# Guitar gods - G/D notation? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 4, 2009, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guitar-gods-g-d-notation/495319 "2009-05-04T19:06:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guitar-gods-g-d-notation/495319/21 "2009-05-06T14:37:50Z")
> [@fachverwirrt](#): > > I had managed (accidentally) to stumble into one of the circumstances where it’s actually permitted.) Interesting. What circumstance would that be? ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guitar-gods-g-d-notation/495319/22 "2009-05-06T15:04:13Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Interesting. What circumstance would that be? Well, there’s the “Mozart fifth” which is a German augmented sixth resolving to a V chord; apparently the parallel fifth is OK there. That’s not what I did though. If I remember correctly (keeping in mind that this was about 12 years ago), it involved one voice moving directly to a functional tone (part of the next chord), while the other voice moved through a passing tone. Since the passing tone isn’t part of the functional harmony and immediately resolves to another tone, the parallelism doesn’t really sound parallel, instead it sounds like a fifth moving to a fourth with a passing tone in between. For example (a pretty poor example, but we’ll go with it): In F, start with a d-min chord (vi) voiced thus: D[sup]3[/sup]-A[sup]3[/sup]-F[sup]4[/sup]-D[sup]5[/sup]. Then move to a I[sup]6[/sup][sub]4[/sub], voiced thus: C[sup]3[/sup]-F[sup]3[/sup]-A[sup]4[/sup]-F[sup]5[/sup]. But, have the tenor pass through G on the way, so there is a suspension into the second chord. Technically, the D-A followed by C-G is a parallel fifth, but because the G is passing and quickly resolves, it works. At least, that’s how I remember it. (The voicing of the subsequent resolution of this cadence is pretty horrendous.) ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guitar-gods-g-d-notation/495319/23 "2009-05-06T15:21:43Z")
Wow, that’s cool. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guitar-gods-g-d-notation/495319/24 "2009-05-06T16:04:01Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Ooh, we’re gearing up for a Pit thread! 😃 > > Seriously, can you post some examples? I’d love to see them. > > I’m going to bed now. My synth and I have just disagreed on time signatures, tempos, and key signatures. I hate to anthropomorphize that instrument, but she’s acting like a total cunt. 😃 Oops! In brushing up on my memory, I realize I was thinking of incomplete voicings, either 3 and 5, or 1 and 3. My bad. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![NoCoolUserName](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5fc32e/32.png) [@NoCoolUserName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoCoolUserName)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guitar-gods-g-d-notation/495319/25 "2009-05-07T13:10:41Z")
To get away from the what-to-double conversation and mention a few other uses for the chord/bass notation, two oft-used types of chords are: chord/2nd–e.g. F/G (used in Bohemian Rhapsody, which I’m currently learning) chord/4th–e.g. C/F (a Laura Nero and Steely Dan fav) ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guitar-gods-g-d-notation/495319/26 "2009-05-28T00:49:12Z")
I was perusing the Ultimate Guitar Web site, and one of the tabs I was looking at used the notation “H” for a chord. What’s H? I’ve been reading music since I was 6 years old, and I’ve never seen reference to an H. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guitar-gods-g-d-notation/495319/27 "2009-05-28T01:15:48Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > I was perusing the Ultimate Guitar Web site, and one of the tabs I was looking at used the notation “H” for a chord. What’s H? I’ve been reading music since I was 6 years old, and I’ve never seen reference to an H. If it was in German, H equals our B (and B equals our B-flat). Otherwise, could it have been indicating some kind of hammer-on? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guitar-gods-g-d-notation/495319.md?page=1)