How Should I Describe This Passing Chord?

[pabloaldunate]

maybe more end of first year, preparing for chromatic. I took 'em both concurrently, seems like first year, it's pretty basic. technically a chromaticism as eg., Db is in no way in any kind of C key.

the simplest way I know to describe it is it's the iv in minor but instead of say F Ab C it's F Ab Db.
there is some confusion about, as though the term Neapolitan describes a general bII harmony, but the term *is* Neapolitan Sixth, a similar exception* to an Augmented Sixth where a chromatic harmony begins on a "6 chord", ie., the bass is a sixth below the chord's root (*: the chord's root belies its function). Both are subdominant type function, both begin with iv6
Some like 'pre-dominant', I find it superfluous and too specific at the same time.
There have been brouhahas trying to conflate it with the flat V substitute for V as well. The 6 in the name is not extricable from 'Neapolitan'.

Hi, Jancivii the Neapolitan chord it's a 2nd degree in minor with a flattened root.
The Sixth comes from 6 in Figured Bass, as in First Inversion.

The Sixth from the Augmented Sixth comes from the intervallic relation.
ie. Italian Sixth in C: Ab - C - F#

There are many examples of Neapolitan chords in root position, so it can be called Neapolitan chord without Sixth.
As you quoted Beethoven check out Sonata no.23 op.57, the Introduction and Closing Theme have root position Neapolitan chords.

[jancivil]

"the Neapolitan chord it's a 2nd degree in minor with a flattened root"/"The Sixth from the Augmented Sixth comes from the intervallic relation"
Ok, fine I guess you want to chat. there prob'ly aren't a lot of people interested in this kind of thing, yeah?

I do think that's an apt way to look at it to elucidate the subdominant whole thing.
but, the Aug 6 is nominally a iv6 chord which doesn't sound like one, so the labels at this point are not as important as function IME.

[pabloaldunate]

"the Neapolitan chord it's a 2nd degree in minor with a flattened root"/"The Sixth from the Augmented Sixth comes from the intervallic relation"
Ok, fine I guess you want to chat.
I didn't state it *is* a iv chord, but I do think that's an apt way to look at it to elucidate the subdominant whole thing.
but, the Aug 6 is nominally a iv chord which doesn't sound like one, so the labels at this point are not as important as function IME.

Sorry if I came out as aggressive but you stated that Neapolitan comes from the 4th degree.
The "6" in N6 means First Inversion, so from a 2nd degree, it would be Reb - F - Ab with F on the Bass.

Sure the Neapolitan Chord has a Subdominant Function, I never stated the contrary. I said that it could be used in Root Position.

Also, I think you are mixing terms as the Augmented Sixth can be Inverted as an intervallic relationship.
Check the 2nd movement of Bruckner's 7th Symphony.

[jancivil]

I mean that the function of the specific thing called Neap. 6 is the same as iv. It's pretty obvious F Ab Db is a Db harmony, so that is a little irritating to me.
There are occasional instances of a root position in the literature, but specifically the point of the N6 chord hence the explanation is subdominant.

"Also, I think you are mixing terms" I don't know how you get there, except to gainsay.
The actual point of talking about one directly following the other seems clear: "but, the Aug 6 is nominally a iv6 chord which doesn't sound like one, so the labels at this point are not as important as function in my estimation." but no.

The point is that the two are similar in that both are "6 chords"; both are subdominant and tend to be what some call predominant. Db harnony works like a iv; an aug 6th works like a VI to V, or (particulary in the French version) a bit like the thing in jazz called flat five substitution principle, a secondary dominant seeming more bVI than iv. bII7b5 of V.
IE: similarly, the bass is indicative of function: in the N6, 4, in the A6, b6.

"Check the 2nd movement of Bruckner's 7th Symphony." You have misconstrued a statement and jumped to a conclusion about what one understands. Some will take that as somewhat aggressive, yes. I'm trying to remain cool.
The way it was taught to me (in 1976, dig) was through the Tristan chord: in A minor, iv6; F A D; augment the 6 = D#. Here is the so-called Italian 6th. Get a C there as though a misspelled Major/minor 7 and here's the "German".
Effectively flat the 5th but spell it B and it's the "French".
Tristan has the G# above the D#, an appoggiatura resolving to A, before A moves to A# over the V7 harmony, same quality of appoggiatura resolving to B then finally A minor and C on top.

[pabloaldunate]

The Italian comes from IV6 with raised tonic going to dominant and the German from a IV65 with the same alteration.
The French Augmented comes from a II chord with its Seventh, a II43, the 2nd Inversion of a Seventh chord, with its 3rd raised to the Dominant.
French In C : D - F# - Ab - C. ------> Ab - C - D - F#

[jancivil]

I've explained it well enough. You have merely reiterated what I said regarding the thing as pertains to the first two.
In_fact all three are explained the same way, which should seem pretty clear given the interval it derives from.
IE: all augment the very same 6th, the distance between the third of the iv harmony and its root.

"French In C : D - F# - Ab - C."
in C: iv6 = Ab C F; Ab to F is augmented exactly as the others. D changes it magically? No.
It is already explained in the two more vanilla versions. Occam's Razor should apply.
It's taught as a *six chord*, full stop. It isn't a II7b5. That kind of thought can be useful in an interdisciplinary sense, as we see I have come close to conflating it with a M/m7 b5 usage in bop... (eg., as though b5 substitute for V7/V)
but in CPP harmony it is not considered that and I'll show exactly why. (One would know this from part-writing training, the whole thought of augmented sixth comes from voice-leading; otherwise we could just go with a secondary dominant and call it V7b5 of V; but it's a variant of the basic 'Italian'; logically if this were considered a V7b5/V the German Sixth would be a plain V7/V, yet you have it constructed as a iv+6.).

You're never going to be given a 7b5 in the figure if you're doing chromatic harmony part-writing in a legit setting; it_is_a_six_chord by definition. The figure is 6/4/3 with a slash through the 6, meaning augment the diatonic interval.
In A minor: F A B D#. Note well, the normative *6* - in a *six chord* aka first inversion (6/3, 6/5/3, here 6/4/3) - is augmented. This shows that the root of the harmony is D#.
The root of your construction in C is F#.

Get your stuff together better than this if you're going to come in out of nowhere gainsaying remarks like that.

[jancivil]

F as per D = 6; F to D# = 6 with a slash-through, ie., augmented 6.
A as per D = 4 (or #4; no need for an alteration in the figure because it's already there with the slashed 6).
B as per D = 3 (#3 D#; " " )
It's never not a ^6/4/3, you'll never see it otherwise.