Luis Pablo Gasparotto writes: | I think the problem is in the ABC-to-ABC stuff when transposing chords. | I transpose "Cm7(b5)" six steps up (ninth for alto saxophone) this chord | becomes in "Am7(gb5)". It parses b like a note and not like a flat.
This is probably because the most common use of such parens is to indicate an alternate chord. So the code is interpreting "Cm7(b5)" as "Play a C minor 7th chord or a b fifth chord." Now, in this case "b fifth" is not a conventional name for a chord, but the code probably doesn't know that. And I have heard the term "fifth chord" used to describe chords without a third, so this isn't all that nonsensical an interpretation. The real anomaly here is giving some form of C and B chords as alternates. Lest someone thing that it's silly to have a term for chords without a third, I might note that you can buy accordions with a gadget that cuts out the thirds from all the left-hand chords. So there's enough demand for such chords that manufacturers have made it an available option. Maybe this sounds odd in your style of music, but be assured that it is normal in some others. If not, who would be buying those accordions? And I've seen notation like "A5" used to mean an A chord with just A+E and no third. To subscribe/unsubscribe, point your browser to: http://www.tullochgorm.com/lists.html
