Need a little help naming a chord

1

(Please feel free to move this topic to a more appropriate place if needed)

Today I worked on learning a song by ear, and the rhythm guitar part consists of one chord only. The shorthand would be x x 11 11 11 11, the notes are Db, Gb, Bb and Eb.

I came up with 3 possible names for it, although I’m not sure my guesses are entirely correct. Any help with choosing the best option would be welcome.

Option 1: the functions in the chord (from lowest note to highest) are 1, 4, 6 and 9. It could be called a Db6/9 but there’s no 3rd in it so it may not qualify as such.

Option 2: the functions in the chord (from lowest note to highest) are 5, 1, 3 and 6, i.e. a major triad and a major 6th, so this would be Gb6 second inversion.

Option 3: the functions in the chord (from lowest note to highest) are b7, b3, 5 and 1, i.e. a minor triad and a minor 7th, so this would be Ebm7 third inversion.

Thanks in advance for your help :slight_smile:

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According to the Chord Identifier- Reverse Chord Finder it’s Ebm7\Db

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3

Hi! I may be wrong, but I would say it is just an Ebm7 without The thickest 2 strings…Eb missing on the 11th fret last string and the Bb missing on the next to last string, 13th fret. But that’s my two mites I’m throwing in here. My beloved 12-string lefty Femdet Hellcat Tim Armstrong Acoustic-Electric woke up with a broken neck.

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4

I often use this as a 6 shape when I need one, so Gb6 was my initial thought, however to name this chord you would really want to know the key of the tune it’s coming from or at least to look at the other chords in the progression.

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5

The whole song contains just one chord - this chord?

Wow.
Without any additional framing context from the harmonic side it can be anything you want it to be.

Is there any bass guitar?
Or vocal melody?
What notes are they using and do any of those notes sound like the root where a resolution happens?

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6

Option 1 - D flat major scale = D♭, E♭, F, G♭, A♭, B♭, C

D♭6 sus2 / sus4

D♭ = 1
E♭ = 2 = 9
G♭ = 4 = 11
B♭ = 6

No 3rd means it is a suspended chord.

Option 2 - G flat major scale = G♭, A♭, B♭, C♭, D♭, E♭, F

G♭6 / D♭

G♭ = 1
B♭ = 3
D♭ = 5
E♭ = 6

Option 3 - B flat major scale = B♭, C, D, E♭, F, G, A

B♭m (no 5th) add 11 add ♭13

B♭ = 1
D♭ = b3
E♭ = 4 = 11
G♭ = ♭6 = ♭13

Option 4

E♭m7 / Db

E flat major scale = E♭, F, G, A♭, B♭, C, D

E♭ = 1
G♭ = ♭3
B♭ = 5
D♭ = b7

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No, not the whole song, only the rhythm guitar part, although the song has a generally droning feel. Sorry for the unclear wording.

This is the song:

There are vocals, bass, drums, clavinet, etc. The riff consists of the notes Db, Eb, Gb and Ab (ties up with the cycle of 5ths nicely) but I haven’t checked the chords played by the keyboards yet.

Thanks a lot for all your replies so far.

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Well to my untrained ear that sounds like it’s the key of Ebm, so I’d go for Ebm7.
Interesting song.

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9

Wow at this point I need a little help naming a Fender guitar. Thanks for posting the link to the song also.

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