Why is this note in C7+9?

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I’m reading the jazz piano book and I can’t see how the upper c flat note has a place in the C7+9 chord.



image of the chord



The ninth note on the C major scale is a d so +9 would be d# not c flat = b



Or am I wrong?










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  • 1




    Would it be from a Mark Levine book? There are often anomalies such as that.
    – Tim
    yesterday










  • Yes indeed @Tim
    – John Cataldo
    yesterday










  • He has strange ways of explaining some things, in which the figures don't always align with the explanation in the text. I found it hard work, although he is held in high regard, it would appear. Try Bert Ligon.
    – Tim
    yesterday










  • @Tim passing by, but wondering: what exactly do you suggest reading by Bert Ligon? I also find Levine's not as good to my taste as people say. Is it 'Connecting chords with Linear harmony'?
    – Claud H
    yesterday






  • 2




    @ClaudH - Jazz Theory Resources.
    – Tim
    yesterday














up vote
5
down vote

favorite
2












I’m reading the jazz piano book and I can’t see how the upper c flat note has a place in the C7+9 chord.



image of the chord



The ninth note on the C major scale is a d so +9 would be d# not c flat = b



Or am I wrong?










share|improve this question

















  • 1




    Would it be from a Mark Levine book? There are often anomalies such as that.
    – Tim
    yesterday










  • Yes indeed @Tim
    – John Cataldo
    yesterday










  • He has strange ways of explaining some things, in which the figures don't always align with the explanation in the text. I found it hard work, although he is held in high regard, it would appear. Try Bert Ligon.
    – Tim
    yesterday










  • @Tim passing by, but wondering: what exactly do you suggest reading by Bert Ligon? I also find Levine's not as good to my taste as people say. Is it 'Connecting chords with Linear harmony'?
    – Claud H
    yesterday






  • 2




    @ClaudH - Jazz Theory Resources.
    – Tim
    yesterday












up vote
5
down vote

favorite
2









up vote
5
down vote

favorite
2






2





I’m reading the jazz piano book and I can’t see how the upper c flat note has a place in the C7+9 chord.



image of the chord



The ninth note on the C major scale is a d so +9 would be d# not c flat = b



Or am I wrong?










share|improve this question













I’m reading the jazz piano book and I can’t see how the upper c flat note has a place in the C7+9 chord.



image of the chord



The ninth note on the C major scale is a d so +9 would be d# not c flat = b



Or am I wrong?







theory chord-theory jazz






share|improve this question













share|improve this question











share|improve this question




share|improve this question










asked yesterday









John Cataldo

23011




23011







  • 1




    Would it be from a Mark Levine book? There are often anomalies such as that.
    – Tim
    yesterday










  • Yes indeed @Tim
    – John Cataldo
    yesterday










  • He has strange ways of explaining some things, in which the figures don't always align with the explanation in the text. I found it hard work, although he is held in high regard, it would appear. Try Bert Ligon.
    – Tim
    yesterday










  • @Tim passing by, but wondering: what exactly do you suggest reading by Bert Ligon? I also find Levine's not as good to my taste as people say. Is it 'Connecting chords with Linear harmony'?
    – Claud H
    yesterday






  • 2




    @ClaudH - Jazz Theory Resources.
    – Tim
    yesterday












  • 1




    Would it be from a Mark Levine book? There are often anomalies such as that.
    – Tim
    yesterday










  • Yes indeed @Tim
    – John Cataldo
    yesterday










  • He has strange ways of explaining some things, in which the figures don't always align with the explanation in the text. I found it hard work, although he is held in high regard, it would appear. Try Bert Ligon.
    – Tim
    yesterday










  • @Tim passing by, but wondering: what exactly do you suggest reading by Bert Ligon? I also find Levine's not as good to my taste as people say. Is it 'Connecting chords with Linear harmony'?
    – Claud H
    yesterday






  • 2




    @ClaudH - Jazz Theory Resources.
    – Tim
    yesterday







1




1




Would it be from a Mark Levine book? There are often anomalies such as that.
– Tim
yesterday




