Notating the Same Chord at Different Locations on Fretboard

[townsend]

Of the very few songs I know all the way through, I have a notebook with a summary of how to play the songs. These are relatively simple songs (not any Vai or Satch tunes!).

I've struggled to come up with some shorthand notation to distinguish different forms of common chords.

For example, Dm = D minor, and for me, this is an "open" chord, played across the first three frets. But how can I concisely notate (w/o using a chord box) a Dm played at the 5th fret as a 5th string bar chord, or an Dm played at the 10th fret as a 6th string bar chord?

Thus my primary concern is to distinguish major, minor, sevenths, and combinations played as bar chords at different locations on the fretboard.

I'd imagine someone has come up with a consistent notation to indicate where the chord is played? Is it is simple as using Roman numerals after the chord as a superscript (E.g., E VII [w/ VII as a superscript] to denote a 5th string bar E played at the seventh fret?

Of course, I could indicate this chord simply by x/7/9/9/9/x. Thanks for any help.

[Bryan T]

I've seen the superscript form used in songbooks before.

[A-Bone]

I've seen the superscript form used in songbooks before.

Me too. This seems to be pretty common.

[stevel]

I'd imagine someone has come up with a consistent notation to indicate where the chord is played? Is it is simple as using Roman numerals after the chord as a superscript (E.g., E VII [w/ VII as a superscript] to denote a 5th string bar E played at the seventh fret?



Yes. Guitarists came up with this, oh, like a hundred years ago or so :-) You see it all the time in classical guitar music. The letter "C" followed by a Roman Numeral.

C.XII would mean "12th position" (The C comes from Spanish - a word for "position" or "place" IIRC).

Modern scores often do away with the C and just use the Roman Numeral (you'll often see this in notation for harmonics).

DV with the V superscript would imply the D Barre chord at the 5th fret to me.

It would be good for a very basic, short-hand notation.

Steve

[vhollund]

I sometimes write just the highest note on top of the chord to remember the voicing

[deforce]

Yes. Guitarists came up with this, oh, like a hundred years ago or so :-) You see it all the time in classical guitar music. The letter "C" followed by a Roman Numeral.

C.XII would mean "12th position" (The C comes from Spanish - a word for "position" or "place" IIRC).

Modern scores often do away with the C and just use the Roman Numeral (you'll often see this in notation for harmonics).

DV with the V superscript would imply the D Barre chord at the 5th fret to me.

It would be good for a very basic, short-hand notation.

Steve

I thought C implied that you barred at that position, and the position was indicated by merely the roman numeral. I think it stands for "capo" or its Spanish translation. CXII would indicate that you barre the 12th fret, whereas XII on its own would indicate that you put your first finger at that fret. There is also 1/2C that is a partial barre - that is 3 or 4 strings. I have never come across music with the D before implying the barre, but I have come across other systems that differ to what I have described.

When using this system, notes may also be accompanied by numbers that 'suggest' which finger to use to fret that note, and also numbers in circles that would indicate what string you would play that note on. These examples are used for standard notation but I think the conventions could also be used for what you are trying to achieve with chord symbols.

[stevel]

I thought C implied that you barred at that position, and the position was indicated by merely the roman numeral.

You're absolutely right. The "C" is for "barrer" and there are "1/2C" for covering only the top three strings and things like that. I've even seen "2/3C" in some rare instances. I think the C is something other than "capo" though - I'd have to look it up.

But yes, I think the plain numeral is for position (though I think some editors probably used "C" when it wasn't really a barrer).

Steve

[stevel]

I just checked some of my classical scores.

The Carcassi edition I have uses "2nd. Pos" with a bracket where necessary to indicate positions and barrer.

An older compilation just uses the Roman Numeral for both, but puts "1/2XII" for partial barres. No "C" in sight.

Another more modern one uses "C" for a full barrer and C with a line through it (like a cut time symbol) for partial barres, which it indicated with a fraction like 4 over 4 or 4 over 3. Everything in this edition uses a C (or C with line for anything more than a single string).

So, inconsistent at best.

I'd prefer "C" for barrer, and just roman numeral for positions though.

Steve

[fulltone1989]

I see the inversion and then I find the most-comfortable place to play it on the fretboard.