Kite's thoughts on hi-lo notation: Difference between revisions

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Hi-lo notation is for naming chord voicings. It applies to all tunings, even conventional ones like 12-edo or meantone. It allows arrangers, composers and theorists to discuss specific voicings ~~with~~ much more ~~accuracy~~ than the conventional 1st inversion, 2nd inversion, etc. nomenclature.

Hi-lo notation is for naming chord voicings. It applies to all tunings, even conventional ones like 12-edo or meantone. It allows arrangers, composers and theorists to discuss specific voicings much more accurately than the conventional 1st inversion, 2nd inversion, etc. nomenclature.

* C E G = C ~~or C~~ basic

Hi-lo notation identifies every chord member by its interval from the chord root as 3rd, 5th, etc., written as 3, 5, etc. It then describes what needs to be done to the root position close voicing (known as the ''basic'' voicing) in order to change it into the given voicing.

* C G E = Chi3 (because the 3rd is an ~~8ve higher than in the close voicing~~)

* G C E = Clo5 (aka 2nd inversion)

* C E G = C (the basic voicing is the default voicing)

* C G E = Chi3 (hi3 because relative to the basic voicing, the 3rd is raised by an octave)

* G C E = Clo5 (aka 2nd inversion, the 5th is lowered from basic)

* E G C = ChiR (R stands for root) aka 1st inversion

* E C G = Clo3 (~~also~~ 1st inversion)

* E C G = Clo3 (another example of 1st inversion)

* G E C = ChiRlo5

When there are multiple high or low notes, the terms "hi" and "lo" are only used once:

When there are multiple high or low notes, the terms ''hi'' and ''lo'' are only used once:

* C G E B = CM7hi37

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* G major: 320003 = G B D G B G = Gadd8hi38 or possibly Glo5add8loR3

* A major: 002220 = E A E A C# E = Ahi3add8hi5lo5

Use addhi8, not add15. The ~~complete list of large intervals:~~

Use addhi8, not add15. No degrees higher than 13 are used, analogous to chord names. The terms ''hi'' and ''lo'' and degrees R-8 cover voicings up to a 3-octave range, because every note is in either the lo octave, the central octave or the hi octave. Degrees 9-13 go even higher. To extend the range an extra octave both above and below, use hihi and lolo. For example, hihi3 is a note a double-compound 3rd above the root.

* 8, ~~9 or hi2, 10 or hi3~~, 11 or ~~hi4, 12 or hi5,~~ 13 ~~or hi6, hi7~~

* hi8, hi9, hi10, hi11, ~~hi12~~, ~~hi13~~

To find the number of voices in a chord, start with the obvious: a triad has 3, a tetrad has 4, etc. Then subtract the "no" notes and add the "add" notes. For example, A7no5hi3add8 has 4 (tetrad) - 1 (no 5th) + 1 (add 8ve) = 4.

To find the number of voices in a chord, start with the obvious: a triad has 3, a tetrad has 4, etc. Then subtract the "no" notes and add the "add" notes. For example, A7no5hi3add8 has 4 (tetrad) - 1 (no 5th) + 1 (add 8ve) = 4 notes.

For more examples, see [[Kite Guitar Chord Shapes (downmajor tuning)]].

== Notating chord progressions ==

There are sometimes two possible names for a voicing, depending on what one considers the "home octave" to be. As we saw, C C E G can be either CaddloR or Chi35add8. This ambiguity can be removed by designating one note in a specific octave as "the" tonic, then naming all ~~other notes~~ relative to that tonic. Unlike [[wikipedia:Scientific_pitch_notation|octave numbers]] which only increase when going from B up to C, the hi-lo categories only change in the region of the tonic. This has the advantage that transposing to a new key won't change the hi-lo categories.

There are sometimes two possible names for a voicing, depending on what one considers the "home octave" to be. As we saw, C C E G can be either CaddloR or Chi35add8. This ambiguity can be removed by designating one note in a specific octave as "the" tonic, then naming all chord roots relative to that tonic as hiC, loF#, loVII, etc. Unlike [[wikipedia:Scientific_pitch_notation|octave numbers]] which only increase when going from B up to C, the hi-lo categories only change in the region of the tonic. This has the advantage that transposing to a new key won't change the hi-lo categories.