Would it be from a Mark Levine book? There are often anomalies such as that.
– Tim
yesterday












Yes indeed @Tim
– John Cataldo
yesterday




Yes indeed @Tim
– John Cataldo
yesterday












He has strange ways of explaining some things, in which the figures don't always align with the explanation in the text. I found it hard work, although he is held in high regard, it would appear. Try Bert Ligon.
– Tim
yesterday




He has strange ways of explaining some things, in which the figures don't always align with the explanation in the text. I found it hard work, although he is held in high regard, it would appear. Try Bert Ligon.
– Tim
yesterday












@Tim passing by, but wondering: what exactly do you suggest reading by Bert Ligon? I also find Levine's not as good to my taste as people say. Is it 'Connecting chords with Linear harmony'?
– Claud H
yesterday




@Tim passing by, but wondering: what exactly do you suggest reading by Bert Ligon? I also find Levine's not as good to my taste as people say. Is it 'Connecting chords with Linear harmony'?
– Claud H
yesterday




2




2




@ClaudH - Jazz Theory Resources.
– Tim
yesterday




@ClaudH - Jazz Theory Resources.
– Tim
yesterday










3 Answers
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up vote
10
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Pretty poor writing! If the dots had stems, it would be more clear, as that top note actually belongs to the bass clef, making it Eb. Even though it could be construed as looking like it's part of the treble clef, which would make it Cb, and utter rubbish!



But that's still wrong! C7+9 has an augmented 9th note. That's D#, not Eb, even though it's enharmonic.



C7+9 contains the notes C E G Bb and D#. Although here the 5 (G) has been left out, which is not uncommon.






share|improve this answer
















  • 2




    For what it's worth, it didn't even occur to me that the top note was being read from the treble clef, though that's clearly what the OP has done. It's too low for that (compare the Bb in the next chord), but also too close for comfort. You're right, it's awful notation.
    – replete
    yesterday










  • Jazz musicians generally don't seem to get too hung up about the enharmonic spelling. It's more important that the notation is easy to read, than that it is theoretically correct. I'm guessing the author chose to right the #9 as Eb to avoid the augmented 3rd between the Bb and D#.
    – Peter
    yesterday










  • @Peter - I don't know, as generally I've been the guitarist or keys player - the one with chords to follow - but from my point of view, I check the name before the voicing, and that sort of thing throws me. At the end of the day, as I've said before, the point of writing music out is to make it easier for others to play, not much else. So when I see something like C7~9, I'm looking, on keys at least, for that D#. On guitar, it's quite different, as I think in shapes, and which fret they get plonked on, at that point, note names are academic.
    – Tim
    yesterday










  • @Tim I see what you're saying, but it seems like you're talking about reading chord symbols, where as I'm talking about reading fully written-out music. Writing a Bb and D# in the same hand in fully-notated music is not best practice. It's fairly rare in the wild to see both a chord symbol and it's intended voicing on a jazz gig.
    – Peter
    yesterday










  • @Peter - over half of the stuff I play in two big bands and one quartet - all jazz - has the charts written out with both. Some is just dots. I appreciate keeping to all flats or all sharps if possible, but it doesn't seem to work like that for me!
    – Tim
    yesterday

















up vote
4
down vote













The note written is Eb not Cb. You're right about the spelling, D# would be preferable.



If the note were Cb, the notation would look more like this:



enter image description here






share|improve this answer





























    up vote
    3
    down vote













    First, it's an Eb. It's in bass clef.



    Which answere the question. But we might as well also answer the question some people THOUGHT you asked: 'Why spell a #9 note as a flattened note?'



