A normalized chord notation & naming based on Mozart's Agnus Dei from Missa Brevis in D (K.194)

This Christmas (2008), I sang Mozart's 'Missa Brevis in D (K.194)' and greatly enjoyed it! I am pleased now to be able to present the following, detailed and complete list I have created of the chords in the Agnus Dei movement. 'Complete' means every note is included; no passing tones are excluded. However, trills are excluded. I intend to write a computer program in some way involving these chords.

The chords, harmonic function agnostic, are in a notation that automatically collapses all transpositions and inversions, which I created for the list. The twelve adjacent tones in an octave are numbered backward with this method, 0 to 11. Each chord is transposed until (in a computer sense) its combination of numbers is as low as possible ('normalized'). This collapses the transpositions and inversions. The number, '0' in the normalized notation does not necessarily mean the root of the chord. Sorting these chords, as you can see in the list, conveniently collects the categories of basic triads, diminished, and seventh chords.

Here are the thirty-three (33) transposition- and inversion -collapsed chords of the Agnus Dei ordered by their normalized notation:

normalized-notation - standard-name [(nonstandard-names)] - example
0 - ix3,5 - G
0,6 - idx3 (=I7x1,5) - G Db
0,5 - ix3 - G D
0,4 - Ix5 (=ix1) - G B
0,3 - ix5 (=Ix1) - G Bb
0,3,8 - i - G Bb D
0,3,7 - I - G B D
0,3,6 - id (=id6x3) - G Bb Db
0,3,6,9 - id6 (=id13x7,9,11) - G Bb Db E
0,2 - i7x3,5 - G F
0,2,9 - i7x5 - G Bb F
0,2,8 - I7x5 - G B F
0,2,7 - ix3s4 (=i11x3,7,9 =i9x3,7 =ix3s2) - G C D
0,2,6 - id7x3 - G Db F
0,2,6,9 - id7 - G Bb Db F
0,2,5 - i7x3 - G D F
0,2,5,9 - i7 - G Bb D F
0,2,5,8 - I7 - G B D F
0,2,5,7 - i7x3s4 (=i11x3,9 =ix3s2,4 =ix3s2,6) - G C D F
0,2,4,9 - I9x7 (=Is2) - G B D A
0,2,4,8 - Iaug7 (=Iaug9x7) - G B D# F
0,1,8 - Imaj7x5 - G B F#
0,1,8,10 - Imaj79x5 - G B F# A
0,1,7 - idx3s5 (=idmin9x3,7 =imaj711x3,5,9 =imaj7x3,5s4) - G Db D
0,1,6,10 - imin9x7 (=I7x5s6) - G Bb D Ab
0,1,5,8 - Imaj7 - G B D F#
0,1,4,7 - ids5 (=id6min9x3,7) - G Bb Db D
0,1,4,7,10 - id6min9x7 (=id13min9x7,11) - G Bb Db E Ab
0,1,3,7,10 - idmin9 - G Bb Db F Ab
0,1,3,6 - imin9x3 (=id6maj7x3 =ids4) - G D F Ab
0,1,3,6,10 - imin9 - G Bb D F Ab
0,1,3,5 - i9x5 (=i7x5s2) - G Bb F A
0,1,3,5,7 - I11x5 - G B F A C

Also, I created a (variant) system of chord naming which I believe suits the above list. For an example of the small difference, in the chord, G Bb Db E (which is 0,3,6,9) to avoid interpreting the interval G to E as a diminished seventh, because '6' is not needed for inversions which in this system go unnotated, the whole chord is called a 'd6, diminished sixth chord'. (This can be interpreted as a diminished triad, plus a major sixth above the root.) This naming as a diminished sixth chord avoids collisions with other seventh-chord nomenclature, and it more simply shows how to combine them with the major and minor seventh intervals (and higher) from the root. (However, when lacking a diminished fifth of the chord, sixths are written as the suspensions, 's6' and 'smin6'.)

The chord symbols, 'I' and 'i' are exemplary here without attaching their roots to any degree of the scale.

