ANOMALY IN HARMONY ANNOTATION

An anomaly exists related to the harmony annotation of chords that have the chord root on the sixth or seventh scale degree, in minor keys. 

We know that the sixth and seventh scale degrees are often raised in minor keys. In minor keys, the chord root occurs more often on the raised seventh scale degree than on the raised sixth scale degree. Because of this, it is common to use the Roman numeral seven without the sharp accidental even when the chord root is on the raised seventh scale degree. Also, it is common to use the Roman numeral six with the sharp accidental when the chord root is on the raised sixth scale degree. This is kind of inconsistent because the notation does not treat the sixth and seventh scale degrees in the same way. The reason is that the notation tends to use shorter symbols for harmonies that occur more often. 

The next figure shows the right way to annotate the chords. Please note that while an accidental occurs after the chord root in chord annotations, in harmony annotations it occurs before the chord root.

 Figure: Annotating harmony of chords that have the chord root on the sixth or seventh scale degree in minor keys