Just got regular work at a very nice club with a Latin theme. I am adding new Latin flavor music and came across a pdf where the guitar chords are kind of blurry.

The first chord in question looks like a C7+ and is also shown as Do7+. This I would have thought was indicating a C7 augmented but as I analyze the fretboard pic and the notation it appears what they intended was CMaj7.

It appears that a fixed Do is being used rather than a movable Do.

Could someone please tell me any differences between standard chord symbols and Spanish symbols.

Thank you.

Scott

Many old-school latin american lead sheets use this fixed do Solfège format.

If you're unfamiliar with it, it's nicely explained here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solfege (scroll down to the "Fixed do solfège" section).

[This message has been edited by Seamaster (edited 08-17-2008).]

[This message has been edited by Seamaster (edited 08-17-2008).]

Thanx Seamaster. I do pretty good with solfege itself but I can't find anything on the chord issue which kind of puts a halt on using this material until I know what that's all about instead of possibly learing it the wrong way, considering most of the songs I'm looking at are not standard US songs that I don't know what they should sound like

For all I know this could be a typo.

Double post.

[This message has been edited by Scott Langholff (edited 08-17-2008).]

Anybody? Is this just a typo and there is no difference between stardard chord symbols and Spanish chord symbols?

Scott,

C7+ and Do7+ are the same chord. I found this same notation in most European countries. Particularly the French Musette music.

Examples:
Do7 is C7
La min is A minor
Sol dim is G dim
and so on

It takes a bit of getting used to but it comes in a very short time.

Lucky

If these are typed out in electronic form, I would try using a 'search and replace' on the document, replacing Do with '1', Re with '2', etc..

Most of us in the US, at least, are used to Nashville numbers system. I imagine I could sight read that a LOT faster than solfege (which, for some reason, I got very little of in school and college short of a little Kodaly handsign rubbish!)

That's if there is much chance of changing keys, anyway. Otherwise a straight 'search and replace' with the actual note names should do the trick...

Thanx for the response Lucky & Diki.

Actually though, as I mentioned, I know solfege. I have NO problem figuring out solfege.I had it in music college and have a degree in music, 98.6 I always say.haha

My main question remains unresloved, which is as stated in the original post:

"The first chord in question looks like a C7+ and is also shown as Do7+. This I would have thought was indicating a C7 augmented but as I analyze the fretboard pic and the notation it appears what they intended was CMaj7."

So, outside of C being the same as Do, which I knew, what about the question of the augmented 7 vs Maj7.

Does anyone know is there a difference between our cultures where in Spanish music they say C7+ and actually mean in the real world CMaj7, or is this a typo????

One example I am aware of between standard western symbols and in Germany and Russia that they have an H in their musical scale! Same as our B.

How about it anyone know the answer to my question?

Thanx

Scott

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chord_(music)#Guitar_and_pop_chords

has a chart about halfway down the page where it offers all the varying ways of notating the chord, but says next to nothing about the roots of each one. It certainly gets confusing, as C+7 in one form is a Cmaj7, and in another it's a Caug7.

And it shows no less than SIX ways of writing the Cmaj7 chord, all of which are used somewhere! (but where, it doesn't say)

Me, I've always preferred the delta sign... much harder to misread

I think you need to find a Rosetta Stone piece, where you already know the chords, then write down the symbol they use, and go from there...

Best of luck...

Diki

Speaking of the Rosetta Stone.....

Seriously though, thanx for going the extra mile on this. I had seen this on the wikipedia but scanned through it quickly. Just now I've had a chance to look closer at this Luis Miguel book, printed in Spain, and I've noticed by analyzing the notes of the piano score that they are using a a 7+ to indicate a Maj7 chord. Holy cow! If it wouldn't have been for the piano part being written out, I'd never ever have guessed this one. On top of that, if you look at the wikipedia they show a +7 as a Maj7 and the augmented 7 as +7 OR 7+. If this isn't enough to make you start talking to yourself I don't know what is.

Geez, I have always read a 7+ as an augmented 7, which goes all the way back to the first fake book put out in 1948. I figured this was the standard. I also figured that if it showed a +7 it was the same thing, which is what they say in this encyclopedia.

So, in Spain then, apparently, a 7+ means Maj7, which is not what it says in the wikipedia.

I can't wait to see what they use for augmented 7ths, or if there are any other little surprizes.