    I'd reverse that to 'Why do theorists insist in calling a 'b10' a '#9'?' We hear it as a 'blue' flattened third on top of a dominant 7th shape chord. They allow other exceptions to the 'every chord must be analysed as a pile of thirds' rule. But there it is. Levine has used the 'correct' chord symbol, but has notated what he hears.






    share|improve this answer
















    • 1




      This reminds me of a debate between two of my professors back in college. One agreed with you that a #9 was always actually a b10. The other argued that jazz was "the Wild West of enharmonic spellings," and that what mattered was the ease of reading. I personally take the latter opinion, and the last two examples in the above figure really demonstrate this I think. No matter how good your ear is, that C7+5 and the C7b13 will sound identical.
      – Peter
      yesterday










    • @Peter - true about those last two examples. But how far does it go? What's wrong with +8 instead of b9? Or perhaps instead of C7#9, it is C7 add m3, or C7add m10? Apart from sus2,4 or plain old 6, the rest are stacked thirds. If it ain't broke...
      – Tim
      yesterday










    • @Tim I'm talking about the notated music, not the chord symbols. It's all about what's easiest to read in a sight-reading situation. Using non-standard chord symbols would be just as confusing as notating a Bb and a D# in the same hand.
      – Peter
      yesterday










    • @Peter - I'm seeing that all the time, especially when something like the Bb is already in the key sig. Or are you talking purely about accidentals, which may or may not need to appear in a chart?
      – Tim
      yesterday










    • @Tim I'm sure it's out there, but my composition professors would've disapprove of that. I've always heard that you should avoid augmented/diminished intervals when a major/minor, or perfect interval is available.
      – Peter
      yesterday










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    3 Answers
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    3 Answers
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    up vote
    10
    down vote













    Pretty poor writing! If the dots had stems, it would be more clear, as that top note actually belongs to the bass clef, making it Eb. Even though it could be construed as looking like it's part of the treble clef, which would make it Cb, and utter rubbish!



    But that's still wrong! C7+9 has an augmented 9th note. That's D#, not Eb, even though it's enharmonic.



    C7+9 contains the notes C E G Bb and D#. Although here the 5 (G) has been left out, which is not uncommon.






    share|improve this answer
















    • 2




      For what it's worth, it didn't even occur to me that the top note was being read from the treble clef, though that's clearly what the OP has done. It's too low for that (compare the Bb in the next chord), but also too close for comfort. You're right, it's awful notation.
      – replete
      yesterday










    • Jazz musicians generally don't seem to get too hung up about the enharmonic spelling. It's more important that the notation is easy to read, than that it is theoretically correct. I'm guessing the author chose to right the #9 as Eb to avoid the augmented 3rd between the Bb and D#.
      – Peter
      yesterday










    • @Peter - I don't know, as generally I've been the guitarist or keys player - the one with chords to follow - but from my point of view, I check the name before the voicing, and that sort of thing throws me. At the end of the day, as I've said before, the point of writing music out is to make it easier for others to play, not much else. So when I see something like C7~9, I'm looking, on keys at least, for that D#. On guitar, it's quite different, as I think in shapes, and which fret they get plonked on, at that point, note names are academic.
      – Tim
      yesterday










    • @Tim I see what you're saying, but it seems like you're talking about reading chord symbols, where as I'm talking about reading fully written-out music. Writing a Bb and D# in the same hand in fully-notated music is not best practice. It's fairly rare in the wild to see both a chord symbol and it's intended voicing on a jazz gig.
      – Peter
      yesterday










    • @Peter - over half of the stuff I play in two big bands and one quartet - all jazz - has the charts written out with both. Some is just dots. I appreciate keeping to all flats or all sharps if possible, but it doesn't seem to work like that for me!
      – Tim
      yesterday














    up vote
    10
    down vote













    Pretty poor writing! If the dots had stems, it would be more clear, as that top note actually belongs to the bass clef, making it Eb. Even though it could be construed as looking like it's part of the treble clef, which would make it Cb, and utter rubbish!



    But that's still wrong! C7+9 has an augmented 9th note. That's D#, not Eb, even though it's enharmonic.



