In my discussion with my jazz professional, we looked at complex chords, in
fact we deliberately looked for complex ones to find out how they were
expressed. We found, quite amazingly that the more complex the chord got the
more ambiguous its name became.

The other thing we noted is that frequently, the note which was noted in a
complex chord name was part of the melody. Thus, naming it became irrelevant
in the context of performing. "Begin the Beguine" is a good example. The
turn is essentially repetitions of the same phrase over and over again
varied slightly each time. Around bar 60, part of the melody is embellished
so that the d minor 7th chord flattens the 5th (by means of the melody),
then goes on to stretch the chord even further until you have (implied by
the melody again) a chord that has a diminished triad on the bottom, the
middle is a minor chord then a major 7th is added to that. After that, Cole
Porter's melody line descends in whats alsmost a complete whole tone scale.
However, the Sher "Real Standards Book" only notes the dm7th chord. Good
musicians can find their way without getting overly detailed. As we found
out, the more complex chords were almost always made complex by melodic
means. Attempting to note all the detailed complexity destroyed the
intention of what was mean to be a kind of short hand. It also cluttered the
score making it harder to sight read rather than easier.

Further from this note about seriously complex chords, an indication of
c13th not only means that you add a thirteenth but alerts the player that
some of the expected 7th and 9ths will likely be left out. As much as it is
an indication of what note to play, it can also imply what not to play.

You are right, the bass lead sheet is the origin of the indications for the
keyboard player. In looking through much music, they are rare events
(ususaly) occuring at cadence points where it was important that the
keyboard and bass players knew more precisely what the other was playing.
>From my observations what they most frequently do is indicate the inversion
of the named chord to be used. The only tune I found with used them for
extended portions of a tune was Bill Evans "Waltz for Debbie" where it is a
part of a specific modulation. But again it is simply pointing out the
correct inversion of the chord from the bass part.

One other custom I was told about was that unlike the usual custom of
placing the key signature at the beginning of each line, the correct way for
jazz musicians to write a score is to note the key signature and time
signatures only at the beginning of a piece or where they change. The Sher
books follow this custom. However this is not really a problem for lilypond
because it can be more or less easily done with methods already in Lilypond.

The Sher publications I'm using are based themselves on sources that
Lilypond has already noted, So it seems there is at least some general
agreement that these sources are authentic and close to what is actually
used.

I will note one thing i observed when actaully taking a score to the piano
is that the notation of em7 b5 told me more quickly which notes to change in
the chord. When I came to a half dimished symbol i had to think through more
steps to get to the right notes. I don't know if others have this
experience, but it could answer the question of why its use began.

I think all that is left to be done here is see what the programmers come up
with and give it a try. Beyond this is a job for the musicology crowd.

cheers,
davidf
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