Some Strange Chord Symbols - Not Sure Of them

[Larrytow]

Hi all, I looking at a piece here with some chord symbols I'm not familiar with. I'm pretty sure I know what they mean, but a bit of advice will be appreciated. The piece is a contemporary ( yeah, go figure, me even looking at this ! ) setting of The Words Of Institution. It is "On The Night" by Mark P Zehnder. It sorta pains me to have to say that I really do kinda like it, but then again there are one or two other contemporary songs that I like as well.

Here is the issue : I have just the lead sheet for it, and there are several instances of chord symbols that are printed like this : C2, D2, E2, and so on. That includes E flat 2 as well, but I don't recall where to find the flat symbol on a computer keyboard. My first thought is that it means C suspended second, D suspended second, Etc. I'm used to seeing suspended chords printed like : Csus2, Dsus2, Etc. Or merely Csus which is usually a Csus4 chord.

Is my thinking correct here ? Or does C2 mean something else ?

[sfp1954]

The only note that can be a suspension is the fourth (which resolves downward by a 1/2 step to the third of the triad).
"2" chords are very popular in country and pop music. They are written as C2 or more usually C (add 2).
They are written this way to indicate that the second and third should be adjacent to each other (as opposed to a ninth where the second is on top).
So for a C2 I would play the root in the left hand and D,E and G in the right.

[andyg]

sfp is quite correct. C2 adds the 2nd into the major chord and it stays there. Though it's slightly dissonant, it doesn't have to resolve as does the sus4. You could also call the chord 'add 9' as some players will choose where they want to place the extra note - it's not that critical with organ playing.

There is also a sus2, which replaces the 3rd with the 2nd - perhaps not a proper name to use, but it does the trick to differentiate the two types of chord.

[Larrytow]

Thank you both for the reply's ! You have me on track now. Yes, in this piece the chords never resolve to the named chord of the ones with the 2 at all. I guess one can write chords many ways, and I am more used to seeing "add9" for ones like this. Whatever they are: C2, Csus2, Cadd9, is not real critical in this piece, as it is just a backing for the the Pastor singing the melody. But, it is still nice to play it as the writer intended it to sound.

This is not an organ piece really; it is much better played on a piano setting ( or a real one even ! ).

If anyone is interested, here is a link I found of a video of a lady Pastor singing it. There is also a congregational response part to it, but that is not in the video. I have to say that of all the modern church music I've run across, this one I actually really like. If you have a Pastor with a decent voice that would not be afraid to sing it, it is quite intense, but still biblical.

http://www.tlcowatonna.org/Video%20f...on%20song.html

[davidecasteel]

FWIW, I use the lower-case "b" to indicate a flat and the "number sign" (or "pound sign") "#" to indicate a sharp when typing. (I never call "#" a "pound sign" because I use the "lb" abbreviation for that.)

David

[saudade]

We used to call the # an octothorp at Ma Bell. I know, total blather......

[myorgan]

FWIW, I use the lower-case "b" to indicate a flat and the "number sign" (or "pound sign") "#" to indicate a sharp when typing. (I never call "#" a "pound sign" because I use the "lb" abbreviation for that.)

Larry,

If you do a quick reply, you can just use the "b" on the keyboard as David stated, however, if you click on Go Advanced, you can choose the Subscript or Superscript button on the 3rd toolbar (just above your text). That should take care of your problem.Superscript.JPG

Michael

P.S. If you need the degree symbol for a Diminished chord(°), on a PC, hold down the Alt key, and type in 0176 on the number pad (won't work on the numbers on the keyboard). On a Macintosh, I believe it is to hold down the Option key while you press the letter K.