I don’t know for sure but I think Sibelius has something similar because “Glaubenslieder – Neue Ausgabe” uses this chord style and was edited using Sibelius.
I am sure, if you tell a 12 year old amateur musician in a church band how to read a “B” chord, they’ll have no problem with it.
I once was a 12 year old amateur musician in a church band (long time ago) and I came along the different styles of naming a B chord. Yes, I mastered them but I really liked the B(natural) way the most and have used it since – even in handwritten notation. (Back in those days it was unthinkable to print music at home.)
If it’s a key signature with flats it will probably be a B flat chord, if the key signature is with sharps it’s more likely a H chord, same if the lead text or the song is in German.
When I was a 12 year old amateur musician in a church band most music I had to play from was only lyrics and chords lead sheets. So no key signature to guess from, not to mention songs where the key changes during the song (e.g. bridge). Since most of the time I had to play by sight reading there was no time to guess from surrounding chords (without having knowledge of harmonics) what is meant by B. Unfortunately B and H do only seldom occur in the same song. So you have no reference which style the editor uses. Especially if it is a song with English lyrics you could never be sure. So B(natural) was the only way to get rid of the ambiguity. You don’t need any explanation or context. It is clear by itself.
If you have to accompany a traditional hymn you’ll have to cope with a new chord literally every beat, sometimes modulating through the whole cycle of fifths. Then you are pretty much occupied with recalling the next chord shape. Stumbling over an ambiguous B would be an extra obstacle.
Today (playing occasionally in bluegrass sessions) I start to favorite the Nashville style (roman numbers): don’t name the key at all, let the singer decide on the spot. However this skill is way beyond a 12 year old amateur musician in a church band.
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Thanks Pete for your very insightful description!
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I have to add: What we are experiencing in the “evolution” of musical notation is absolutly consistent with the evolution of natural spoken and written language: One (if not the main) source of change (that is continuously going on) are ERRORS, iow misspellings, etc. Someone starts by making a mistake, others join. As a proof for “this is not wrong” they reference the original misspelling, which multiplies the “mistake” in a circualar proof. As a consequence the new spelling (former mistake) is considered to be normal and then correct.
So… we have to relax. Error is a permanent factor in evolution (not only in languages).
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@NoglerPa, in case you haven’t noticed yet: They implemented it in Dorico 6.
@dspreadbury Thank you very much for adding this option. Makes me happy using Dorico.
Yes, I have already installed version 6 and I am extremely pleased that my suggestion was implemented so wonderfully by the Steinberg team. Many thanks to Daniel and his team!
I’m also thrilled with the new options for defining chords myself and adjusting existing ones. Great work!
Greetings from Switzerland, Padruot
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