Les Smith wrote: > With apologies to Ralph, this is not only misleading, but totally > false. <<giant snip>> > Clearly, the bass notes do NOT define that harmony, either here, or in > a ZILLION other places in well-written music. Sorry. Gee Les, Lighten up.If you'll re-read Ralph's post, I think you'll find that he was not attempting to re-invent music theory, but to explain the accepted theatre organ playing technique. I know absolutely nothing about theatre organ playing, but after many years of road work in a "country" act, I've had this discussion with many fine steel guitar players. Consider: nobody reads little spots on staff paper - most guitar players think staff is an infection they got from the girl at the bar last night. Well, when charting songs using Nashville notation, I was forever writing things like I/Vbass. Then the steel player, using the C6 neck would come back with "no way, it's a V6sus." Who's right? We both are, depending on your perspective. In the key of C to a classically trained piano player, a I/Vbass is a C chord with the bass man (or left hand) playing a G. To a person playing a pedal steel guitar with 12 strings tuned to sound a C6 chord when played open, he actually forms a G chord, uses a knee lever to suspend the 4th, and plays the exact same notes that the piano is playing. It seems that Ralph's point was, if a theater organ were charting the same tune, he would use the G pedal - considering it the root of the chord, play a C chord on top of it, and the rest of us would hear a G6sus as an alternative to what was written - thus defining the theatre style. I know you said "well written" music, but can you name a classical artist that has sold as many records or concert tickets as George Strait? Perhaps, if I ever go out again with another country band, I'll suggest they replace the steel guitar with a theatre organ . . . Danny Moore Houston Chapter
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