Chord Progression

August 30, 2024 9:35 AM

I've tried to identify these chords. Do these look accurate? I feel good about the A9 and D6. Not sure about the other two.
posted by falsedmitri to Media & Arts (7 answers total)

I'm not sure if I understand the question. Are you asking whether the notes in the melody comprise the chords written above the staff? If so:

• The first measure just contains A, B, and C#. An A9 would be A, C#, E, G, B
• The key signature is D, so all your Fs are F sharps, so the second chord would be an F# minor something. You could call it "F# minor add 4". Calling it an 11 chord would mean that it would also have the seventh and 9th.
• The notes in the third measure do comprise a D6
• The fourth measure contains E, F#, G#, and B. Depending on how you wanted it voiced, you could call it an "E add 2" or an "E add 9". I've never seen a "D b5 6". I with it would be more logical to write "D6 (b5)" if that's what you really wanted.

In general, you would specific 2, 4, or 6 if you really wanted the notes right near the root, rather than a 9, 11, or 13. Depending on the instrument (i.e. guitar), to could be impossible to play tight voicing like that, and you'll end up with the 9, 11, or 13.
posted by jonathanhughes at 10:00 AM on August 30 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Just by sight I’d say that’s an A Major, f#minor, B minor(7-maybe), and E Major. The B in the 1st two chords and F# in the last are probably ornamental non-chord tones. Unless it’s jazz in which case yeah there might be 9s and 11s. The difference between extensions and none chords tone can be pretty context dependent.

The whole thing is built on root movements of 5ths. So my gut is that, despite the key signature, we’re in A major and it’s just a I, vi, ii, V,
posted by Gygesringtone at 10:00 AM on August 30 [3 favorites]

I'm with Gygesringtone that this looks like a I, vi, ii, V in the key of A. Did you add the key sig or was that already there? B/c the only G I see is the G# in the last measure, so the maybe the key actually is A and not D?

I wouldn't worry about the E not being in the A9, the 5th is a pretty common note to drop from the chord but still consider it a A9 (at least in jazz). I think you could call the 3rd measure a D6 or Bm and it really depends on context and how you personally think of chords (and maybe what else is going on i.e. in the bass) For someone who thinks in ii-V progressions, thinking of it as a Bm is going to be a little easier, your thinking of a two chord progression instead of 2 separate chords.
posted by snowymorninblues at 10:34 AM on August 30 [2 favorites]

I think part of the difference in the answers you're getting above have to do with whether your question is:

1) If I want to account for all of the notes -- and only those notes -- present in that notation into a series of chord symbols, what chord symbols would that be? (This is what jonathanhughes is answering).

2) What is a set of plausible, idiomatic chords that would sound good with this melody, or that this melody implies? (This is what Gygesringtone and snowymorninblues are answering).

For #2, their answers -- which I agree with -- acknowledge the fact that in all tonal music it is typical that a melody might be accompanied by a chord that does not contain all of the notes in the melody. Melodic notes that aren't a part of the chord accompanying them are called "non-chord tones" - and they're common in everything from Baroque music to rock and punk.
posted by dr. boludo at 10:49 AM on August 30 [5 favorites]

Yeah, I don’t think jonathanhughes is wrong, just looking at it from a different angle. My answer is based entirely on my best guess on how I would hear the harmony functioning if I sat down and heard it performed, and that’s based on a bunch of assumptions around musical context. I’m very confident in my guess in this case , but it is still a guess. There are definitely some times where I’d see A, B, C# and come to a completely different conclusion about the whats going on.

Which is probably a more philosophical approach than you were looking for, but the modern view on theory tends to be that it’s descriptive rather than proscriptive.
posted by Gygesringtone at 11:41 AM on August 30 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: >> I wrote all of this. The original key signature was where I started but I see now that A makes more sense and knowing that it is I, vi, ii, V is helpful. My composition process is (mostly) that I start on guitar with a non-standard tuning (A6) and then it meanders from there. I do seek to find how this chord progression might be accompanied (e.g. suppose this is the verse, then what chords might make a good chorus) so I then move to the piano to look at the chords (I don't know what notes I'm playing on the guitar, but I do on the piano). And of course I also I would seek a melody

Thanks for the responses!
posted by falsedmitri at 12:38 PM on August 30

Or I, vi, IV, V - in your situation I'd try them both and see which gels better for you, or deliberately alternate them if it's a repeating phrase.
posted by inexorably_forward at 4:25 PM on August 30 [1 favorite]