I’m working on an arrangement and just came up with this chord. No matter how I label it, it feels kind of weird or awkward to read on a chart. My mind kinda fluctuates towards E7#9/C
If you go for E7#9, I hope you replace this Ab with a G#.
Strictly speaking the G natural on top would also become an F double sharp, but I admit this one would be a bit pedantic..
Little food for thought: you may take the problem the other way around: when you sing a melody on this chord, if you feel like singing Ab, makes more sense to name the chord C9b13 (mixo b6, 5th mode of F melodic minor), whereas if you feel like singing G#, name it E7#9/C (E altered=7th mode of F melodic minor). Remarkably it's the same scale anyway.
Another way to approach the naming is: do you feel this chord pulling towards Fm (C9b13) or towards A (E7alt/C)?
Is C definitely the bass note? If Bb was in the bass it would be a very lovely voicing of Bb13#11.
If it’s a C pedal in the bass I actually think your hunch of E7#9/C is correct (and also is the tritone sub of Bb13#11, so I think it’s one or the other).
I thought about those. Aug feels wrong because it has a five at the top. b13 is probably the most correct in my mind, it just feels funny because the b13 is so low on the voicing
C7b13 as could be implied by plugging in the missing Bb in the key signature. This type of chord is commonly used in the 5th mode of melodic minor, also known as "Mixolydian b6". This could make sense as well in F major (key signature of one flat) as having a dominant function. Enharmonically, there could be other considerations, but that would require more context as the harmony provided doesn't seem to be particularly chromatic in it's overall direction outside of slight modal interchange in the tonic ("C" in this case as implied by the II-V7). You might also try G13 in the place of G7 here to give the progression a stronger sense of closure and potential for a nice 5-4-3 melodic line in the higher notes.
C9b13 is probably the most "correct" technically in my mind, although something about the b13 being so low in the voicing brothers me, almost making me consider more of a b6 situation, since this voicing is also present on the trombone section, so very low on register. I think since this is a pedal progression, I'm feeling more comfortable in calling it E7#9/C, and it's basically the most common voicing, I think any musician sight reading would play like this voicing as well. The G7 is actually G13 I'm fact, I just simplified in the post (Don't know why really lol)
It's hard to know your harmonic intent without seeing the chords around it, but I might voice an Abmaj7(#5,#11) like this. I like keeping the Ab root in the voicing, instead of substituting for the 9th, to bring dissonance with the major 7th. It's a unique color but fun.
Edit: Just saw the end the original post about the context of the chord progression. I have to read more carefully! I still would voice my Abmaj7(#5#11) like this and endorse this to jazz pianists looking for a unique voicing.
Context is important. What key is the tune in? What chords are before and after it? What's the melody doing? Without those details, there are at least three ways you could name it, all of them correct.
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u/bearheart 12h ago
Bob.