But returning my the idea that names are opaque: in logic if I am trying to solve a propositional problem I may name certain propositions P, Q & R – these names are completely arbitrary and knowing the names tells me nothing about the relationships between the propositions. In music we name the notes A, B, C etc – but here knowing the names does tell me something about the relationships between the pitch classes: the alphabetical order of the names corresponds to the pitch order of the notes. That’s kind of like inferring that I must be taller than you because my name comes after yours in the alphabet The “names” of the notes in music relies on a systematic relationship between the formal lexical properties of the name and the physical properties of the note itself. To my mind that makes it more than *just* a name.

So, I still maintain that Am7 is a description and not a name

Andreas