Following are the transposition- and inversion -collapsed chord names applicable to the Agnus Dei. Here are the standard chord names, arranged alphabetically:

standard-name [(nonstandard-names)] - example - normalized-notation
I - G B D - 0,3,7
i - G Bb D - 0,3,8
I11x5 - G B F A C - 0,1,3,5,7
I7 - G B D F - 0,2,5,8
i7 - G Bb D F - 0,2,5,9
i7x3 - G D F - 0,2,5
i7x3,5 - G F - 0,2
i7x3s4 (=i11x3,9 =ix3s2,4 =ix3s2,6) - G C D F - 0,2,5,7
I7x5 - G B F - 0,2,8
i7x5 - G Bb F - 0,2,9
i9x5 (=i7x5s2) - G Bb F A - 0,1,3,5
I9x7 (=Is2) - G B D A - 0,2,4,9
Iaug7 (=Iaug9x7) - G B D# F - 0,2,4,8
id (=id6x3) - G Bb Db - 0,3,6
id6 (=id13x7,9,11) - G Bb Db E - 0,3,6,9
id6min9x7 (=id13min9x7,11) - G Bb Db E Ab - 0,1,4,7,10
id7 - G Bb Db F - 0,2,6,9
id7x3 - G Db F - 0,2,6
idmin9 - G Bb Db F Ab - 0,1,3,7,10
ids5 (=id6min9x3,7) - G Bb Db D - 0,1,4,7
idx3 (=I7x1,5) - G Db - 0,6
idx3s5 (=idmin9x3,7 =imaj711x3,5,9 =imaj7x3,5s4) - G Db D - 0,1,7
Imaj7 - G B D F# - 0,1,5,8
Imaj79x5 - G B F# A - 0,1,8,10
Imaj7x5 - G B F# - 0,1,8
imin9 - G Bb D F Ab - 0,1,3,6,10
imin9x3 (=id6maj7x3 =ids4) - G D F Ab - 0,1,3,6
imin9x7 (=I7x5s6) - G Bb D Ab - 0,1,6,10
ix3 - G D - 0,5
ix3,5 - G - 0
ix3s4 (=i11x3,7,9 =i9x3,7 =ix3s2) - G C D - 0,2,7
Ix5 (=ix1) - G B - 0,4
ix5 (=Ix1) - G Bb - 0,3

Some nonstandard alternative (discouraged) names for the same normalized chord might be included. Here are the twenty-two (22) nonstandard chord names, arranged alphabetically:

nonstandard-name [['nonstandard'] (standard-name)] - example - normalized-notation
i11x3,7,9 nonstandard (=ix3s4) - G D C - 0,2,7
i11x3,9 nonstandard (=i7x3s4) - G D F C - 0,2,5,7
I7x1,5 nonstandard (=idx3) - B F - 0,6
i7x5s2 nonstandard (=i9x5) - G A Bb F - 0,1,3,5
I7x5s6 nonstandard (=imin9x7) - G B E F - 0,1,6,10
i9x3,7 nonstandard (=ix3s4) - G D A - 0,2,7
Iaug9x7 nonstandard (=Iaug7) - G B D# A - 0,2,4,8
id13min9x7,11 nonstandard (=id6min9x7) - G Bb Db Ab E - 0,1,4,7,10
id13x7,9,11 nonstandard (=id6) - G Bb Db E - 0,3,6,9
id6maj7x3 nonstandard (=imin9x3) - G Db E F# - 0,1,3,6
id6min9x3,7 nonstandard (=ids5) - G Db E Ab - 0,1,4,7
id6x3 nonstandard (=id) - G Db E - 0,3,6
idmin9x3,7 nonstandard (=idx3s5) - G Db Ab - 0,1,7
ids4 nonstandard (=imin9x3) - G Bb C Db - 0,1,3,6
imaj711x3,5,9 nonstandard (=idx3s5) - G F# C - 0,1,7
imaj7x3,5s4 nonstandard (=idx3s5) - G C F# - 0,1,7
Is2 nonstandard (=I9x7) - G A B D - 0,2,4,9
Ix1 nonstandard (=ix5) - B D - 0,3
ix1 nonstandard (=Ix5) - Bb D - 0,4
ix3s2 nonstandard (=ix3s4) - G A D - 0,2,7
ix3s2,4 nonstandard (=i7x3s4) - G A C D - 0,2,5,7
ix3s2,6 nonstandard (=i7x3s4) - G A D E - 0,2,5,7

Copyright (c) 2009 Mark D. Blackwell.