On 19 Apr 2005, at 3:17 AM, Michael Cook wrote:
On 18 avr. 05, at 23:14, Christopher Smith wrote:
But back at you, in the key of C would YOU spell the bII7 chord as Db-F-Ab-Cb when there is a perfectly good and functional leading tone B in the key signature?
If the next chord is C major I'd certainly spell it with a B, since the B would be functioning as the leading tone.
In jazz, the next chord is likely to be some form of CMA7 (C-E-G-B), so that "leading tone" isn't actually going anywhere -- it becomes the major 7th of the tonic MA7 chord. Therefore, on a linear (non-chordal) part, B-B makes more sense than Cb-B. But on a chordal part, the vast majority of jazz players prefer 7th chords to always be spelled as 7th chords, regardless of function, for *exactly* the reason you state below:
To read fast at the piano you need to recognise a chord like you recognise a printed word: you see the word as a whole, without having to separately read each letter.
It's weird for jazz players to see 7th chords spelled as augmented sixth chords, no matter where they resolve to. (And, in modern practice, they can resolve practically anywhere, which is IMO an excellent argument for spelling them consistently regardless of their function.)
I've actually never seen a jazz chart that systematically used the spelling rules Chris suggests -- and, as he admits, even he only applies this practice selectively.
- Darcy ----- [EMAIL PROTECTED] Brooklyn, NY
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