Originally Posted by: dlwalkeI have assumed that if I want to indicate a D♯ major chord with a dominant 7th, I would spell it D♯7 (because that is the order I would say it - D sharp 7).[/quote]Yes, but to be crystal clear it is a D-sharp dominant 7th. Normally the "dominant" is implied because you would say "major 7" or "minor 7" otherwise.
The only possible confusion might be the major 7th chord. But that is indicated by saying "major 7th": D-sharp major 7th (D#maj7). So, the term "sharp" isn't going to cause confusion with "7th".
But I see where you're going. Because using "sharp" or "flat" can cause potential confusion with other scale degrees like the 2nd, 4th, 6th, 9th, 11th or 13th!
The solution is to clearly indicate the chord & it's extended or color tones. Examples:
G-flat flat 5th (Gb b5)
D-flat flat 9th (Db add b9)
F-sharp sharp 4th (F# #4)
G-flat dom7 flat 5th (Gb7b5)
D-flat dom7 flat 13th (Db7b13)
F-sharp dom sharp 4th (F#7#4)
Originally Posted by: dlwalkeBut that would imply that this chord, Gâ™6, is a Gâ™ chord with a 6th added on.[/quote]Yes, that's what it is. :)
[quote=dlwalke]But then I wasn't sure how to distinguish between that and a G major chord with a flatted 6th.
If you add a minor 6th to a major chord, then you would specify that: G maj add min6th. And that's only if you have the 5th scale degree, which is a pretty unusual chord:
G (1)
B (M3)
D (5)
E-flat (min6)
Because in normal use the E-flat (minor 6th) would replace the D (5th) & be viewed as a D# (sharp 5th) & it's a G augmented chord: Gaug.
G (1)
B (M3)
D# (sharp5)
[quote=dlwalke]Because without knowing the convention ...
Good observation! Good incentive to learn the conventions. :)[br][br]
I have a series of tutorials on extended harmony chords that covers a lot of this territory.
Extended Harmony Chords 1
https://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=1166
Extended Harmony Chords 2
https://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=1185
Extended Harmony Chords 3
https://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=1195
Hope that helps!
