User Manual

19
Chord Names Mode
When Chord Names mode is selected, the
Key/Root, Chord, Inversion, Register, and
Spread controls are enabled, while the Scale
popup and the Interval popups in the individual
harmony voice channels are disabled.
Chord Names mode is almost identical to
Chord Degrees mode, with the exception that
instead of setting a key and scale and then
defining the chords by scale degree, you define
each chord by its explicit name, independent of
the scale or key.
In Chord Names mode, the Key/Root popup is
used to define the root note of the chord. (And
yes, this is where the discussion of enharmonic
equivalents that we’ve already included twice
above would go. If you don’t already know it
by heart, check it out in the Chord Degrees
section.)
The Chord popup is used to define the
type of chord, and the Inversion popup, not
unexpectedly, defines the inversion.
The Register and Spread controls function
exactly as described above.
As in the Chord Degrees mode, assign all the
chords and voicings you need to Harmony
Preset buttons and harmonize away.
IMPORTANT NOTE: In Chord Names
mode, the harmony notes are
generated independently of the
actual pitch of the original track. The original
can be out of tune (or even a monotone, for
that matter), but the harmony notes will still
be perfectly in tune with the A=440 pitch
reference.
Chord Degrees vs. Chord Names
Why use one versus the other?
The advantages of Chord Names are that if you
have a lead sheet with written chord names,
it’s extremely simple to quickly define and
assign all of the chords you need to Harmony
Preset buttons. Additionally, the Chord Names
mode offers a wider variety of chord types.
The advantages of Chord Degrees are that
some people are more familiar with that
naming convention (especially if they studied
formal harmony in an academic environment).
More usefully, if you are early in the song
creation process and the song’s final key
may eventually change, if you’ve used Chord
Degrees mode it’s only necessary to change
the Key popup to the new key and all the rest of
your work will still be applicable.