What chord am I playing?

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ryandaily

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I was trying to figure out what the G#, C, F and B notes would make but I'm pretty shaky when it comes to theory so help. Info on how you arrived at your answer would help, too. THX
 
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Well a C, F, G#, B isn't really a standard chord.

I guess if you really want to define it then it would be a Csus4aug5maj7 chord? Haha not really sure how exactly to spell it out. Doesn't sound good.

If the C is the root then the F is a sus4th. (replacing the E)

Then the G# is an augmented 5th. (To my knowledge)

And finally the B is the Major 7th.

What song is using this chord?
 
it is my own. does the root note have to be C for any particular reason or was that just your first stab at what could be a string of different chords? i'm not a beginner; i know most chords. i just sort of randomly did this one recently and liked it so i looked for a name and came up empty handed. i was wondering if some seasoned vet on here (possibly like yourself, i dont know) would have an easy answer for me.
 
The reason a song is needed is for its key -- without knowing the context of a chord, you can't really name it. You might be able to guess, but with a strange collection of notes like this it's almost impossible.

That said, I just played your chord and it does sound cool, and what stands out to me is the diminished character of it: the F (1), Ab (3), and B (b5), and then you've got this C in the bass which makes it even more ominous. So I dunno, if you we thinking of it like this, you might call it an Fdim/C.
 
ryandaily said:
it is my own. does the root note have to be C for any particular reason or was that just your first stab at what could be a string of different chords? i'm not a beginner; i know most chords. i just sort of randomly did this one recently and liked it so i looked for a name and came up empty handed. i was wondering if some seasoned vet on here (possibly like yourself, i dont know) would have an easy answer for me.
Click to expand...

I chose C as the root because it is the bass note of the chord and that was just my first stab at it.

To be honest I really don't know how to describe the chord. Maybe someone else here can help you out more. Sorry! :shaka:
 
The closest this chord comes to anything else is an F min...1013...and you're only off by one fret...1012.
 
Ominous, yes. In context and in simplified form, it goes from an F to a Dm6 to a flurry C variations then back to F and to cette mystery chord (which I will now dub Fdim/C thanks to you) then to another flurry of C's and so on and so forth. Unless that information somehow changes your mind, I'm content with th Fdim/C. Thank you very much.
 
It could also be Dbmaj7(#11).

Enharmonic G# -- Ab

Ab C F B

A Dbmaj7(#11) is spelled Db F Ab C B (1 3 5 7 #11). The root is often omitted, leaving F Ab C B.

Since the lowest sounding note is that C, it would actually be Dbmaj7(#11)/C.

Context is everything. Even a good ole C chord (C E G) can sound just like an Am7 (A C E G) if the bassist plays an A in the bass.
 
ryandaily said:
Ominous, yes. In context and in simplified form, it goes from an F to a Dm6 to a flurry C variations then back to F and to cette mystery chord (which I will now dub Fdim/C thanks to you) then to another flurry of C's and so on and so forth. Unless that information somehow changes your mind, I'm content with th Fdim/C. Thank you very much.
Click to expand...

Ha, yeah that does change my mind actually :rolleyes:

Since the chord is leading into a C, I'd call it a Bdim7/C -- and in this voicing, you're not playing the b5 of the chord. If that makes any sense.

But c'mon, how many uke players will know what the hell that means? :D
Fdim/C is probably easier to understand/ figure out, plus you're playing all the notes with you 1012 voicing.
 
ukeatan said:
Since the chord is leading into a C, I'd call it a Bdim7/C -- and in this voicing, you're not playing the b5 of the chord. If that makes any sense.
Click to expand...

:stop:

I'm not sure dim7 can be slash chords. And when I say "can", I mean in theory land -- not in uke land! Everything is possible there. :D

If we're talking about resolving to the C chord, my Dbmaj7(#11) is a great candidate for resolving to the I in C. ;)
 
Stackabones said:
I'm not sure dim7 can be slash chords. And when I say "can", I mean in theory land -- not in uke land! Everything is possible there. :D

If we're talking about resolving to the C chord, my Dbmaj7(#11) is a great candidate for resolving to the I in C. ;)
Click to expand...

One man's maj7#11 is another man's dim7! :)

I wouldn't say that slash chords have much to do with theory though -- they're just a way of easily representing the bass note.

If you play ryandaily's chord (esp. by itself, which I assume is what he's doing), it sounds unmistakably diminished and not at all like a maj7. And Bdim(7) is built of the 7th note of a C scale -- perfect for resolving to C. If you play his progression, he's clearly using that chord to modulate to C, and the C in the bass of the Bdim7 really emphasizes that resolution.

But hey, whatever we might call it, that chord's got style! :D
 
Thanks for the help everyone (except Spooner, see:useless information :shaka: ). I never would've come up with those on my own in any reasonable amount of time.
 
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