Added sixth chords

feature requests
1

Recently I realized that it would be beneficial to include an added sixth option to the embellishment list in Hookpad. It would always yield a major sixth regardless of the scale degree (so it would behave a bit like the applied chords in the database) There are a few consequences:

  • Some seventh chords in their first inversion in the database have to be manually changed into add6 chords, and the seventh chords would no longer use maj6 or min6 in the jazz chord notation;
  • The Roman numerals would use (add6) instead of 56, so for example an added sixth chord on the tonic could be expressed as I(add6) instead of vi56;
  • V/ii - ii(add6) is correct and Hookpad users would be able to show that, whereas V/ii - viiø56 is not;
  • viio(add6) would now give the fully diminished seventh chord which is also available in applied leading-tones, and Hookpad should specifically display it as a dim7 chord; (care must be taken to handle double accidentals in the note data)
  • (add6)(add9) could result in the 6/9 chord, so that V6/9 can be used instead of the notationally incorrect vi24sus4, possibly using the omitted fifth voicing in the sound engine;
  • Added sixth chords need not support suspensions, although it is nice to have them anyway; in particular, 6sus2 is effectively 6/9no3, 6sus4 is the second inversion of add9.

An immediate disadvantage is that such behaviour of add6 is obviously inconsistent with add9, which is always diatonic. Moreover, maj6 and min6 chords themselves could be inverted to give chords equivalent to min7 and m7♭5 respectively, which may lead to confusion for those who do not know much about chords. However, I believe that Hookpad users face difficulty upon using the interface much more often than upon obtaining a particular chord quality with the embellishments available, so the staff should not worry about adding new embellishments as they constitute little to the Hookpad interface’s complexity.

What do the Hooktheory staff and other Hookpad users think about this?

1 Like
2

[quote=“HertzDevil, post:1, topic:249”]
I believe that Hookpad users face difficulty upon using the interface much more often than upon obtaining a particular chord quality with the embellishments available, so the staff should not worry about adding new embellishments as they constitute little to the Hookpad interface’s complexity.[/quote]
I agree! The benefits of HertzDevil’s suggested embellishment checkboxes for missing chords are far more important than the slight clutter they would necessarily create. I doubt a novice would be deterred by a few extra checkboxes; these could even be hidden in an “Advanced” drop-down menu if so desired. Rather, the exclusion of these checkboxes is detrimental to both novice and experienced user. As accurate analysis is then often impossible, the database is cluttered with inaccurate information. This clutter inevitably teaches Hooktheory users false information. This is the sort of clutter that should concern the developers.

I think implementation of missing chords should be the top priority, and I support HertzDevil’s proposals.