What would this chord be?

[tc]

1-4-7

You could say it's just a 7sus chord, only it has a natural 7 (opposed to b7 which is the standard 7sus chord) without the fifth. It reminds me a lot of Led Zeppelin's "No Quarter" in some way....I'll have to hear it again and see if there is a similar chord in that song.

So, ♮7sus? Or does it have a certain name? I'm going through every chord bible/chart/book I own and can't find this particular one.

 

[Desert]

Re: What would this chord be?

1-4-7

You could say it's just a 7sus chord, only it has a natural 7 (opposed to b7 which is the standard 7sus chord) without the fifth. It reminds me a lot of Led Zeppelin's "No Quarter" in some way....I'll have to hear it again and see if there is a similar chord in that song.

So, ♮7sus? Or does it have a certain name? I'm going through every chord bible/chart/book I own and can't find this particular one.

To me, it *sounds* like the 4 should really be the root, with a low 5 and high flatted 5th.

 

[CapoFirstFret]

Re: What would this chord be?

possibly a Maj7add13....not enough notes to really name it and no chords before and after to give it context and function. Right now, it could be a lot of different things.

 

[tc]

Re: What would this chord be?

No yeah I'm thinking a sus4 inversion makes more sense.

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: What would this chord be?

Spelling a major chord from a theory standpoint gives you:

1, major 3, perfect 5, major 7.

You have a major chord, sus4 that drops the 3 and 5. Unconventional, but in traditional theory I believe that's what it would be (and probably used as a transitional chord). I hear how you want to invert it, similar to 1979 by the Smashing Pumpkins.

EDIT - Just confirmed with my highly-music theory educated brother.

"Maj7 sus4" for the reasons above.

 

[crusty philtrum]

Re: What would this chord be?

Just because the three notes include the natural seventh, doesn't necessarily mean the full chord is going to be a Major. It could be a suspension of a Major/minor seventh (like the first scale-tone chord of the harmonic minor scale). Only in context would it become clearer.

 

[Lazarus1140]

Re: What would this chord be?

"Maj7 sus4"

This gets my vote. Wouldn't this still be correct if you added the 5th?

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: What would this chord be?

This gets my vote. Wouldn't this still be correct if you added the 5th?

Yes.

Crusty, I see where you are coming from, but without that additional info I think you have to default to the simplist explanation.

 

[crusty philtrum]

Re: What would this chord be?

Yes.

Crusty, I see where you are coming from, but without that additional info I think you have to default to the simplist explanation.

Without the additional information (i.e. 'context', knowing the chords coming before and after the fragment in question) I personally would consider all bets are on the table and nothing should be ruled out. I think that without the additional information it would be foolish to simply default to the simplest explanation.

However, as often happens, i seem to be in a minority. C'est la vie.

 

[CapoFirstFret]

Re: What would this chord be?

Without the additional information (i.e. 'context', knowing the chords coming before and after the fragment in question) I personally would consider all bets are on the table and nothing should be ruled out. I think that without the additional information it would be foolish to simply default to the simplest explanation.

However, as often happens, i seem to be in a minority. C'est la vie.

I'm with you crusty. I'm in school as a music major and am going on to get my master's degree in theory. Without the extra information it could be almost anything. There's no sense in naming it without the context.

 

[Lazarus1140]

Re: What would this chord be?

I am certainly not disputing with Crusty or Capo ..........

I barely know any music theory ......... in fact, my sketchy knowledge is only what I learned from playing in a band with a keyboard player who had a music degree and was a junior high school band director.

I don't presume to know what any chord other than a straight 1/3/5 might be called out of context. I suppose I call it Maj7sus4(no5) only for my convenience and, recognizing that form, would play it correctly.

 

[super rad stuff]

Re: What would this chord be?

i just thought about this. ok, think 7-7-7-x-x-x vs 0-2-2-2-x-x; same chord but with the added "4" to the bottom adding a power chord of sorts. i got to thinking this when i was switching between E and A root notes, and then thinking of the transitional Esus4 chord between the changes in "hot for teacher."

imo, desert is right that the "4" really sounds like the root, which would make it an Xsus4.