Re: sus7 chords in \chordmode

[Tim McNamara]

This has perhaps become off-topic and I don’t wish to prolong that; however, I have to take issue with the idea that “sus” could somehow apply to the 7th.  It can’t.  Suspensions specifically apply to replacing the 3rd with either the 4th or the 2nd (the latter being rare except in folk music played on guitar in the first position, and even then only a few chords lend themselves to this).  The 7th cannot be suspended; it can be flatted or natural, in which case this is by convention denoted as a 7th or major 7th; the term “sus” is never applied to the 7th.  There should be no possible ambiguity when “sus” and “7” are used in the same chord.  

The main problem for me with “x7sus4” as a chord name is its length; when there are four chord names in a bar, every character counts in terms of legibility.  Things can get crowded fast.  (This came up in preparing a chart for the Vince Guaraldi song “Cast Your Fate To The Wind” in which all the chords in the soloing section are suspended dominants.  Lots and lots of them, actually sounds pretty terrible on guitar; works somewhat better on piano which was Guaraldi’s instrument, but IMHO seriously overdone on this song).

However, I find that when I give musicians lead sheets done by the Roemer-Brandt standards I never get any question about what any chord means.  It may not be especially modern but it is certainly effective.

Tim

On Jan 26, 2015, at 6:08 PM, Kevin Barry <address@hidden> wrote:

On Mon, Jan 26, 2015 at 10:57 PM, Flaming Hakama by Elaine <address@hidden> wrote:

(Also, what is wrong with interpreting that the 7th resolve to a 6th?  That seems pretty coherent.)

This allows for two possible interpretations of the same symbol, which is why it is preferable to specify the chord (C7) and the suspension (sus or sus4) separately: putting the `sus' in between `C' and `7' makes it unclear whether it applies to the seventh or to the fourth.

The absence or presence of the seventh does not affect the chord quality (it does not affect its function)

I have to disagree with this: there are plenty of situations where adding a seventh does indeed change the chord's function.

Of course, getting any of the notes wrong is regrettable, which is why unambiguity (i.e. C7sus4 IMO) is so desirable.

Kevin 

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