What would you name the chord with a B in the root, a C an octave above (technically 2 octaves above, so a flat 9th above) and an A above that?
So BCA (where the B is firmly the root of the chord).
The best I can come up with is B no3 7 / b9.
But I hate that no3 notation.
Could I call it a b7 sus b9, or for that matter a b7 sus b2 (depending on the voicing I guess)?
Or is there a better name than any of those?
It's a simple chord to play but tricky to name for me. Thanks for any guidance.
Edit: and just for clarification, an implied 5th (F#) is fine because it doesn't change the character of the chord either way.
What would you call this chord?
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- KVRian
- Topic Starter
- 937 posts since 31 May, 2017
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- KVRist
- 196 posts since 19 Sep, 2012
It's ambiguous. See if B7b9 or B7alt (b9, b13 and/or b5) works for you.
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- KVRian
- Topic Starter
- 937 posts since 31 May, 2017
By its ambiguous are saying that there is no well defined name for such a chord?
But to be clear again I am looking for a name for a chord with only those notes. B, C, A, and possibly but not necessarily F#.
So B7b9 would require (if not strongly imply) a 3rd above B, namely D#, which I would not want included in the chord I am trying to describe. And B7alt, if I am not mistaken, would suggest that the 5th and the 9th are to some degree fluid, so you could have for example a flat 5 (F) or a natural 9th (C#). But again those wouldn't work because I am looking for a name that describes a chord with only B, C, A, and maybe F#.
This is not really a serious problem but it just has me curious about how well defined and rigid these kinds of chord names are and if there is one proper name of this kind for any chord you can come up with.
This arose from transcribing some old recordings I made where I would roughly work out a chord progression on guitar or piano just to document it so that later I could play around with it.
In this case it's a section with a simple 3 chord progression of C - a - [the chord in question] in the key of C. So I - vi - vii7susb9?
Last edited by Local Man on Mon Aug 26, 2019 11:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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- KVRist
- 196 posts since 19 Sep, 2012
No, I'm saying there is more than one possibility. How does adding an E sound to you? That could suggest/imply B7b9sus, Ami/B, C6/B, CMa7/B, etc. If F sounds good to you, that could suggest F/B, and so forth. (In other words, the 4th and 5th notes you choose to add will remove much ambiguity).
Also worth noting, ambiguity is not necessarily a bad thing at all. It's a quality you can take advantage of.
Last edited by datroof on Mon Aug 26, 2019 11:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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- KVRian
- Topic Starter
- 937 posts since 31 May, 2017
I see. I'll play around with it. Thanks.datroof wrote: ↑Mon Aug 26, 2019 11:46 pmNo, I'm saying there is more than one possibility. How does adding an E sound to you? That could suggest/imply B7b9sus, Ami/B, C6/B, CMa7/B, etc. If F sounds good to you, that could suggest F/B, and so forth.
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- KVRian
- Topic Starter
- 937 posts since 31 May, 2017
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- KVRian
- 1000 posts since 1 Dec, 2004
The other possibility would be a B7susb9 chord...Generally that would imply that the 4th (E) is played somewhere.
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- KVRist
- 196 posts since 19 Sep, 2012
What??!? You're crazy!!!
(sorry, this has been going a little too smoothly. We need some controversy).
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- KVRAF
- 11001 posts since 15 Apr, 2019 from Nowhere
Ahem.
CAB? CAB??? That has 3 letters in it - same as GMO!!! Pure poison I tells ya, pure poison!!!
Will that work?
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- addled muppet weed
- 105855 posts since 26 Jan, 2003 from through the looking glass
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- KVRist
- 78 posts since 21 Jan, 2018 from Sydney, Australia
What's the context of the chord? What chords come before and after this? That might give us some insight into its function.
