I started playing a new song out of one of my books and came across a D7#5 chord. I play what I think it should be and it doesn't sound right. Can you tell me why the sharp appears between the 7 and the 5? I don't understand.

HI lrngkybrd,
I recall using that chord on occasion. It is d, f#, b flat. It is often used as a turn around or break down chord.
It is a d7 chord with a sharp fifth which would add the b flat.
That is the best I remember.

Bebop

It's just another way of writing Daug7 - D Augmented 7th. Sharpening the 5th in any major chord makes it an Augmented chord.
Try C,D, F# Bb or inversions of these notes.

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Willum

yes Willum's got it right, D7#5 or Daug7 whichever is your personal preference of calling it is fact D, F#, A# and C since it is after all an augmented or sharpened fifth

Good to see you posting again Alec..... Been a busy boy then ??

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Willum

thanks, Willum, yes you could say that

While on the subject of Chords.

Some songs have a C+ Chord and I never knew what the + meant. I have tried C7, but it does not seem to be the correct one.

Anybody have any ideas, what C+ is, and why is it used. I only come across the + with the C chord.

Thanks
Larry Hawk

Larry;
The C+ chord is another way to notate the chord as a C augmented (C aug).
The notes are C,E,G# (1,3,5#). They can be in any key.
Walt

How about a #9th chord? Maybe a #7th? In many cases this is done to circumvent copyright infringements. We had an arranger who had a sixteen piece dance band that played all the big ballrooms here in Chicago land. He would do six or seven arrangements for our little seven piece dance band throughout a year. He was a neighbor of mine and I landscaped his home. I guess that is why he would do that when he had time and would not charge us too much. Nice guy. He told us that arrangers and others would do these crazy ways of writing chords because of that reason but I suppose there are others. By the way, does any one know what in essence these chords are, and how they would normally be notated? Sharp the ninth and/or sharp the seventh and see how your keyboard reads them. How about maybe flatting the fifth? I run across these more often than you would think in music written in a jazz form. Nothing earthshaking to learn but fun to know. I, myself have no problem reading or playing them because I suppose my mind automatically sees them in their more common form over the years. How about sharp the fourth? I mostly play in fingered mode rather than piano mode. Therefore sometimes you have to figure out different fingering to use to make some of the jazz chords or rootless ones come out and sound like they should. So use your ears rather than your eyeballs because what you see in the window don’t always lineup with your thinking mechanism. I never let my eyeballs get into a fight with my ears. I’m the boss and by George they better do what I tell them. Just like Ruthie and me, I think.

Grandpa Doug

For those of you participating in this thread, and anyone else, I wrote a paper on chord voicings using Word 97, sent it to Bebop, and he mailed it to everyone I believe. The paper explains clearly how you form chords with sharped or flatted notes and how those chords are named. It should answer any questions you may have about chord voicings. If you didn't receive it or have lost your copy, e-mail me and I will be happy to send it to you. It is written in easy-to-understand language and if you take the time to follow my instructions, you will learn some useful things about chords and become a better musician.

I've been following this thread because chord voicings (the subject of this thread), and chord progressions are the harmonic foundation of music. To my ear, the harmony of a tune is more beautiful than the melody. Grandpa Doug says he lets his ears decide. I couldn't agree more. I was out for a drive in my car yesterday and as I drove through the Yorkshire hills and valleys, I listened to Tony Pegler's CD (available from Technote) that he produced using the KN5000 and KN6000. The harmonies he uses will knock your socks off. So will his keyboard setups and playing skills. Absolutely brilliant. But then Tony is a first class musician so you would expect first class music from him.

Again, if you want a copy of my "Introduction to Chord Voicings", e-mail me.

Chuck