Advanced 2nd Stairway to Heaven Chord?

[Chris Johnston]

I just came across this video and I'm curious to know how those on here would name the 2nd chord in Stairway? I know what my answer is and it wasn't Rick Beato or Adam Neely's conclusion @Syn Gates, @Brian Haner Sr. Any thoughts?

 

[idssdi]

I'm inclined to call it Ammaj7/9 or Ammaj9 tbh.

 

[Chris Johnston]

I'm inclined to call it Ammaj7/9 or Ammaj9 tbh.

Interesting man, that makes sense. The conclusion I came to was a G# Augmented #9

 

[idssdi]

Interesting man, that makes sense. The conclusion I came to was a G# Augmented #9

I think I would sooner go with Eaug/G# than G# augmented #9 tbh. That would mean the harmony goes i-V which makes a bit more sense to me

 

[Chris Johnston]

I think I would sooner go with Eaug/G# than G# augmented #9 tbh. That would mean the harmony goes i-V which makes a bit more sense to me

Tbh that's where my ear lead me straight away. Like the way if you play an Am & E chord over the melody it still works. I just had trouble actually naming it from there, because of the B
- Like Eaug/G# (natural 5) ?

That's kinda where I thought that I could have the G# aug #9, I mean it could make the B an A## but I can name it

Totally agree with you though, it sounds more like the harmony goes towards E than Aminmaj, or it at least sounds more pleasing to the ear

 

[Chris Johnston]

And weirdly as soon as I say that and start playing it, Aminmaj9 sounds right too I think this is where the issue in the video arises

 

[idssdi]

Tbh that's where my ear lead me straight away. Like the way if you play an Am & E chord over the melody it still works. I just had trouble actually naming it from there, because of the B
- Like Eaug/G# (natural 5) ?

That's kinda where I thought that I could have the G# aug #9, I mean it could make the B an A## but I can name it

Totally agree with you though, it sounds more like the harmony goes towards E than Aminmaj, or it at least sounds more pleasing to the ear

Hmm, maybe it's an E6b/G# instead It's definetely a funky chord

 

[idssdi]

And weirdly as soon as I say that and start playing it, Aminmaj9 sounds right too I think this is where the issue in the video arises

True, it's one of those ambiguous fuckers, I'll probably stick to Aminmaj9 because that's kind of the one that makes the most sense to me

(nothing to do with the fact George used Aminmaj7 in Something and Jimmy Page supposedly was listening to something while writing it)

 

[Chris Johnston]

True, it's one of those ambiguous fuckers, I'll probably stick to Aminmaj9 because that's kind of the one that makes the most sense to me

(nothing to with the fact George used Aminmaj7 in Something and Jimmy Page supposedly was listening to something while listening to it)

It definitely is! Yeah good point actually It's like a rootless Aminmaj9 voicing. I think it's all to do with the context of it for sure.

 

[Brian Haner Sr.]

Aminmaj9 is what I've mostly seen it written as. The confusing thing is when you see "A - whatever", you assume there is an A in the bass. So I would probably write it as Aminmaj7/G#. I know the G# is already included in the chord, but this gives you a roadmap of what the bass is doing. And in this context, the bass movement is the most important thing.
Playing devil's advocate, as soon as you "/" the bass note, you can call it pretty much anything you want.
So this could be an Cma7+5/G#.
(And once you get into augmented chords, more options pop up. G#aug#9, etc).

Two things I learned after dwelling on this:
1. If I had to solo over this chord - I would definitely treat it as an augmented chord.
2. If I had to name it, I would call it the "2nd Chord from Stairway to Heaven".

 

[Chris Johnston]

Aminmaj9 is what I've mostly seen it written as. The confusing thing is when you see "A - whatever", you assume there is an A in the bass. So I would probably write it as Aminmaj7/G#. I know the G# is already included in the chord, but this gives you a roadmap of what the bass is doing. And in this context, the bass movement is the most important thing.
Playing devil's advocate, as soon as you "/" the bass note, you can call it pretty much anything you want.
So this could be an Cma7+5/G#.
(And once you get into augmented chords, more options pop up. G#aug#9, etc).

Two things I learned after dwelling on this:
1. If I had to solo over this chord - I would definitely treat it as an augmented chord.
2. If I had to name it, I would call it the "2nd Chord from Stairway to Heaven".

Thanks for the insight That's why I initially thought of it as a G# aug (#9) chord at first, as I wasn't even concentrating on the overall progression & context - more like - what would I name this one chord given the intervals. It makes sense as to treat it as Augmented for a solo too.

Haha definitely with you on the 2nd conclusion there! I learned that my ears could change their mind on which way I chose to hear the 2nd chord, after Ids backed the Aminmaj9 & I tried it out in place of the chord. Pretty cool!