Klarinet Archive - Posting 000380.txt from 1998/06

From: Kevin J Bowman <kbowman@-----.com>
Subj: [kl] Re: Jazz question
Date: Wed, 10 Jun 1998 10:14:47 -0400

Sus chords are often written as sus4, which is an indication that it is meant
to be played as a 4-3 suspension. As Dr. Lacy pointed out, in traditional harmony,
this is not actually a chord but has come be known as one in the jazz/pop
world. In pop music, you may also see sus2, which implies a 2-3 suspension.
In both of these cases, simply *replace* the third with the indicated interval -
4 or 2 (note that sus2 is *different* from a dom9 - a dom9 includes the third,
whereas a sus2 does not).

A note on dim chords:
As Shouryu pointed out, the circle is the symbol for a fully diminished chord
while a circle with a slash (or line) through it is the symbol for a half diminished
chord. I have some old fake books that use the slash-circle symbology but
more recent publications tend to favor writing min7b5 (or m7b5 or -7b5). When
I was learning to read lead sheets on piano, my mind would not think fast
enough to "grab" this chord - I would always play it as a straint m7. You can
get away with this sometimes because the half diminished almost always
plays the role of ii in a ii-V-I cadence. But the b5 really adds a lot of flavor and
I now find myself substituting the half diminished in the ii even when it's not
called for (as long as there is a decent resolution) just as I sometimes play
a I7b9 leading the IV (which is actually a fully diminished chord). The diminished
harmony is, by nature, a "leading" harmony (it's built off the major 7th - or leading
tone - right? - think about modes :)

Kevin Bowman

Chris Hoffman wrote:
>What typ up notes make up a sus chord? Use the C Major Chord as the basis for
>explaining the answer please.
>Also, (using agin the C Major chord for an example for an answer) what does Co
>mean? (That's a C chord with a small circle by it.) What notes are in that?
>Thank you very much for you help!

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