    C7+9 contains the notes C E G Bb and D#. Although here the 5 (G) has been left out, which is not uncommon.






    share|improve this answer
















    • 2




      For what it's worth, it didn't even occur to me that the top note was being read from the treble clef, though that's clearly what the OP has done. It's too low for that (compare the Bb in the next chord), but also too close for comfort. You're right, it's awful notation.
      – replete
      yesterday










    • Jazz musicians generally don't seem to get too hung up about the enharmonic spelling. It's more important that the notation is easy to read, than that it is theoretically correct. I'm guessing the author chose to right the #9 as Eb to avoid the augmented 3rd between the Bb and D#.
      – Peter
      yesterday










    • @Peter - I don't know, as generally I've been the guitarist or keys player - the one with chords to follow - but from my point of view, I check the name before the voicing, and that sort of thing throws me. At the end of the day, as I've said before, the point of writing music out is to make it easier for others to play, not much else. So when I see something like C7~9, I'm looking, on keys at least, for that D#. On guitar, it's quite different, as I think in shapes, and which fret they get plonked on, at that point, note names are academic.
      – Tim
      yesterday










    • @Tim I see what you're saying, but it seems like you're talking about reading chord symbols, where as I'm talking about reading fully written-out music. Writing a Bb and D# in the same hand in fully-notated music is not best practice. It's fairly rare in the wild to see both a chord symbol and it's intended voicing on a jazz gig.
      – Peter
      yesterday










    • @Peter - over half of the stuff I play in two big bands and one quartet - all jazz - has the charts written out with both. Some is just dots. I appreciate keeping to all flats or all sharps if possible, but it doesn't seem to work like that for me!
      – Tim
      yesterday












    up vote
    10
    down vote










    up vote
    10
    down vote









    Pretty poor writing! If the dots had stems, it would be more clear, as that top note actually belongs to the bass clef, making it Eb. Even though it could be construed as looking like it's part of the treble clef, which would make it Cb, and utter rubbish!



    But that's still wrong! C7+9 has an augmented 9th note. That's D#, not Eb, even though it's enharmonic.



    C7+9 contains the notes C E G Bb and D#. Although here the 5 (G) has been left out, which is not uncommon.






    share|improve this answer












    Pretty poor writing! If the dots had stems, it would be more clear, as that top note actually belongs to the bass clef, making it Eb. Even though it could be construed as looking like it's part of the treble clef, which would make it Cb, and utter rubbish!



    But that's still wrong! C7+9 has an augmented 9th note. That's D#, not Eb, even though it's enharmonic.



    C7+9 contains the notes C E G Bb and D#. Although here the 5 (G) has been left out, which is not uncommon.







    share|improve this answer












    share|improve this answer



    share|improve this answer










    answered yesterday









    Tim

    93.2k1095237




    93.2k1095237







    • 2




      For what it's worth, it didn't even occur to me that the top note was being read from the treble clef, though that's clearly what the OP has done. It's too low for that (compare the Bb in the next chord), but also too close for comfort. You're right, it's awful notation.
      – replete
      yesterday










    • Jazz musicians generally don't seem to get too hung up about the enharmonic spelling. It's more important that the notation is easy to read, than that it is theoretically correct. I'm guessing the author chose to right the #9 as Eb to avoid the augmented 3rd between the Bb and D#.
      – Peter
      yesterday










    • @Peter - I don't know, as generally I've been the guitarist or keys player - the one with chords to follow - but from my point of view, I check the name before the voicing, and that sort of thing throws me. At the end of the day, as I've said before, the point of writing music out is to make it easier for others to play, not much else. So when I see something like C7~9, I'm looking, on keys at least, for that D#. On guitar, it's quite different, as I think in shapes, and which fret they get plonked on, at that point, note names are academic.
      – Tim
      yesterday










    • @Tim I see what you're saying, but it seems like you're talking about reading chord symbols, where as I'm talking about reading fully written-out music. Writing a Bb and D# in the same hand in fully-notated music is not best practice. It's fairly rare in the wild to see both a chord symbol and it's intended voicing on a jazz gig.
      – Peter
      yesterday










