Re: Quicky about naming a chord

Joey Goldstein wrote:

> You said you regarded dim7 as a part of a major scale with variable 
>> scale degrees, whereas Hindemith said its use was when definite 
>> minor/major feeling was not desired. So you are apparently doing 
>> different kinds of music.

> I've always seen VIIdim7 or V7b9, when they occur in major keys, as a 
> borrowing from the parallel minor.

Hindemith "Traditional Harmony", p. 74, says that the Roman numerals 
system cannot be used to express alterations without risking confusion. 
So he reverts to the figured bass notation, only using Roman numerals 
where he thinks it is unambiguous.

So it seems that this system indicating alterations is a later 
development. (The book is written in 1944.)

I think it is fine to use a combined major-minor scale. It is even 
possible to avoiding enharmonic equivalence, by combining major minor, 
also in transpositions fifths up and down. In A that gives all sharps, 
except for Bb.

Mehegan uses (not writing out 7)
   M  major     C  E  G  B
   m  minor     C  Eb G  Bb
   x  dominant  C  E  G  Bb
   /o half-diminished  C Eb Gb Bb
   o  diminished  C  Eb  Gb  A
and he generally writes the chords using enharmonic equivalence freely. 
Alterations are written # and b, and for add +, sub -.

   Hans Aberg