the lower voice leaps down from the third of the chord to ...
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Does a chromatic chord have tensions diatonic or chromatic to the key?
In the book that I am reading, the author says that
secondary dominant's root is diatonic whereas its tritone substitute's root is chromatic.
And therefore tritone substitute's tensions need to "...
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Are 3 - 5 - 1 resolutions rare, or is it just me? [duplicate]
Asking this question feels stupid, but I used this 3 - 5 - 1 resolution in a song I'm making, and it sounds heartbreakingly beautiful, but when I search up this resolution online to see if anyone else ...
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For chord voicing, why can I not use 5 and b13 at the same time?
above is a picture of chord scales for primary dominant from the book I am reading.
Chord scale is just a scalar information of notes acceptable for making a chord.
The author says 5 and b13 cannot be ...
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How do I read chords with beams?
When I am to assign a chord to a stacked notes,
if a beam is present,
do I include the notes connected by the beam(the red box)?
or do I ignore them(blue box)?
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How do I read inversions fast?
picture above is D minor in 1st inversion.
I usually find inversions by stacking up notes in a closed interval,
but it takes too much time.
Is there a fast way of discerning inversion chords and ...
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LilyPond – mark chords style
How can I get LilyPond to have colored chords frames in a handwritten style?
I think this is a known style but I have not found any more info about it. Very cool, very jazzy!
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Why does the C# dim chord include a minor third?
My understanding of chord building must be wrong.
If I read a chord is dim I understood it meant that I needed to take the chord and flatten the fifth, so I would look for my root, third and fifth ...
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