Re: Chords and what they mean

[Thomas Morley]

2015-09-17 10:47 GMT+02:00 Simon Albrecht <address@hidden>:
> Hello Kaj,
>
> On 17.09.2015 09:27, address@hidden wrote:
>>
>> First I will declare, that I am not 100 percent sure this is a bug, but
>> friends of mine, musicians, say it probably is. Also, as I am not an expert,
>> I have tried to learn by searching on among others Wikipedia.
>>
>> It is about chords, a few of them. It started when I should clean write a
>> score from a manuscript. In one measure there were noted two chords, C5 and
>> C. Obviously not the same, as they stood just beside of each other. A search
>> on Wikipedia also told me, and this was also confirmed, the author's
>> intention, that C5 means C(no 3), hence <c g>, while the chord C means <c e
>> g>. But LilyPond treats these two the same and produces the same notes. This
>> is also clearly said e.g. in Appendices A.1 and A.2 of Notation Reference,
>> as well as in the text part. However even if possibly a correct procedure,
>> is it a correct practise?
>>
>> Another such discrepancy is about Csus, which Wikipedia (and my friends)
>> says is equivalent to Csus4, hence <c f g>. But LilyPond produces <c g>,
>> hence what should come from the notation C5 as in the previous paragraph.
>>
>> So, what is the truth?
>
>
> There are others who are more into the subject, but I may say:
> There is no ‘truth’. With chord names, there are so many different
> conventions and fiercely defended convictions that it’s impossible to define
> a single ‘standard’ naming scheme. (Edit: just like the NR says)

Very true.
It's a mess, but LilyPond can handle it. ;)

>
> Many things in the chords rendering may be overridden in LilyPond. In case
> you’re not aware yet, check out
> <http://lilypond.org/doc/v2.18/Documentation/notation/displaying-chords#customizing-chord-names>
> and perhaps the LSR <http://lsr.di.unimi.it>. If that doesn’t cover your
> wishes, you may come back with a code example, I’d suggest.
>
> HTH, Simon

chrds =
\chordmode {
    \set chordNameExceptions =
      #(append
             powerChordExceptions
             ignatzekExceptions)
    c:1.4.5
    c:1.5
    \notemode {
    <c' f' g'>
    <c' g'>
    }
}

<<
    \new Staff \chrds
    \new ChordNames \chrds
>>

If it's not sufficient you can set your own 'exceptions' for
chord-naming, see the links Simon provided.

HTH,
  Harm