LearnJazzPiano.com archives: Notation question

Bud -- 11/21/2006, 19:22:13 -- #31353

Hi everybody At Jazzstandards.com there is a section where the song is somewhat analysed. While studying Stella by Starlight they say: "Section "A1" opens with a iių7/iii, followed by a V7/iii and a ..." Can someone can explain me what the "/iii" means with these two chords? Thanks in advance.

jwv76 -- 11/22/2006, 01:00:13 -- #31353

I believe the roman numeral to the right of the slash indicates the bass note, just as in regular chord notation, so in D minor iių7/iii would be E-7b5/F, but I'm a little bit confused, because I've never heard anybody play Stella that way, usually it just starts on iių7 of vi.

jwv76 -- 11/22/2006, 01:09:11 -- #31353

Oh wait, no I'm wrong, the numeral to the right of the slash is the temporary key, relative to the overall key. So in Bb major its just E-7b5, which is the iių7 chord relative to the iii chord of Bb, which is D minor. It does not start on iių7 of vi like I said, its iių7 of iii.

Bud -- 11/22/2006, 16:07:18 -- #31353

Thank you very much, jwv76! That make sense.

Jazz+ -- 12/23/2006, 21:19:28 -- #31353

Correct, the "/" = of the key of

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