Hi Bill,

You are quite right. The notes C, D, E, and G do form a Cadd9 chord. However, Bob was saying he did not play the E note when he played his C2 chord, therefore it cannot be a Cadd9 because the third (E) is missing. Cadd9 is a major chord and the third is required to make it so. Remove the third (E) from the set of notes and the chord then becomes a sus4 chord of some description and in this case it is a Gsus4 if I'm not mistaken. Let me hasten to add that I am not an expert when it comes to harmony and chord formation and I don't pretend to be. Perhaps someone else can shed a different light on this discussion and if so, I will learn in the process.

Thanks for your input, Bill. As the Tesco slogan says, "Every little bit helps!"

Take care,

Chuck

"Every little bit helps." Thought that was what the actress said to the Bishop.

Ogre

The C2 is surely a suspended chord.

a suspension is a note held over from a previous harmony. For example, to get to F you may go Bb (F, Bb, D,) to C sus 2 (G, D, E,) to C (G, C, E) to F (A, C, F). Thus the D note is suspended from the Bb chord to the C Sus 2.

With the suspended fourth there is almost the same thing: Bb (Bb, D, F), to C7 Sus 4 (G, Bb, C, F) to C7 (G, Bb, C, E) to F (A, C, F). Here there is a strong pull from the F to the E, and then a strong pull (actually the strongest musical pull) from leading note to tonic (E to F) and from the minor seventh of the dominant 7th chord to the mediant of the tonic (Bb to A).

Very interesting reading in this tread....
Myself, I'm not any good at this stuff, but I've found a good tool
to help me out when struggling to find where to put the fingers to
make it sound reasonable right.
It is called WinChord and works nice on the PC, even with Win XP.
For those of us who might need a little help, it is downloadable
from my Website at the Progs page. No install needed, just run it
from the folder after unzip. (Only 38 kb)
I don't remeber where I first found it, but I'm pretty sure it is
freeware
Happy playing
GJ

if it's Will Dallimore's program it is freeware, Gunnar... I might even have sent it to you

You'll find Winchord here : http://www.eveshamdallimores.fsnet.co.uk/free_software.htm


------------------
Willum

Good, it might as well be a newer version
than the one I got.
GJ

Yes, it is a newer version, so I've updated
and even placed a link stright to the site
where it is to find.

[This message has been edited by Gunnar Jonny (edited 04-07-2003).]

it became relatively less useful, only in the sense you needed the pc switched on to use it, back when we had the chord finder introduced in the kn6000, I suppose.

Good Morning Alec,

Your next to last post in which you discuss the Csus2 chord forced me to put my thinking cap on and do some reaearch, hence my delay in responding. Please understand I am not being argumentative or disputing your harmonic logic. I'm merely trying to contribute positively, and hopefully constructively, to this thread which began with KN6Guy's question regarding the C2 chord he was playing.

I have searched my two books on harmony and nowhere is a Csus2 chord mentioned, let alone discussed. I have a book entitled "7,488 Keyboard Chords", another entitled "The Complete Encyclopedia of Chords", and still another, "The Definitive Chord Book for Jazz and Popular Organ", and none mention a Csus2 chord. It is certainly not a commonly used chord in harmony and it is possible it is a misnomer.

This will be a bit long-winded and I apologize to our readers for that, but there is no other way to say what I believe to be the case regarding the so-called Csus2 chord.

It is true in harmony that ANY note can be suspended (sustained) from one chord to the next chord without breaking the rules of harmony. However, the word "suspension" implies something left hanging that needs to be resolved (released). It is a note that creates tension.

In your example of a Csus2 chord you cite the notes G,D, and E. When determining whether a chord is a suspension or not, one must first look for a root note. All suspended chords include the root note of the chord name. In the case of your Csus2, there is no C note, therefore it is unlikely those notes comprise a Csus2 chord. I believe those notes are in fact the notes of an E minor chord. In your example of a C7sus4 chord, the root note C is played, hence it is a legitimate suspension of a C chord - in this case a C7sus4 chord.

You remarked, "The C2 is surely a suspended chord." I concede the "sound" of the notes G,D, and E, when played, create the same sound effect (tension) as a suspended chord when played in isolation, i.e., without reference to any other chord in a progression. The problem lies in naming the notes G,D, and E as a Csus2 chord. Let us consider for a moment the Csus4 chord and its notes C,F, and G. The rules of harmony dictate that to be a legitimate suspended chord, the suspended note must resolve within the chord being played, not upon a new chord. Therefore, in the case of a Csus4 chord, a C chord is being played and the F is resolved to E.

In the case of your Csus2 chord (notes G,D, and E), each note forms the root note of a chord and none of the chords formed use the note C. That is why I suspect the Csus2 designation is a misnomer and the notes are in fact part of a legitimate chord - in this case, I believe, an Eminor or Eminor7. When you play G,D, and E (Eminor), then play the note C, you are changing chords (moving from Eminor to C major). Thus the three notes cannot be a Csus2 chord by rule and definition.

I don't know if this discussion sheds any more light on the subject or not, and again I say, if anyone can add more to what has been said already, please do. I love to learn.

We have a beautiful sunny day here in the U.K. and the thought of being on a golf course is overwhelming, so that is where I am headed. I hope everyone has a sunny day.

Best Regards to All, Chuck

Chuck Phhhheeeeeewwwwwwww.

After that posting, I hope you're wearing your 'cords' on the golf course

John