In cases where specific voicings are desired, it’s better to write in standard notation. They’re meant to make things easier, not more complicated. When chord symbols get too complicated, they lose their utility. Obviously, it’s better to be explicit when you can. Confusingly, some publishers and composers use C4 to mean Cadd4 while other use it for Csus4. For example, Cadd4 is C E F G whereas C F G is Csus4. “Add” is also used for minor and major seconds, and perfect and augmented fourths when these aren’t meant to be suspensions.
![encore notation adding chords encore notation adding chords](https://freshsheetmusic.com/media/catalog/product/t/h/the_crabb_family-please_come_down_to_me-musicnotes_thumbnail.png)
(The “add13” suggests a voicing where the A is an octave higher than 6, thus C6 is a far more common chord symbol.)
Encore notation adding chords plus#
By convention, a six chord is a triad plus a major sixth interval, so “add” would be redundant, but “add” is necessary in C(add13) to indicate that no B♭ is played. Again, if a composer wanted an A in the chord without a B♭, the chord could be written as C6 or C(add13).
![encore notation adding chords encore notation adding chords](https://www.guitartricks.com/wt/gt/hosts/0/7/1/14691.png)
That leaves the most important qualities of the chord in place the root, the minor third, the seventh, and the thirteenth. Musicians may choose to eliminate the fifth (G), the ninth (D), and/or the eleventh (F). Strictly speaking, a Cm13 chord is C E♭ G B♭ D F A, though it’s rarely played that way in practice. Trying to type in things like Em(maj7) often resulted in the Could not find chord suffix message. While Finale’s Chord tool was designed to intelligently guess your chord suffix when you type it in, historically this worked less well the more complicated your chords became. How is this solved? The symbol becomes Cm(add9). Tip 1: Enter the Right Chords the Easiest Way. But a composer might not want the B♭ to be played. The seventh (B♭) and the ninth (D) are both important to the quality of this chord. (See here for the complete picture.) A ninth chord has no lower extensions, so a Cm9 is C E♭ G B♭ D. Strictly speaking, a chord with an extension (9, 11, or 13) contains the triad indicated by the note letter (root, third, and fifth), the seventh, the interval of the extension, and all lower extensions.
![encore notation adding chords encore notation adding chords](https://musescore.org/sites/musescore.org/files/chordsymbols2-1.png)
“Add” is used in chord symbols in certain cases where the usual assumptions don’t apply.