... I think by then we've gone right through the list and it's back to the Maj7 again, though I accept that's a weak argument on my part.
No, it's pretty good, I just thought the same thing myself! But then I wondered about the "mismatch cases" without such octave doubling. Maybe at that point you just get weird names, like the "Frankfurt Heliotrope".
I think 13 is enough to keep track of. And yes, Gordon, add X means only that is X added to a triad, and other normally implied notes are not there. So I would expect Gadd9 to not have the seventh of the chord. Likewise, I expect, as you do, that a 13th chord can have, but may not have, a 7, 9 and / or 11 in it. But it almost certainly will sound the seventh, to give it that "flavor".
BIAB 2025 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 7 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Roland Integra-7, Presonus 192 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
Now I'm working on something in the Charles Ives tradition called the "New England Octave", where you have two notes that are an octave apart but played in different towns.
But couldn't chords greater than n13 be called poly chords? Like CMaj7:DMaj7b9, i.e. C-E-G-B-D-A-C#-Eb. This would make a good cluster chord.
Oh, man, this is so interesting, it raises deep philosophical issues about the nature of musical reality (and I am not being facetious.)
My chord pictured above can be regarded as a C Major with a Bb Major sitting on top of it.
Does that mean that's what it is, really?
Yes that chord could be called a C:Bb poly chord.
Music theory for a guitarist can be very frustrating at times. We can only play up to six notes at a time while mostly we play only 3 to 5 notes, at least in jazz. So your your C:Bb poly chord I could play C-E-Bb-D-G, which is really a C9! Or I could play a Bb-D-F-C, a Bb add9.
I run into this"conflict" a lot when I jam with JonD. JonD is a pianist/keyboardist with lots of theory. Thus what I would call a chord's name he usually adds a number of other chords that contain those 3-5 notes I played on my guitar. We do have fun together trying to find the right chord for our progression. This is where BiaB is a God sent piece of software, i.e. playing around with chords and chord progressions.
As I have told my students learn music theory but don't let it get in the way of your playing. If you ain't playing from the heart then what good is it? YMMV
The fitness trainer asked me, "What kind of a squat are you accustomed to doing?" I said, "Diddly."
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
As I have told my students learn music theory but don't let it get in the way of your playing. If you ain't playing from the heart then what good is it?
Nothing wrong with playing from your head.
If I look at that chord as a polychord comprising a C Major and a Bb Major, it may give me ideas. If I'm playing a guitar solo, I may play along with it as if it were a plain Bb Major instead of a crazy C Something. If I'm writing parts, I may break it up into a C Major for the piano and a Bb Major for the horns.
That kind of idea comes straight out of my cognitive head, in response to the acquisition of an interesting piece of abstract theoretical knowledge. Some might find this cold and cerebral – it sure isn't watching a sunset from the door of a moving freight train – but it warms my own heart, and I'm sure someone could put it to good musical use.
As I have told my students learn music theory but don't let it get in the way of your playing. If you ain't playing from the heart then what good is it?
Nothing wrong with playing from your head.
If I look at that chord as a polychord comprising a C Major and a Bb Major, it may give me ideas. If I'm playing a guitar solo, I may play along with it as if it were a plain Bb Major instead of a crazy C Something. If I'm writing parts, I may break it up into a C Major for the piano and a Bb Major for the horns.
That kind of idea comes straight out of my cognitive head, in response to the acquisition of an interesting piece of abstract theoretical knowledge. Some might find this cold and cerebral – it sure isn't watching a sunset from the door of a moving freight train – but it warms my own heart, and I'm sure someone could put it to good musical use.
I agree with you in that there is nothing wrong with your approach and in fact I do the same thing. My point to my students was when learning theory it is OK to practice it but don't let it get in the way. For instance if they learn a C Dorian mode or an Am Pentatonic scale don't just run the scales while playing a song. IMHO there is nothing worse then having a musician rapidly playing a bunch of scales or arpeggios and not having any melody or feeling (heart) in the lead. YMMV
The fitness trainer asked me, "What kind of a squat are you accustomed to doing?" I said, "Diddly."
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
IMHO there is nothing worse then having a musician rapidly playing a bunch of scales or arpeggios and not having any melody or feeling (heart) in the lead.
I read somewhere that John McLaughlin of Mahavishnu Orchestra played guitar using 3 minor pentatonic modes bolted together. He tried to offset the often vacant intellectuality of this by blaming it on The Music (supposedly a spiritual force channelling itself through him) and choking out a lot of screaming dissonant notes. But even as a youth I was not fooled.
Wow, not sure the C9 was ever clarified? This tread really took off.
