Re: Jazz Chord Symbols

[Robert Schmaus]

I second that - for Jazz use, the cord symbols are sometimes, well, not
optimal. Given that chord symbols are not/hardly used in classics, it
would be a good idea to adjust them more to the requirements of pop
music in general.

However, those requirements are far from being homogenous. Already "the
Real Book" which you refer to, does not actually exist. There's a
multitude of them, different editions, different authors, different
printings etc, all of which are different. For instance, there is
absolutely no standard how to write a major 7 chord - some prefere the
"triangle expression" (which is the lilypond standard setting), others
want a 7 after the triangle, and others use either "maj7" or "ma7", some
in superscript, some not .... same goes with the other chords - just
think of the different modes around to write a "m7b5" chord.

So I think, to take the "pop-chords.ly" which Tim mentioned (thanks for
pointing it out!), and custom-tailoring that to your specific
preferences is the way to go. I will do the same, and it will certainly
be different settings than yours (which I never perceived to be a
problem among jazz musicians - whether septimes, nones, or the upper
structure are in super or subscript, I've never had a problem reading
those different styles. Still, I have my preferences in writing my own
sheets ...)

May I add a jazz-related question to the lilypond community: Right now,
there's no way to write a chord like, e.g. "C7b9#9" in chord symbols in
lilypond, is that correct?

Best,
Robert


On Sunday, September 25, 2011 11:32 PM, "Louis Guillaume"
<address@hidden> wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> This may be a FAQ but I can't find definitive answers by googling.
> 
> I'm looking for more control over chord symbols.
> 
> For the most part - what I'm looking for is something close to what we 
> see in the Real Book. But that's actually in handwriting, so some 
> changes would obviously be wanted or needed for a LilyPond-engraved
> output.
> 
> The thing is - With LilyPond we seem to have the Ignatzek and alternate 
> chord styles. These are both pretty far off from what I'm used to. Is 
> there a way to create a new "set" of symbols for rendering chords?
> 
> In particular, I have these requirements:
> 
>    o 6th, 7th, 9th, etc. chords would have the "7" at the same
>      font size as the Chord letter. e.g. "C7" should not have
>      the 7 in superscript.
> 
>    o Minor would use `-' instead of `m'.
> 
>    o Major 7th would look like "Gma7" - no superscript.
> 
>    o Extra Tensions on a chord would be added as superscipt. e.g.
> 
>        - "Fma7#11" would have the "#11" in superscript.
>        - "C7b5" would have the \flat 5 in superscript.
>        - "A-7b5" would have the \flat 5 in superscript.
>        - However "B9" and "E-11" should have NO superscript.
> 
>    o Multiple tensions would be stacked in a column to the right.
> 
>        - C7#9/b9/b13 would have the 3 tensions stacked, next to
>          the 7 in the small superscript-size text.
> 
>        - A7sus2/sus4 would have those suspensions stacked.
> 
>    o Inverted chords, e.g. "A/C#" would be written as shown here,
>      but the bottom of the "A" would be close to the top of the
>      "C". So they aren't exactly in-line. The intent is to try and
>      mimic the way these are typically written.
> 
>    o Polychords e.g. "G over F" would be written with a horizontal
>      bar between both letters.
> 
> 
> And there's probably a lot more... Any help or direction towards this 
> end would be great. Thanks,
> 
> Louis
> 
> 
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