C 6/9...Sure but all the time ?

The name that gets allocated to a chord shape serves a couple of purposes - one is to represent the notes that it contains (G Major contains the notes G, B and D) and also to give guitarists a clue to the shape of the chord on the neck.

Those chord names remain the same whatever key you're in - for example if you see an instruction for F#m you play 244222 regardless of the key; the shape doesn't change either.

Calling your "C6/9" chord by that name is a bit of a misnomer - the "9" implies a dominant chord, which requires a Bb and isn't there, so, I'd say it was a "C6add9" chord - but you automatically know where to play it. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

A :-)

Alan, you're pretty close... there's no reason for the "add" in the chord name because there's a 6.

Chords are built in thirds, so chord names use only odd numbers. The 2 is the 9, the 4 is the 11, and the 6 is the 13. But using any of those numbers in a chord name implies a dominant chord, which has a b7 in it. If you don't want a dominant sound, then the 2 becomes an "add 9" (You'll see "add2" sometimes, but that's never correct; you'll also see "sus2", which is either a partial voicing of an "add9" or m"add9" chord, or a mis-labeling of a "sus" with a different root).

If you want a 4 in a non-dominant chord, it's almost always a "sus" chord - the "4" is actually redundant, as all "sus" chords ARE "sus4" chords. In those rare cases where it's used with a complete triad it could be called "add11". But the 13 is used so often without a b7 we simply call it a 6, as in C6.

Since C6 doesn't have a b7, you don't need the "add" when you put in the 9th - if you DID have a b7, the whole chord would simply be C13.

Coolnama, precedence is always given to the root motion in naming chords. That's why we would call a chord "C6" (C-E-G-A) instead of "Am7" (A-C-E-G). So if the roots as named give you a strong line - as in ascending motion, as in G-A7-Bm-?-D... or if they give you a logical progression in harmonic analysis, as in iii-?-ii-V-I, then it MUST be a C-root chord, and C6/9 is correct.

But if you don't see a good reason for calling it a C-root chord, one of two things is going on....

If it's written by somebody without a solid foundation in music fundamentals, it might be mis-named. Guitarists tend to be guilty of this pretty often - they know that a fingering CAN be called a C6/9, so that's what they call it, regardless of the context. If your tonality is strongly established as D major, you're hearing the tension because of the C note - that's the b7 in D, and it would usually signal a dominant chord with an A root. So let's look at the notes from the standpoint of an A root:

A-C-E-G-(B)-D

So if this is a pop tune, or a piece written by someone with a questionable background in music, it should probably be labeled Am11 - the 9 is optional (and is generally avoided) in 11th chords.

But if it's a jazz tune... then the composer is giving you information about the lines you should use improvising over it. If we're in the key of D major, F is sharp, and the chord has no F in it. So over an Am11, I would probably be soloing using the A Dorian scale (A-B-C-D-E-F#-G). But C6/9 is a C major type sound, so I'd want to use F natural in my line if that's the label - and I'd be using A natural minor instead.

Slight hijacking...

I thought "sus" was equivalent to "replace the 3rd". No such thing as sus2? What is the proper way to chart that classic Carly Simon chord melody?

D Dsus4 D Dsus2 D

The "proper" way depends on the use.

When "sus" chords are properly noted, the harmony is ambiguous - it could be major, it could be minor. Here it's obviously not minor.

When it's short in duration, it's not really part of the harmony - so the "sus" chord wouldn't be noted at all - it's simply a "non harmonic tone", and it's just a momentary decoration of the D major chord. If it's longer in duration, it would be noted as Dadd9.

Chord names aren't used to suggest fingerings - they're used to outline the harmony of a song. They tell the whole band what to do or not do. Using "sus" in this example would tell the bass player, piano, and anybody else that they are NOT to play F# during this chord.

But guitarists like to consider everything they're playing as part of the "chord". To make up an extreme example, let's say there's a song with two guitars are playing at the same time: the first guitar plays a C power chord, the second one plays a C major scale. You work out a way to finger it on one guitar. If you tried to name everything as "chords", you'd end up with something like:

C5-Csus2-C-Csus-C5-Am7(no3rd)-Cmaj7(no3rd)

Kinda cluttered, dontcha think?

If it's written by somebody without a solid foundation in music fundamentals, it might be mis-named. Guitarists tend to be guilty of this pretty often - they know that a fingering CAN be called a C6/9, so that's what they call it, regardless of the context. If your tonality is strongly established as D major, you're hearing the tension because of the C note - that's the b7 in D, and it would usually signal a dominant chord with an A root. So let's look at the notes from the standpoint of an A root:

A-C-E-G-(B)-D

So if this is a pop tune, or a piece written by someone with a questionable background in music, it should probably be labeled Am11 - the 9 is optional (and is generally avoided) in 11th chords.

But if it's a jazz tune... then the composer is giving you information about the lines you should use improvising over it. If we're in the key of D major, F is sharp, and the chord has no F in it. So over an Am11, I would probably be soloing using the A Dorian scale (A-B-C-D-E-F#-G). But C6/9 is a C major type sound, so I'd want to use F natural in my line if that's the label - and I'd be using A natural minor instead.

Ok then it is an Am11.

But how would we write the harmony ?

Bm-A7-F#-G-Am11

iv-V7-iii-IV-v7?

Do people do that? It is a jazzy tune and it sounds nice I just don't know how to explain it.