As a guitarist this is a very popular jazz chord and it is played as a dominate chord, R, 3, b7, 9. Like Mario said, for us guitar players we generally use only 3 note chords except when its Jazz and we use 4 note chords like C9 .
Otherwise, I would consider the voicing for Cadd9 or C2 to be ambiguous unless further clarified. On piano, I would likly play a C triad and add the D as the high note and then look around to see if I get any strange looks. But thats just me.
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I reckon a C major triad with a Bb major triad stacked on top is C11.
As I mentioned earlier, though, all those extensions could be flattened or sharpened. Each of them can then be written in a way that someone else could play them, but even then, the voicing can vary.
I once heard someone say "so we're adding extra noteds to the chord and that can only make it better, right?" Erm, well, I see his point, but I think I don't entirely agree :-)
But then one persons tension is another's dissonance. We're balancing arguably boring against comfortable against surprising against shocking.
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Wow, not sure the C9 was ever clarified? This tread really took off.
As a guitarist this is a very popular jazz chord and it is played as a dominate chord, R, 3, b7, 9. Like Mario said, for us guitar players we generally use only 3 note chords except when its Jazz and we use 4 note chords like C9 .
Here is what this old man was taught many years ago, from the lowest to the highest note: Cadd9 = C-E-G-D C2 = C-D-E-G Csus2 = C-D-G
The confusion comes in when the Cadd9 and the C2 chords are in different inversions, then you might not be able to tell which is which.
YMMV
Last edited by MarioD; 12/28/2105:01 PM.
The fitness trainer asked me, "What kind of a squat are you accustomed to doing?" I said, "Diddly."
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
XPro and Xtra Styles PAKs Special Extended Until August 31st!
XPro & Xtra Styles PAKs Special Extended Until August 31st!
The XPro Styles PAKs and Xtra Styles PAKs special offers are now available until August 31st at 11:59pm PDT!
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Learn more about the Bonus PAKs!
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We’ve added new RealTracks across bro country, Americana, praise & worship, vintage country, and songwriter piano. Highlights include Brent Mason (electric guitar), Eddie Bayers (drums), Doug Jernigan (pedal steel), John Jarvis (piano), Glen Duncan (banjo, mandolin & fiddle), Mike Harrison (electric bass) and more—offering everything from modern sounds to heartfelt Americana styles
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With your version 2025 for Mac Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, Audiophile Edition or PlusPAK purchase, we'll include a Bonus PAK full of great new Add-ons FREE! Or upgrade to the 2025 49-PAK for only $49 to receive even more NEW Add-ons including 20 additional RealTracks!
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-For UltraPAK customers, this includes 20 new RealStyles.
Look Ma! More MIDI 13: Country & Americana
Instrumental Studies Set 22: 2-Hand Piano Soloing - Rhythm Changes
MIDI SuperTracks Set 44: Jazz Piano
Artist Performance Set 17: Songs with Vocals 7
Playable RealTracks Set 4
RealDrums Stems Set 7: Jazz with Mike Clark
SynthMaster Sounds and Styles (with audio demos)
128 GM MIDI Patch Audio Demos.
Looking for more great add-ons, then upgrade to the 2025 49-PAK for just $49 and you'll get:
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Look Ma! More MIDI 14: SynthMaster,
Instrumental Studies Set 23: More '80s Hard Rock Soloing,
MIDI SuperTracks Set 45: More SynthMaster
Artist Performance Set 18: Songs with Vocals 8
RealDrums Stems Set 8: Pop, Funk & More with Jerry Roe
New! Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher for Mac!
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New! XPro Styles PAK 9 for Band-in-a-Box 2025 and higher for Mac!
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XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2025 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.
New! Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher for Windows!
Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Windows & Mac Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) is here with 200 brand new RealStyles!
We're excited to bring you our latest and greatest in the all new Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Band-in-a-Box! This fresh installment is packed with 200 all-new styles spanning the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres you've come to expect, as well as the exciting inclusion of electronic styles!
In this PAK you’ll discover: Minimalist Modern Funk, New Wave Synth Pop, Hard Bop Latin Groove, Gospel Country Shuffle, Cinematic Synthwave, '60s Motown, Funky Lo-Fi Bossa, Heavy 1980s Metal, Soft Muted 12-8 Folk, J-Pop Jazz Fusion, and many more!
All the Xtra Styles PAKs 1 - 20 are on special for only $29 each (reg $49), or get all 209 PAKs for $199 (reg $399)! Order now!
Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 20 requires the 2025 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version because they need the RealTracks from the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.
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But thats just me. 
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