    • @Peter - over half of the stuff I play in two big bands and one quartet - all jazz - has the charts written out with both. Some is just dots. I appreciate keeping to all flats or all sharps if possible, but it doesn't seem to work like that for me!
      – Tim
      yesterday












    • 2




      For what it's worth, it didn't even occur to me that the top note was being read from the treble clef, though that's clearly what the OP has done. It's too low for that (compare the Bb in the next chord), but also too close for comfort. You're right, it's awful notation.
      – replete
      yesterday










    • Jazz musicians generally don't seem to get too hung up about the enharmonic spelling. It's more important that the notation is easy to read, than that it is theoretically correct. I'm guessing the author chose to right the #9 as Eb to avoid the augmented 3rd between the Bb and D#.
      – Peter
      yesterday










    • @Peter - I don't know, as generally I've been the guitarist or keys player - the one with chords to follow - but from my point of view, I check the name before the voicing, and that sort of thing throws me. At the end of the day, as I've said before, the point of writing music out is to make it easier for others to play, not much else. So when I see something like C7~9, I'm looking, on keys at least, for that D#. On guitar, it's quite different, as I think in shapes, and which fret they get plonked on, at that point, note names are academic.
      – Tim
      yesterday










    • @Tim I see what you're saying, but it seems like you're talking about reading chord symbols, where as I'm talking about reading fully written-out music. Writing a Bb and D# in the same hand in fully-notated music is not best practice. It's fairly rare in the wild to see both a chord symbol and it's intended voicing on a jazz gig.
      – Peter
      yesterday










    • @Peter - over half of the stuff I play in two big bands and one quartet - all jazz - has the charts written out with both. Some is just dots. I appreciate keeping to all flats or all sharps if possible, but it doesn't seem to work like that for me!
      – Tim
      yesterday







    2




    2




    For what it's worth, it didn't even occur to me that the top note was being read from the treble clef, though that's clearly what the OP has done. It's too low for that (compare the Bb in the next chord), but also too close for comfort. You're right, it's awful notation.
    – replete
    yesterday




    For what it's worth, it didn't even occur to me that the top note was being read from the treble clef, though that's clearly what the OP has done. It's too low for that (compare the Bb in the next chord), but also too close for comfort. You're right, it's awful notation.
    – replete
    yesterday












    Jazz musicians generally don't seem to get too hung up about the enharmonic spelling. It's more important that the notation is easy to read, than that it is theoretically correct. I'm guessing the author chose to right the #9 as Eb to avoid the augmented 3rd between the Bb and D#.
    – Peter
    yesterday




    Jazz musicians generally don't seem to get too hung up about the enharmonic spelling. It's more important that the notation is easy to read, than that it is theoretically correct. I'm guessing the author chose to right the #9 as Eb to avoid the augmented 3rd between the Bb and D#.
    – Peter
    yesterday












    @Peter - I don't know, as generally I've been the guitarist or keys player - the one with chords to follow - but from my point of view, I check the name before the voicing, and that sort of thing throws me. At the end of the day, as I've said before, the point of writing music out is to make it easier for others to play, not much else. So when I see something like C7~9, I'm looking, on keys at least, for that D#. On guitar, it's quite different, as I think in shapes, and which fret they get plonked on, at that point, note names are academic.
    – Tim
    yesterday




    @Peter - I don't know, as generally I've been the guitarist or keys player - the one with chords to follow - but from my point of view, I check the name before the voicing, and that sort of thing throws me. At the end of the day, as I've said before, the point of writing music out is to make it easier for others to play, not much else. So when I see something like C7~9, I'm looking, on keys at least, for that D#. On guitar, it's quite different, as I think in shapes, and which fret they get plonked on, at that point, note names are academic.
    – Tim
    yesterday












    @Tim I see what you're saying, but it seems like you're talking about reading chord symbols, where as I'm talking about reading fully written-out music. Writing a Bb and D# in the same hand in fully-notated music is not best practice. It's fairly rare in the wild to see both a chord symbol and it's intended voicing on a jazz gig.
    – Peter
    yesterday




