Have some trouble understanding the meaning of the indicated triad
Sorry but I have some trouble understanding what the 6 on the right-upper corner of B means (as well as the +6 and 4 on the 3rd indicated triad) Could someone explain this to me? Thanks in advance!
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TLDR;
I assume the letters mean chord roots where upper case means major triad, lower case means minor triad, and lower case followed by o means diminished triad.
The small numbers - 6 and +6, etc. - indicate the intervals to play over the bass note.
But the exact meaning of those interval figures depends on the chord symbol system being used. The meaning of these figures from your question aren't clear, because I don't know what system is being used. It looks like a hybrid of systems. (This is why I asked in comments where the question came from.)
B6 might mean a B major chord in first inversion.
D+6/4 might mean a D major chord in second inversion.
Below are some details about various chord symbol systems and why this apparent hybrid system is a little unclear.
This notation is confusing to me.
The main point of confusion is about absolute versus relative symbols for the chord root/bass. Absolute is when the specific tone is given, like D. A relative symbol is usually some kind of number, like a Roman numeral IV which indicates the scale degree relative to a key signature.
After the letters or numerals will come additional numerals and signs which work according to rules in a few different systems. These are the 6 and + etc. your question asks about.
When actual letters are given I first think jazz chord symbols where the letter will indicate the chord root. (I call this an absolute symbol.) The chords are assumed to be in root position unless followed by a slash - B/D# which would mean a B major chord over a D# bass, a first inversion chord. In this system figures like the stacked 6/4...
...are not used.
That segues into figured bass and Roman numeral analysis where the stacked 6/4 figure is used to indicate chord inversions.
But, figured bass uses staff notation to give an absolute value for the bass notes (not chord roots.) Roman numeral analysis gives the relative Roman numerals to indicate chord roots.
In both of those systems the figures like 6 and 6/4 indicate the intervals over the bass note use to form chords. So 6/4 means play a sixth and a fourth above the bass. Those intervals will be diatonic unless a symbol like b, #, or + is applied to mean lower or raise the interval from the diatonic interval. So, a +6 isn't just a sixth, it's a sixth that is a half-step larger than the diatonic sixth. That could change a minor sixth to a major sixth or a major sixth to an augmented sixth.
Finally, there is a convention is some system to use upper case to indicate major and lower case to indicate minor. That convention can be seen with letters - C or dm and with Roman numerals I or ii.
This means that the chord is not in the root position but in the first inversion:
So the bass tone is the third of the triad (instead of 1-3-5 you have to notate 3-5-8
The 6 stands for the interval of a 6th above the bass tone (3-8).
This does not mean that the 8va of the root tone of the chord has to be in the soprano it can be in any other voice - but not in the bass as there has to be the 3rd. (In classicle music after Haydn there was the rule that the third of a 6th-chord shouldn't be doubled in the 4 voices setting. This gives the typical sound of the sixth chord with the doubled root or 5th of the chord.)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sixth_chord
The 46 means the second inversion: 5 - 1 - 3 (with the 5th as bass tone)
The 5th is now at the bottom of the triad.
You have to look up chords and inversions.
www.musictheoryacademy.com/understanding-music/chord-inversions/ www.uberchord.com/blog/music-theory-chord-inversions/
Loathe to do the homework of others (I have my own) the B6 is B major plus M6. So it's not a triad - it contains 4 notes. The last one is a little confusing. d♭6. To me it means D minor 6, but to some it may indicate D with a m6 note - odd sounding.
The D chord is already an inversion, so why it asks for building root, I don't know.
Your teacher has created quite a confusing assignment! They mixed up two different notation systems in somewhat unintuitive ways. However, the fact that you called them "triads" gives us a hint, and if we are assuming that this is the sort of beginning theory course that would cover triads at all, then that limits our options.
I believe that the accompanying instructions would go something like this:
Form the chord indicated (such as D for D Major, with the notes D F# A) in the position given by the numbers. (Thus, a 6 would mean that the third of the triad is in the bass, while a 6/4 would mean that the fifth of the triad is in that place.)
Now, as for that +, it should be ignored. There are two systems that use these inversion numbers: roman numeral analysis, and figured bass. The + is specific to the Figured Bass system, which involves a bass note (not given in your exercise!) and "figured" above it.
In figured bass, I could give you a bass note G, and tell you that the "figured" are 6/4. That means that the notes above the G would be a 4th above the bass (some sort of C) and a 6th above the bass (some sort of E). In figured bass, we don't typically identify chords at all; it's a short-hand for players, a sort of renaissance lead sheet.
Exactly which c and which e would be played above the bass note are given by the key signature (which this exercise also doesn't have). If you want to modify a chord, you would use an accidental ?, ?, ?, double-sharp, or double-flat next to the number being modified. + means "raise", which just means go one further than the key signature, and - means "lower", which just means go one closer than the key signature indicates.
The exercise you have does NOT have a key signature. The D major chord already has an f# just by being D major, and therefore the + next to the 6 doesn't give you any additional information.
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