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I have completed the first in a series of Flamenco Chords starting with A Major (the attachment). This file is low resolution because the foro severely limits the size of attachments. I will work to resolve this. I tried to include as much information as possible, but with a bit of pragmatism. The measures are numbered for convenience, chords are spaced as half notes, and they are represented in four ways, TAB, Notation, Chord names, and Fretboard images. The TAB and Notations should match (baring mistakes on my part). All chords here are treated (name-wise, etc.) as a function of “A Major”. Enharmonic spellings are something I have not settled on at this time (ex the flat 9th is sometimes written as A#). I'll think a little longer regarding this issue. The chord names are tenuous and are intended to give maximum information without great complexity. There are NO assumed notes (for example, a dominant 7th hidden within a 9th chord, as is frequently seen) with the exception of the standard triad (and those themselves are variable). I chose to use numerals for bass notes (ex. A/7, A/3 etc) as it seemed the most practical way. A person should be able to see A/7 and easily hear the chord construction without playing it. I included Standard Notation because, in my opinion, nothing is as powerful as seeing these chords in that format. So,
A b9 = A triad with a bB (A#) A/7 = A triad with the 7th (G) as bass note sus = here always implies the 4th (11th ) of the A scale
Finally, I will say this is a provisional work and will no doubt require changes to correct mistakes as well as improve the usefulness. I hope people here on the foro find this useful.
I send you best wishes from the mountains of Tropical Panama.
Good work Ron. There are not many people here who care about standard notation, but for the few who do, all the A#s that you have notated here should be Bb.
Add the first string (open E) to the chords in measure's 3-5, and change your key signature to either NO sharps and flats (C major) and do so for all future chords, OR, use one flat (D minor/Fmajor) and thus continue that practice for subsequent chord groups.
use one flat (D minor/Fmajor) and thus continue that practice for subsequent chord groups.
I agree. The D minor key signature is the correct choice as you will only have to add a C# accidental, indicating that all your A chords (which are variations of chord V in Dm, the dominant 7th), come from D harmonic minor.
Hi Robug, kudos for taking the time in this worthy endeavour.
I am one of the people who cares about standard notation. Think of it like a dictionary, the spelling is important as a word can easily be misread if spelled incorrectly. It is not an issue if one is reading phonetically but this is a very slow process. Experienced readers prefer to read whole words at a time ( compare, xspearwrinsed redirs prifer two reed hole wurds at a thyme). If words are misspelled it slows the whole thing down.
quote:
ORIGINAL: Robug
All chords here are treated (name-wise, etc.) as a function of “A Major”.
Yes and no. All of these chords are part of the A dominant family. And in fact the A altered dominant family. For short though I would say 'A7alt'.
Most modern players like a very concise terminology. The A major group relates to the Ionian mode (the one chord of the major scaled ) and the Lydian Mode (the fourth chord of the major scale).
On a Amajor a player will play natural extensions on the sixth and seventh ( so A C# E then first choice F# or G#,) then the natural ninth (B) and a choice of natural or sharp eleventh (D or D #). So when someone reads A or Amaj or Amaj7 or A6 those are the options that they will choose from.
The A7alt group has these choices. Firstly the triad AC#E, dominant(or flat ie NOT MAJOR) seventh 'G', flat ninth 'Bb'(never 'A#' as THERE IS ALREADY AN 'A' in the chord). And the other extension are the flat sixth (not Major) F NATURAL, and a choice of a natural or sharp eleventh D OR D#. There is also the option to include B# (the augmented second) which sounds bluesy. The reason it is called B# is because there is already a C(#) note in the chord
In some musics like Jazz if the seventh chord is resolving, eg A7b9 to Dm, then the fifth can be flat. ie the A7 can contain Eb instead of E. But this doesn't happen so much in flamenco as it weakens the sound of the home mode of A phrygian dominant.
quote:
ORIGINAL: Robug
Enharmonic spellings are something I have not settled on at this time (ex the flat 9th is sometimes written as A#). I'll think a little longer regarding this issue.
It very definitely is settled. All reputable publishers use Bb. I reject out of hand anything which is misspelt and to be honest it very seldom is except online.
Pretty much everything I wrote above is subject to exceptions, but like all spelling issues these exceptions have to be learned in context.
I hope you find this post helpful, it is certainly intended to be a help.
The best thing to do is to whenever possible check with reputable sources. All of Alain Fauchers published scores have excellent notation. As do the Claude Worms books the Paco Pena book and well anything with a professional engraver and editor. In fact you can just pick every interesting chord you find in any book and copy the spelling, like you would with words in a novel. Always copy the pros.
Greetings and thanks for all the useful information and suggestions. I will make the corrections. My approach was misguided in that I only saw Ricardo's collection as modifications of the A Major chord and not tonality. I can modify everything with a minimal amount of effort. Please feel free to correct my errors. Still I must find a way to post higher resolution images as this one is at maximum allowed and is pitiful in quality. Well, back to work…..
Very interesting charts and good work showing them, so I've just had a quick run through. Some of them are great and led me to change them about to get others i.e. an interesting teaching tool as well.
Maybe though there's a couple of corrections to be made. That is:
chord 5 on the second stave.... you call it A but there's a b9 on the D string. Maybe call it 'A add b9' or 'A sus b9'. Ab9 might imply the b7 (G), or be confused, as has happened here, as the natural 9th of the Ab triad, so words like 'add' are useful.
chord 2 last stave...you have a natural 5th on the A string, which really makes the sound of this strong chord to me, quite different to the traditional Bb/A in open position, so to distinguish you should then refer to the #5 in the triad as b6... the resulting name though becomes ridiculous. Asus4b6b9 is still incomplete but close ... Bb/A5?(proper fraction dash, not slash as it's very nearly a polychord)
It probably doesn't matter anyway as unusual chords like that are either going to be a natural choice from one's repertoire of chord shapes, or it's going to be read. It's good to play it though - I'd just give it as a variant of the susb9 school of chords rather than try to name it specifically.
Best wishes from, who'dathotit, rainy London. Mountainous Panama sounds great.
Posts: 15242
Joined: Dec. 14 2004
From: Washington DC
RE: Flamenco Chords A Major (in reply to El Burdo)
quote:
chord 2 last stave...you have a natural 5th on the A string, which really makes the sound of this strong chord to me, quite different to the traditional Bb/A in open position, so to distinguish you should then refer to the #5 in the triad as b6... the resulting name though becomes ridiculous. Asus4b6b9 is still incomplete but close ... Bb/A5?(proper fraction dash, not slash as it's very nearly a polychord)
technically it's simply Bbmaj7(#11)/A....but in flamenco context it functions as a position that lets us play mid voiced notes that cross string with nice major seconds and a nice dissonant modal chord that can answer or color the melody, yet keeps the A droning in the bass. In even simpler terms, we are using Bb lydian to build tension that will inevitably resolve to A phrygian dominant home base, yet we still feel "grounded" here thanks to the voicing of A and E bass notes.
So it is. I approve of your use of the word 'technically' though. To give someone this as chord IV in a non-flamenco environment might not be acceptable...
A 'lite' version would be to play the Bb triad and the distant A on string 4 with your little finger. Same call to home, more fingers to play with.
Printable Version
I approve of your use of the word 'technically' though. To give someone this as chord IV in a non-flamenco environment might not be acceptable... 
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