    @Tim I see what you're saying, but it seems like you're talking about reading chord symbols, where as I'm talking about reading fully written-out music. Writing a Bb and D# in the same hand in fully-notated music is not best practice. It's fairly rare in the wild to see both a chord symbol and it's intended voicing on a jazz gig.
    – Peter
    yesterday












    @Peter - over half of the stuff I play in two big bands and one quartet - all jazz - has the charts written out with both. Some is just dots. I appreciate keeping to all flats or all sharps if possible, but it doesn't seem to work like that for me!
    – Tim
    yesterday




    @Peter - over half of the stuff I play in two big bands and one quartet - all jazz - has the charts written out with both. Some is just dots. I appreciate keeping to all flats or all sharps if possible, but it doesn't seem to work like that for me!
    – Tim
    yesterday










    up vote
    4
    down vote













    The note written is Eb not Cb. You're right about the spelling, D# would be preferable.



    If the note were Cb, the notation would look more like this:



    enter image description here






    share|improve this answer


























      up vote
      4
      down vote













      The note written is Eb not Cb. You're right about the spelling, D# would be preferable.



      If the note were Cb, the notation would look more like this:



      enter image description here






      share|improve this answer
























        up vote
        4
        down vote










        up vote
        4
        down vote









        The note written is Eb not Cb. You're right about the spelling, D# would be preferable.



        If the note were Cb, the notation would look more like this:



        enter image description here






        share|improve this answer














        The note written is Eb not Cb. You're right about the spelling, D# would be preferable.



        If the note were Cb, the notation would look more like this:



        enter image description here







        share|improve this answer














        share|improve this answer



        share|improve this answer








        edited yesterday

























        answered yesterday









        replete

        1,696313




        1,696313




















            up vote
            3
            down vote













            First, it's an Eb. It's in bass clef.



            Which answere the question. But we might as well also answer the question some people THOUGHT you asked: 'Why spell a #9 note as a flattened note?'



            I'd reverse that to 'Why do theorists insist in calling a 'b10' a '#9'?' We hear it as a 'blue' flattened third on top of a dominant 7th shape chord. They allow other exceptions to the 'every chord must be analysed as a pile of thirds' rule. But there it is. Levine has used the 'correct' chord symbol, but has notated what he hears.






            share|improve this answer
















            • 1




              This reminds me of a debate between two of my professors back in college. One agreed with you that a #9 was always actually a b10. The other argued that jazz was "the Wild West of enharmonic spellings," and that what mattered was the ease of reading. I personally take the latter opinion, and the last two examples in the above figure really demonstrate this I think. No matter how good your ear is, that C7+5 and the C7b13 will sound identical.
              – Peter
              yesterday










            • @Peter - true about those last two examples. But how far does it go? What's wrong with +8 instead of b9? Or perhaps instead of C7#9, it is C7 add m3, or C7add m10? Apart from sus2,4 or plain old 6, the rest are stacked thirds. If it ain't broke...
              – Tim
              yesterday










            • @Tim I'm talking about the notated music, not the chord symbols. It's all about what's easiest to read in a sight-reading situation. Using non-standard chord symbols would be just as confusing as notating a Bb and a D# in the same hand.
              – Peter
              yesterday










            • @Peter - I'm seeing that all the time, especially when something like the Bb is already in the key sig. Or are you talking purely about accidentals, which may or may not need to appear in a chart?
              – Tim
              yesterday










            • @Tim I'm sure it's out there, but my composition professors would've disapprove of that. I've always heard that you should avoid augmented/diminished intervals when a major/minor, or perfect interval is available.
              – Peter
              yesterday














            up vote
            3
            down vote













            First, it's an Eb. It's in bass clef.



            Which answere the question. But we might as well also answer the question some people THOUGHT you asked: 'Why spell a #9 note as a flattened note?'



