Question on Cord Notation

VegasGeorge

UU VIP
UU VIP
Joined
Jul 16, 2014
Messages
2,014
Reaction score
766
Location
Briarcliff, TX - Willie Nelson Territory
I'm looking at a piece written in the key of D. I see the following progressions noted: "Ds5 C#m-D G C#m-A G D," and "D G/E D As3 A-D."

What do you think the "Ds5" and "As3" represent? I don't remember ever seeing an "s" used like that.

Oops! Make that title: "Question on Chord Notation" :uhoh:
 
Last edited:
Could it refer to a scale degree being suspended or sustained between chords?

Or does it mean to make that scale degree sharp? So in Ds5, play D-F#-A# ?

Very curious to hear whaet others with more theory knowledge have to say!
 
Could "s" mean sus?

John Colter.
 
I agree with John Colter's suggestion. That's what came to my mind as soon as I saw it.

Ds5 - 3221 or 3225
As3 - 2110

Try them out in context and if they sound right they probably are right.
 
"sus" doesn't make sense to me as "sus5" and "sus3" make no sense.

"sharp" doesn't make sense as "Ds5" would be better written Daug and "As3" would be Asus4

"skip" ? so "Ds5" would just be D-F# and "As3" would just be A-E ? I dunno.

Picture might help
 
I'm gonna stick with the "skip" idea. They are all leading chords so I'm thinking the idea is to just hit a couple of notes on the way between the other two. It's probably also very "idiosyncratic" to the specific player and instrument. In other words that's how that player did it. I'm sure you could come up with substitutions to simplify it for a uke transcription.
 
OK, I've sent Spike an invitation to join us, and let us know exactly what she means by her chord notations.

Bad news! My email was returned as "undeliverable," and further research revealed that Spike died back in 2008. I guess discovery of the definative meaning of her chord notations is up to us.
 
Last edited:
Might just have to comb through the original JS Bach score to see what notes he has listed in those progressions.

The arrangement makes sure to attribute the music to Bach, and even lists the work it came from. But the conductor’s score for that work—the St. Matthew Passion—has approximately 330 pages in the PDFs I’ve found...would be nice to know which section or movement it is from! :rolleyes:
 
This is essentially the same melody and harmony as American Tune by Paul Simon.

From Wikipedia, "American Tune" - The tune is based on a melody line from a
chorale from Johann Sebastian Bach's St Matthew Passion, itself a reworking of an earlier secular song, "Mein G'müt ist mir verwirret," composed by Hans Leo Hassler.[SUP][3][/SUP] The melody used for "American Tune" can be heard quite distinctly in part 1, number 21 and number 23 and in part 2, number 54. The melody to "American Tune" is similar to that of "Mein G'müt ist mir verwirret" and "O Sacred Head, Now Wounded," although Simon expanded on the tune. Listen to: https://youtu.be/s1GQIJqGvP4




 
Top Bottom