It would be cool if you could create a custom chord, assign a name to it and use the name in the chord chart just like any of the other predefined chords.

It's not the same thing, but are you familiar with pgshortc.txt which allows you to define new chord names for existing supported chords? Take a look at how it works; it's interesting.

Although you cant save them, i find i can make just about any chord i want by moving the piano part to the soloist channel and getting the soloist harmony to add a note at any bar.

You can also use the velocity command in the style maker to target a note globally in all the patterns and remove it giving you patterns without the 3rd, 7th or 5th. You need to kill all the macro patterns ones though, it wont work for those. you could reimport them though via a midi file and style wizard.

You can even kill all the notes except for C4 in the patterns and tick the riff pattern box for each. What this gives you is the chance to build up unusual chords on the sheet a note at a time; you get to control everything. Simply type C or whatever note you want in each bar and it gives you that note. Copy your chord part to the melody or soloist channel then start a new sheet for the next note again each time merging it with the existing notes you made before.

Hope this helps


Alan

The shortcuts just let you enter chords the way you want to (usually to shorten the name of the chord, so you don't have to type so much); however, it will appear in the chord grid according to what it actually is.

So, you could have a short cut called CPHR, but it will still show up as C7susb9 in the chord grid (if that's even a supported chord; I don't know). You can't create new chords; you can only use the chords BIAB knows and understands. The chord builder lists what's available.

But Jooooohhn! I wanna C8aux#@&sus to the power of 2 with a dangling participle!

Robh, that would be a C7odd.

Custom Chords would be a boon. While it may be less trivial to have styles recognize custom chord symbols, printouts should be able to support custom chords easily. One particular an often requested chord entry would be -> N.C.

N.C. +1

pgshortc.txt says it is there, but I can't get it to work:

[Email]NC@C.[/Email] no chord

EDIT - that's not a link; the forum software just thinks it is

I have asked for N.C. before; haven't seen it yet. +1

Also (dare I say it), a dim triad without the 7th. How hard can it be for the style interpreter (which fully understands a major 1-3-5 chord to just flat the 3 and 5)?

I'm glad you concur that NC doesn't seem to work. Too bad.

Also, I didn't mean to imply that the existing shortcuts are a solution for custom chords, and I thought I said that. I just think it's an interesting technique that might be adaptable to custom chords if they become available in a future version.

Right now i'd settle for some additions to the chord list. I seem to remember Peter saying it wasn't a hard thing to do but seeing as how that was several years ago, and there's been nothing new since, you could have fooled me!

here's a few suggestions for starters

susMaj7 (really need this one!)
maj7 add 6
maj7 add4
Maj7#9
mMaj7b5
mMaj9
mMaj7#5
7 add6
7 add4

Also better support for 13th chords other than a few specialized voicings and ones on macro notes.
How the program is supposed to add a 13th when there isnt an 'A' in the voicing is a mystery but thats effectively what it has to be able to do. Having the 'A' in there as standard in every pattern would affect every chord played and that wouldnt be desirable either. The same problem exists with #11 voicings. When do you ever get the 5th along with the #11 as you probably should.?

Regards

Alan

If you guys don't know the THIRD MODE OF THE MAJOR SCALE, well, that's pretty sad.

I except alan s., one of the very few cats on this forum who is concerned, like me, with the EXOTIC matter of chords in music.

Why wluld you make such an assumption?

Amd why do you feel the need to SHOUT?

I think these guys know the Phrygian, 'K?

And, why do you think you are "one of the very few cats on this forum who is concerned" about it?

I think that is an assumption.

Some of us may not be so concerned about it as to shout or attempt to demean others, though.


--Mac