Name that chord(s)

Interesting chords - some alternative interpretation from a not-at-all jazz guitarist

(4) E, Bb, Db, A = ???? C13b9 is my working (obv, sans root and 5th)

F#7+9

(5) E, B, Db, A = ????

B7sus4 or A9

(6) F, B, Dsharp, Gsharp, = ????

B6-5
(7) F, B, D, Gsharp + Gsharp diminished,

Now you've lost me - G#diminished ?? Which note is that?
Won't even think about the rest...

lars

um, my bad... :oops: :oops:

the "+ Gsharp diminished" was supposed to read "= Gsharp diminished" I know its a diminished chord, I'm just not sure what root-note label is enharmonically right for the chord, since I've no idea of the tonality of the progression.

cheers for the alternative suggestions though, I'll sit down with them and see if it makes better sense now.

This is half the reason I wrote ChordsAndScales, although some of those might be a little too funky for the database in its current state ;)

Hop along to http://chordsandscales.co.uk/finder/ , punch in the notes, and then play with the 'exact' and 'superset' options. Exact is as it sounds, all the notes you input and nothing else, so try that first. If it returns nothing, go back and try 'superset' - that'll add notes as required (and list the added notes in bold), so you can see if one of those chords fits the progression better (I always find this with mine), or at least just put a name to it.

As for scales to fit - you can change the chords/scales option and do much the same thing. With the superset option, you'll get a list of all the scales that contain all the chord tones in them, but I'm afraid it's up to you to pick one makes sense theoritically... until I find a way to capture noteboat and wire him to my server, that's beyond my programming skills :mrgreen:

(1) A, E, B, C, E = Am9
(2) D, Fsharp, C, E, A = D9
(3) F, C, E, A = Fmaj7
(4) E, Bb, Db, A = ???? C13b9 is my working (obv, sans root and 5th)
(5) E, B, Db, A = ????
(6) F, B, Dsharp, Gsharp, = ????
(7) F, B, D, Gsharp + Gsharp diminished, but is this enharmonically correct (I'm a little lost as to what the tonal centre is in this progression)

Let's see.

(1) Yes, Am9. Let's call this the i for now and the key A minor.
(2) D9. OK, Dorian or melodic minor IV.
(3) Fmaj7. bVI. Important chord in A minor.
(4) "E, Bb, Db, A" Tricky one. I don't think it's a C13b9 without root or 5. How about an Aaddb9, calling that Db a C#? Sort of moving to A major?
(5) "E, B, Db, A" Aadd9. Still an A major. The b9-9 can be thought of as a little melody line over A major?
(6) "F, B, Dsharp, Gsharp". Hmm. Dunno, but I'd say this and the next chord form a sort of blues turnaround.
(7) "F, B, D, Gsharp" Yes, this fits G sharp diminished, but note that it's also a rootless E7, the V in A/Aminor, enhancing the general A tonality of the progression.

So, we can sort of see it as i - IV - bVI - Ib9 -Iadd9 - "bVI" - V7 in A. Kinda.

After using your programme, I have concluded that I should use either B Prometheus Neopolitan scale, or A sharp Hungarian Gypsy..... :shock:

Seriously though,that's a great resource and I've bookmarked it, so props for posting. I'll keep plugging away at this on my own and maybe even extend the chord progression a bit (hopefully ruling out some possibilities in the process), but I'm still nowhere closer to working this out, so anyone who wants to add their two cents should feel welcome to do so.

After using your programme, I have concluded that I should use either B Prometheus Neopolitan scale, or A sharp Hungarian Gypsy..... :shock:

:lol: I'd say you should go with the first one - and write the lyrics in old latin :-)

Thanks hbriem, that's making a lot of sense. I've played it through a few times and experimented with the turnaround bit resolving to Amajor, but it doesn't sound anywhere near as natural as resolving to Aminor, but at least I've got some sense of which directions I could take this piece in.

After using your programme, I have concluded that I should use either B Prometheus Neopolitan scale, or A sharp Hungarian Gypsy..... :shock:

:lol: I'd say you should go with the first one - and write the lyrics in old latin :-)
Fair point, I'm not sure I'd like a sharp hungarian gypsy anyway, to put it bluntly. ba da boom! :lol: :lol:

After using your programme, I have concluded that I should use either B Prometheus Neopolitan scale, or A sharp Hungarian Gypsy..... :shock:

:lol: I'd say you should go with the first one - and write the lyrics in old latin :-)
Fair point, I'm not sure I'd like a sharp hungarian gypsy anyway, to put it bluntly. ba da boom! :lol: :lol:

I'm not so sure that a dull hungarian gypsy is any better, but then again I have never met one :D

My two cents....

Your basic progression looks like a dressed up I-IV-VI-V (A-D-F-E) root progression. We know that E is the root of measure 4, because it's a turnaround - a dominant function to the opening A root.

The second half of your 4th measure is pretty clear - chord 7 is Fº7, chord 6 is Fm7b5 (the "half diminished" chord). Diminished chords are often substituted for dominant 7ths - the expected E7 (E-G#-B-D) isn't much different from Fº7 (F-G#-B-D, although really it's F-Ab-Cb-Ebb), and that supplies the juice to get you back to your tonic.

Inside the fourth measure you're doing some chromatic movement, and there are lots of ways to look at it. If you want to label each chord, there are lots of ways to do it - A addb or Bbmb5/maj7... then A add9 or C#m7b5. You could also ignore the chromatic alterations and treat the measure as two triads, since each of the two pairs of chords share three common notes - then it's A major and Fº. But really, the whole measure functions as E7 :)

And "functions as E7" is more than good enough for me. :D I'm actually pretty pleased with myself for understanding most of that on the first read-through. If there's one thing this site has taught me, its that no matter how much theory I know, there's always gonna be something new to learn about. I just hope that Hungarian gypsy is still sharp when I get around to her.....

Props guys, as always, its given me plenty to think about. :D

Seems like everyone has a different answer to this one!

Chord 4 - you've got the A - C# - E triad, which is an A chord, with an added b9 - not a million miles away from.........
Chord 5 -same triad, with an added 9th - A add9
Chord 6 - taking Ab as the root you'd have Ab(i) B(biii) Eb(v) and F(vi) - Abm6
Chord 7 - again with Ab as root, you'd have Ab(i) B(biii) D(bv) and F(bb7) so it'd be Abdim7

Please don't even tell me how you're fingering those chords, as I don't want to tie my fingers in knots!

:D :D :D

Vic

I'm not too bothered about that Vic, I was just noodling and trying to come up with things that lie outside my comfort zone. I might be kicking this progression around for a while, trying different things with it and learning from it and the suggestions on this thread. So the multitude of responses is actually a boon, since I have more possibilities to work with (and I'm sure I'll have some questions after I do, lol).

And the fingerings are actually pretty easy, since the notes are all pretty clustered together. Only the opening Am9 requires any serious stretching.

Seems like everyone has a different answer to this one!

Not really, no.
Chord 7 - again with Ab as root, you'd have Ab(i) B(biii) D(bv) and F(bb7) so it'd be Abdim7

Yes, but another name for Abdim7 is G#dim7, which is closely related to and a substitute for, wait for it .... E7. And E7 is the V chord in A (major or harmonic/melodic minor). Ab is not an appropriate name in the key of A, G# is.

The piece as a whole is in A melodic minor with a brief foray into A major.