On 18 Apr 2005, at 5:14 PM, Christopher Smith wrote:
On Apr 18, 2005, at 2:29 PM, Darcy James Argue wrote:
Wow, do you really follow that rule consistently? I mean, in the key of Db, would you spell the bII7 chord D-F#-A-B#?
No, because to be painfully correctly spelled, it would be an Ebb7
Chris, it would be *completely insane* to spell that chord as Ebb7. I know you wouldn't actually do that, but when the exceptional cases start outnumbering those covered by the rule, maybe it's time to reconsider the rule, eh?
But back at you, in the key of C would YOU spell the bII7 chord as Db-F-Ab-Cb
On a piano or guitar part, absolutely -- no hesitation, no question. On chordal parts, I spell dominant 7th chords as dominant 7th chords, regardless of function. I think it's needlessly confusing to the player to do otherwise.
On a horn part, probably not -- if the progression is Db7 - CMA7 I wouldn't write the voice in question as Cb-B.
It doesn't bother me in the slightest if the spelling for the horn lines doesn't exactly match the spelling in the piano part. It's all about what makes the most sense for each individual player.
It depends on the resolutions, too. It often makes more sense to show a downward resolution as a flat. I wouldn't alter a third to do that (like D7 to G7 I wouldn't use Gb-F but F#-Fnat, but I might if the progressions was Ab7 G7, even though it isn't strictly correct by my book.)
Well, yeah. I think it's kind of silly and confusing to spell the Ab7 in the Ab7-G7 progression as "Ab-C-Eb-F#." It would be equally silly to spell the D7 in Dy-G7 as "D-Gb-A-C." But these are both silly for *exactly the same reason*. I think you'll find the policy of spelling dominant seventh chords as dominant seventh chords -- at least for chordal instruments -- has a lot to recommend it.
Readability aside, tritone substitution in jazz is *not* the same thing as augmented sixth chords in classical music -- they resolve differently -- and so I see no reason why they should be spelled the same way.
I'm not with you there. The original augmented sixth chords were like bVI7 chords, which couldn't usually resolve to V directly because of common-practice voice leading requirements, which have been considerably relaxed in these modern times. Nowadays bVI7 absolutely CAN go directly to V7, which is exactly the resolution of the original aug 6ths (except they passed through I64 first).
That's a big "except" in my book. I'll agree that half-step-above resolutions are descended from augmented sixth chords, but they've grown up, moved out of the basement, and begun their own lives. They don't have to play by Mom and Dad's rules anymore.
Hey, I relax the rules from time to time when it helps, too. Like a series of descending dominants in the key of C
Bb7 A7 Ab7 G7 Cmaj7
I would most likely spell even the tritone tonicizations (Bb7 and Ab7) with Ab and Gb to show their resolutions more clearly as DOWN rather than the leading-tone's usual UP resolution. I'm not a tyrant of some sort, after all.
I would spell them with Ab and Gb because it's almost always preferable to spell dominant seventh chords "properly," instead of forcing them to obey 19th century rules about enharmonic spelling, at the expense of readability and common sense.
- Darcy ----- [EMAIL PROTECTED] Brooklyn, NY
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