ElmerJFudd Posted September 3, 2022 Share Posted September 3, 2022 Pardon my ignorance on this matter, but I’m trying to find the meaning of symbols like, cis, fis, h, fis/e, etc. I found a midi note name chart on Google that suggests these are German note names, like fis means F#, cis C#. I’m assuming these are common chord symbols in church organ music? I had a Polish student bring the chart below to me. In this example is the harmony, A | F#m C#m | A | F#m E | Bm | etc? fis/e is equivalent to F#m/E? But why is e sometimes E? Anyway, I think I’m on the right track, anything you can offer, much appreciated. 👍 Quote Yamaha CP88, Casio PX-560 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jose EB5AGV Posted September 3, 2022 Share Posted September 3, 2022 Yes, Fis is F# and fis is F#m https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Fis 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
analogika Posted September 4, 2022 Share Posted September 4, 2022 In German, lowercase letter often denotes a minor chord, while Capitalised means major. the accidentals are named thus: C# = cis D# = Dis E# = E-is F# = fis G# = gis A# = A-is B# = His (the note „B“ is called „h“ in German-speaking countries, for any one of about five plausible historical reasons) Cb = Ces Db = Des Eb = Es Fb = Fes Gb = Ges Ab = As (yep. Go figure.) Bb = B (madness, you say? German music terminology has much of that in store!) so the first line of the example above would be the chords A F#m C#m A F#m E Bm F#m E Bm F#m E 3 Quote "The Angels of Libra are in the European vanguard of the [retro soul] movement" (Bill Buckley, Soul and Jazz and Funk) The Drawbars | off jazz organ trio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod S Posted September 5, 2022 Share Posted September 5, 2022 Wow.. and I complain about the notation differences in Portuguese. This was interesting - thanks for the thorough explanation. 1 Quote Korg Kronos X73 / ARP Odyssey / Motif ES Rack / Roland D-05 / JP-08 / SE-05 / Jupiter Xm / Novation Mininova / NL2X / Waldorf Pulse II MBP-LOGIC American Deluxe P-Bass, Yamaha RBX760 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
analogika Posted September 5, 2022 Share Posted September 5, 2022 Can you imagine six professional musicians at rehearsal, prepping a new tune from a handout sheet, and encountering a “B”? It’s guaranteed to trip them up, as somebody will be playing a Bb, with others playing a B. it makes me want to pull my hair out. Quote "The Angels of Libra are in the European vanguard of the [retro soul] movement" (Bill Buckley, Soul and Jazz and Funk) The Drawbars | off jazz organ trio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElmerJFudd Posted September 5, 2022 Author Share Posted September 5, 2022 1 hour ago, analogika said: Can you imagine six professional musicians at rehearsal, prepping a new tune from a handout sheet, and encountering a “B”? It’s guaranteed to trip them up, as somebody will be playing a Bb, with others playing a B. it makes me want to pull my hair out. Especially for the poor fellow like myself who only just figured out the “h” means B… or was that b or Bb?! 😂 Quote Yamaha CP88, Casio PX-560 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stoken6 Posted September 6, 2022 Share Posted September 6, 2022 10 hours ago, analogika said: Can you imagine six professional musicians at rehearsal, prepping a new tune from a handout sheet, and encountering a “B”? It’s guaranteed to trip them up, as somebody will be playing a Bb, with others playing a B. it makes me want to pull my hair out. I'm confident that's died out now. It was the case in the time of Bach, which was cool for him, because he could insert his name into a melody... Cheers, Mike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracii Posted September 6, 2022 Share Posted September 6, 2022 12 hours ago, analogika said: Can you imagine six professional musicians at rehearsal, prepping a new tune from a handout sheet, and encountering a “B”? It’s guaranteed to trip them up, as somebody will be playing a Bb, with others playing a B. That's why I always go with "H" or "Bb", but never just "B". 🎓☺️ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Threadslayer Posted September 6, 2022 Share Posted September 6, 2022 I'm surprised that after 60+ years of playing music I've never encountered this notation before. Quote Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect. -Mark Twain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
analogika Posted September 6, 2022 Share Posted September 6, 2022 10 hours ago, stoken6 said: I'm confident that's died out now. It was the case in the time of Bach, which was cool for him, because he could insert his name into a melody... Cheers, Mike. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA fuck no. Bach's vanity is one reason it will never disappear. I live and work in Germany, and it happens at least once EVERY NEW BAND REHEARSAL. Seriously, if you figure the time this costs working professionals as a few minutes by however many musicians, the economic damage has got to be in the tens of millions of Euros every year. It's only the more "pop"-oriented private music schools that teach the note as "b" — public schools, public music schools, more traditional music schools, and conservatories all teach the note as "h". Quote "The Angels of Libra are in the European vanguard of the [retro soul] movement" (Bill Buckley, Soul and Jazz and Funk) The Drawbars | off jazz organ trio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Floyd Tatum Posted September 6, 2022 Share Posted September 6, 2022 I've encountered European jazz/pop-music-type charts a couple of times over the years, and yeah, they are a bit different! It's a bit like looking at a different language. A lot's the same, but there are differences. (unrelated additional observation: how the heck are europe and asia considered two continents? Same land mass... ?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
analogika Posted September 7, 2022 Share Posted September 7, 2022 19 hours ago, Floyd Tatum said: (unrelated additional observation: how the heck are europe and asia considered two continents? Same land mass... ?) There's the Ural mountain range where the two continents mash into each other. 1 Quote "The Angels of Libra are in the European vanguard of the [retro soul] movement" (Bill Buckley, Soul and Jazz and Funk) The Drawbars | off jazz organ trio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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