{| class="wikitable"

|+G major scale in both scientific pitch notation and hi-lo notation

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-Hi-lo notation is for naming chord voicings. It applies to all tunings, even conventional ones like 12-edo or meantone. It allows arrangers, composers and theorists to discuss specific voicings with much more accuracy than the conventional 1st inversion, 2nd inversion, etc. nomenclature.
+Hi-lo notation is for naming chord voicings. It applies to all tunings, even conventional ones like 12-edo or meantone. It allows arrangers, composers and theorists to discuss specific voicings much more accurately than the conventional 1st inversion, 2nd inversion, etc. nomenclature.
-* C E G = C or C basic
+Hi-lo notation identifies every chord member by its interval from the chord root as 3rd, 5th, etc., written as 3, 5, etc. It then describes what needs to be done to the root position close voicing (known as the ''basic'' voicing) in order to change it into the given voicing.
-* C G E = Chi3 (because the 3rd is an 8ve higher than in the close voicing)
-* G C E = Clo5 (aka 2nd inversion)
+* C E G = C (the basic voicing is the default voicing)
+* C G E = Chi3 (hi3 because relative to the basic voicing, the 3rd is raised by an octave)
+* G C E = Clo5 (aka 2nd inversion, the 5th is lowered from basic)
 * E G C = ChiR (R stands for root) aka 1st inversion
-* E C G = Clo3 (also 1st inversion)
+* E C G = Clo3 (another example of 1st inversion)
 * G E C = ChiRlo5
-When there are multiple high or low notes, the terms "hi" and "lo" are only used once:
+When there are multiple high or low notes, the terms ''hi'' and ''lo'' are only used once:
 * C G E B = CM7hi37
@@ Line 41: / Line 43: @@
 * G major: 320003 = G B D G B G = Gadd8hi38 or possibly Glo5add8loR3
 * A major: 002220 = E A E A C# E = Ahi3add8hi5lo5
-Use addhi8, not add15. The complete list of large intervals:
+Use addhi8, not add15. No degrees higher than 13 are used, analogous to chord names. The terms ''hi'' and ''lo'' and degrees R-8 cover voicings up to a 3-octave range, because every note is in either the lo octave, the central octave or the hi octave. Degrees 9-13 go even higher. To extend the range an extra octave both above and below, use hihi and lolo. For example, hihi3 is a note a double-compound 3rd above the root.
-* 8, 9 or hi2, 10 or hi3, 11 or hi4, 12 or hi5, 13 or hi6, hi7
-* hi8, hi9, hi10, hi11, hi12, hi13
-To find the number of voices in a chord, start with the obvious: a triad has 3, a tetrad has 4, etc. Then subtract the "no" notes and add the "add" notes. For example, A7no5hi3add8 has 4 (tetrad) - 1 (no 5th) + 1 (add 8ve) = 4.
+To find the number of voices in a chord, start with the obvious: a triad has 3, a tetrad has 4, etc. Then subtract the "no" notes and add the "add" notes. For example, A7no5hi3add8 has 4 (tetrad) - 1 (no 5th) + 1 (add 8ve) = 4 notes.
 For more examples, see [[Kite Guitar Chord Shapes (downmajor tuning)]].
 == Notating chord progressions ==
-There are sometimes two possible names for a voicing, depending on what one considers the "home octave" to be. As we saw, C C E G can be either CaddloR or Chi35add8. This ambiguity can be removed by designating one note in a specific octave as "the" tonic, then naming all other notes relative to that tonic. Unlike [[wikipedia:Scientific_pitch_notation|octave numbers]] which only increase when going from B up to C, the hi-lo categories only change in the region of the tonic. This has the advantage that transposing to a new key won't change the hi-lo categories.
+There are sometimes two possible names for a voicing, depending on what one considers the "home octave" to be. As we saw, C C E G can be either CaddloR or Chi35add8. This ambiguity can be removed by designating one note in a specific octave as "the" tonic, then naming all chord roots relative to that tonic as hiC, loF#, loVII, etc. Unlike [[wikipedia:Scientific_pitch_notation|octave numbers]] which only increase when going from B up to C, the hi-lo categories only change in the region of the tonic. This has the advantage that transposing to a new key won't change the hi-lo categories.
 {| class="wikitable"
 |+G major scale in both scientific pitch notation and hi-lo notation