I don't see it as a "dumbing down," just a recognition of what the
chord symbol vernacular actually is in jazz, not what someone thinks
it ought to be.
If you're on a session and the bass player is lost and you need to
call out a chord so they can regain their bearings, what are you going
to call -- "C-flat-seven" or "B seven"?
Chord symbols are for reading, and the faster the better -- if you're
writing an academic analysis, then I suppose Cb7 has its place. But on
a lead sheet? I am against anything that might give the player pause,
even for the tiniest fraction of a second.
And where do you draw the line? Would you use, for instance, "Exdim7 -
F#MA7"? Or "Ebb7-Dbmi6"? Those progressions may be technically
correct, but won't win you many friends amongst pianists and guitarists.
And "b10" instead of "#9"? Really? I mean, sure, I see your logic, but
it seems to me like you'd have better luck launching a crusade to
restore "whom" to everyday English. But, you know, chacun à son goût
and all that...
Cheers,
- Darcy
-----
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Brooklyn, NY
On 23 Jan 2008, at 9:13 PM, Christopher Smith wrote:
I suppose men of good character can disagree, and I do. I have no
hesitation at all using Cb as the root of the bVI chord in Eb minor,
and I don't believe it causes any problems.
As as for the sharps, what else is going to indicate a proper
resolution from VIIdim7/III to IIIm7 in the key of Dmajor other than
E#dim7 to F#m7? I mean, the dominant chord - C#7 - would be spelled
with an E#, so it only makes sense that the VII chord would be E#.
I think this is one of the dumbing-down aspects of jazz theory that
we can dispense with now in our more-enlightened times. We spell b13
correctly now on dominant chords (instead of the #5 that was
ubiquitous 25 years ago) and I am working on the #9 (should be b10)
but I can't do it alone.
Christopher
On Jan 23, 2008, at 8:37 PM, Darcy James Argue wrote:
Although, I would add, this is really not recommend. Rhythm section
players *hate* to see Cb's, Fb's, E#'s and B#'s as the root of a
chord in a chord symbol, even if they are "technically" "correct."
We are much more used to seeing the bIV chord in Eb min. spelled as
"B7." Seeing "Cb7" is practically guaranteed to cause a momentary
"Wha... ? Oh... okay" during sight-reading.
Cheers,
- Darcy
-----
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Brooklyn, NY
On 23 Jan 2008, at 8:29 PM, Christopher Smith wrote:
On Jan 23, 2008, at 2:42 PM, Richard Huggins wrote:
I did a transposition from E minor to Eb minor. Finale converted
all the C chords to B. Is there a way to globally change them to
Cb?
In the Chord menu, turn off Simplify Spelling.
Christopher
_______________________________________________
Finale mailing list
Finale@shsu.edu
http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
_______________________________________________
Finale mailing list
Finale@shsu.edu
http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