            I'd reverse that to 'Why do theorists insist in calling a 'b10' a '#9'?' We hear it as a 'blue' flattened third on top of a dominant 7th shape chord. They allow other exceptions to the 'every chord must be analysed as a pile of thirds' rule. But there it is. Levine has used the 'correct' chord symbol, but has notated what he hears.






            share|improve this answer
















            • 1




              This reminds me of a debate between two of my professors back in college. One agreed with you that a #9 was always actually a b10. The other argued that jazz was "the Wild West of enharmonic spellings," and that what mattered was the ease of reading. I personally take the latter opinion, and the last two examples in the above figure really demonstrate this I think. No matter how good your ear is, that C7+5 and the C7b13 will sound identical.
              – Peter
              yesterday










            • @Peter - true about those last two examples. But how far does it go? What's wrong with +8 instead of b9? Or perhaps instead of C7#9, it is C7 add m3, or C7add m10? Apart from sus2,4 or plain old 6, the rest are stacked thirds. If it ain't broke...
              – Tim
              yesterday










            • @Tim I'm talking about the notated music, not the chord symbols. It's all about what's easiest to read in a sight-reading situation. Using non-standard chord symbols would be just as confusing as notating a Bb and a D# in the same hand.
              – Peter
              yesterday










            • @Peter - I'm seeing that all the time, especially when something like the Bb is already in the key sig. Or are you talking purely about accidentals, which may or may not need to appear in a chart?
              – Tim
              yesterday










            • @Tim I'm sure it's out there, but my composition professors would've disapprove of that. I've always heard that you should avoid augmented/diminished intervals when a major/minor, or perfect interval is available.
              – Peter
              yesterday












            up vote
            3
            down vote










            up vote
            3
            down vote









            First, it's an Eb. It's in bass clef.



            Which answere the question. But we might as well also answer the question some people THOUGHT you asked: 'Why spell a #9 note as a flattened note?'



            I'd reverse that to 'Why do theorists insist in calling a 'b10' a '#9'?' We hear it as a 'blue' flattened third on top of a dominant 7th shape chord. They allow other exceptions to the 'every chord must be analysed as a pile of thirds' rule. But there it is. Levine has used the 'correct' chord symbol, but has notated what he hears.






            share|improve this answer












            First, it's an Eb. It's in bass clef.



            Which answere the question. But we might as well also answer the question some people THOUGHT you asked: 'Why spell a #9 note as a flattened note?'



            I'd reverse that to 'Why do theorists insist in calling a 'b10' a '#9'?' We hear it as a 'blue' flattened third on top of a dominant 7th shape chord. They allow other exceptions to the 'every chord must be analysed as a pile of thirds' rule. But there it is. Levine has used the 'correct' chord symbol, but has notated what he hears.







            share|improve this answer












            share|improve this answer



            share|improve this answer










            answered yesterday









            Laurence Payne

            29.5k1451




            29.5k1451







            • 1




              This reminds me of a debate between two of my professors back in college. One agreed with you that a #9 was always actually a b10. The other argued that jazz was "the Wild West of enharmonic spellings," and that what mattered was the ease of reading. I personally take the latter opinion, and the last two examples in the above figure really demonstrate this I think. No matter how good your ear is, that C7+5 and the C7b13 will sound identical.
              – Peter
              yesterday










            • @Peter - true about those last two examples. But how far does it go? What's wrong with +8 instead of b9? Or perhaps instead of C7#9, it is C7 add m3, or C7add m10? Apart from sus2,4 or plain old 6, the rest are stacked thirds. If it ain't broke...
              – Tim
              yesterday










            • @Tim I'm talking about the notated music, not the chord symbols. It's all about what's easiest to read in a sight-reading situation. Using non-standard chord symbols would be just as confusing as notating a Bb and a D# in the same hand.
              – Peter
              yesterday










            • @Peter - I'm seeing that all the time, especially when something like the Bb is already in the key sig. Or are you talking purely about accidentals, which may or may not need to appear in a chart?
              – Tim
              yesterday










            • @Tim I'm sure it's out there, but my composition professors would've disapprove of that. I've always heard that you should avoid augmented/diminished intervals when a major/minor, or perfect interval is available.
              – Peter
              yesterday












