Hi Ian, and Welcome to the Forum!

First, we can view a list of all chords that BB recognizes in one of two ways. The Help section, we can search for the ChordList and display it in Help format, listed by chord types.

The second way is using the Chord Builder, which is accessed via one of the RH toolbar buttons (You may have to select the icon first from the extended toolbar by clicking the little arrow to the right of the second toolbar row down, the Chord Builder icon is a staff view of a chord with a little hammer to the left of it). Here we can find a dropdown slot at the lower RH side of the Chord Builder window that lists all the chords as well. Using Chord builder has the advantage of being able to HEAR a selected chord before telling the Chord Builder to go ahead and Enter that chord at the selected bar.

For the C2 chord, try entering "Cadd2" which is in the chordlist. Whether or not the chord plays other notes may be part of the chosen style file, but for the most part it should get what is desired. (I may be wrong on that, but seem to recall one instance where I was getting an added 3rd to a chord, pretty certain that happened when using one of the older Jazz styles, again, changing the style ironed that out.)

"C4" is just a rather common abbreviation for the Csus chord. I think it is added to the BB chordlist because there are a certain amount of sheet musics that use this abbreviation and so many folks unsure as to what it might mean.

The Quartal is a wonderful situation that I like to use for quite a few reasons also. Just stacking C, F, and Bb, as in your example, can yield a nice and sparse sounding comp chord that, depending upon the Bass Note, could be a C7sus, an Fsus or in some cases even a Bb9(no third).

While BB does not at this time recognize the Quartal entered as a Quartal, qwe do have substituion options that can force BB to play them (often Style file dependent on note choice as well), that, while not notating on the chart in an easy read, can play the notes such that we hear that.

For example, the C7sus might be a good choice to enter to see if the autoaccompaniment instruments for the chosen style file might play the C, F, Bb notes.

And, use of the Slash chord notation to force a bass note can be handy there as well. For example, to change that Quartal to play as a Bb9, entering C7sus/Bb can sometimes sound okay.

I have found over the years that these kind of workarounds can sound really nice when used thoughtfully - but we of course have to be able to work around the rather inconvenient chordnames and notations such may create, meaning that in order to get Notation Charts from a particular songfile performance, I find that it is often necessary to either use a fullblown Notation Software to enter the chart for printout purposes, or, something I do when time is of the essenece, simply use BB to print out as LeadSheet and then Print to paper, and, using whiteout and pen, edit those few chords to the nomenclature musicians expect to see at those points, changing the Chordnames of these workarounds. Then I put the edited paper into the flatbed scanner part of my printer and make a copy. That copy step makes for a chart that musicians don't seem to mind reading, since at least my hand entered chordnames are all the same print, grayscale, etc. when turned into a copy.


--Mac

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