            • 1




              This reminds me of a debate between two of my professors back in college. One agreed with you that a #9 was always actually a b10. The other argued that jazz was "the Wild West of enharmonic spellings," and that what mattered was the ease of reading. I personally take the latter opinion, and the last two examples in the above figure really demonstrate this I think. No matter how good your ear is, that C7+5 and the C7b13 will sound identical.
              – Peter
              yesterday










            • @Peter - true about those last two examples. But how far does it go? What's wrong with +8 instead of b9? Or perhaps instead of C7#9, it is C7 add m3, or C7add m10? Apart from sus2,4 or plain old 6, the rest are stacked thirds. If it ain't broke...
              – Tim
              yesterday










            • @Tim I'm talking about the notated music, not the chord symbols. It's all about what's easiest to read in a sight-reading situation. Using non-standard chord symbols would be just as confusing as notating a Bb and a D# in the same hand.
              – Peter
              yesterday










            • @Peter - I'm seeing that all the time, especially when something like the Bb is already in the key sig. Or are you talking purely about accidentals, which may or may not need to appear in a chart?
              – Tim
              yesterday










            • @Tim I'm sure it's out there, but my composition professors would've disapprove of that. I've always heard that you should avoid augmented/diminished intervals when a major/minor, or perfect interval is available.
              – Peter
              yesterday







            1




            1




            This reminds me of a debate between two of my professors back in college. One agreed with you that a #9 was always actually a b10. The other argued that jazz was "the Wild West of enharmonic spellings," and that what mattered was the ease of reading. I personally take the latter opinion, and the last two examples in the above figure really demonstrate this I think. No matter how good your ear is, that C7+5 and the C7b13 will sound identical.
            – Peter
            yesterday




            This reminds me of a debate between two of my professors back in college. One agreed with you that a #9 was always actually a b10. The other argued that jazz was "the Wild West of enharmonic spellings," and that what mattered was the ease of reading. I personally take the latter opinion, and the last two examples in the above figure really demonstrate this I think. No matter how good your ear is, that C7+5 and the C7b13 will sound identical.
            – Peter
            yesterday












            @Peter - true about those last two examples. But how far does it go? What's wrong with +8 instead of b9? Or perhaps instead of C7#9, it is C7 add m3, or C7add m10? Apart from sus2,4 or plain old 6, the rest are stacked thirds. If it ain't broke...
            – Tim
            yesterday




            @Peter - true about those last two examples. But how far does it go? What's wrong with +8 instead of b9? Or perhaps instead of C7#9, it is C7 add m3, or C7add m10? Apart from sus2,4 or plain old 6, the rest are stacked thirds. If it ain't broke...
            – Tim
            yesterday












            @Tim I'm talking about the notated music, not the chord symbols. It's all about what's easiest to read in a sight-reading situation. Using non-standard chord symbols would be just as confusing as notating a Bb and a D# in the same hand.
            – Peter
            yesterday




            @Tim I'm talking about the notated music, not the chord symbols. It's all about what's easiest to read in a sight-reading situation. Using non-standard chord symbols would be just as confusing as notating a Bb and a D# in the same hand.
            – Peter
            yesterday












            @Peter - I'm seeing that all the time, especially when something like the Bb is already in the key sig. Or are you talking purely about accidentals, which may or may not need to appear in a chart?
            – Tim
            yesterday




            @Peter - I'm seeing that all the time, especially when something like the Bb is already in the key sig. Or are you talking purely about accidentals, which may or may not need to appear in a chart?
            – Tim
            yesterday












            @Tim I'm sure it's out there, but my composition professors would've disapprove of that. I've always heard that you should avoid augmented/diminished intervals when a major/minor, or perfect interval is available.
            – Peter
            yesterday




            @Tim I'm sure it's out there, but my composition professors would've disapprove of that. I've always heard that you should avoid augmented/diminished intervals when a major/minor, or perfect interval is available.
            – Peter
            yesterday

















             

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