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Home , Augmented seventh, Augmented seventh chord, Diminished seventh chord, Dominant seventh chord, Extended chord, Jazz chord

HOW TO READ CHORD SYMBOLS

The letters telling you WHICH CHORD to play – are called – CHORD QUALITIES.

Chord qualities refer to the intervals between notes - which define the chord. The main chord qualities are:

• Major, and minor. • Augmented, diminished, and half-diminished. • Dominant.

Some of the symbols used for chord quality are similar to those used for interval quality:

• m, or min for minor, • M, maj, or no symbol for major, • aug for augmented, • dim for diminished.

In addition, however,

• Δ is sometimes used for major, instead of the standard M, or maj, • − is sometimes used for minor, instead of the standard m or min, • +, or aug, is used for augmented (A is not used), • o, °, dim, is used for diminished (d is not used), • ø, or Ø is used for half diminished, • dom is used for dominant.

Chord qualities are sometimes omitted – you will only see C or D (means to play C Major or D Major). When specified, they appear immediately after the note. For instance, in the symbol Cm7 (C minor chord) C is the root and m is the chord quality. When there are multiple “qualities” after the chord name – the accordionist will play the first “quality” for the left hand chord and “define” the other “qualities” in the right hand.

The table shows the application of these generic and specific rules to interpret some of the main chord symbols. The same rules apply for the analysis of chord names.

For each symbol, several formatting options are available. Except for the root, all the other parts of the symbols may be either superscripted or subscripted. Sometimes, parts of the symbol may be separated by a slash, or written within parentheses. For instance:

• CM7 may be written CM7, CM7, CM7, or CM7. • CmM7 may be written as CmM7, Cm/M7, Cm(M7), or simply CmM7.

Short and long symbols for chord quality (such as m for minor and maj for major, respectively) are sometimes both used in the same chord symbol. For instance:

• Cm(M7) may be also written Cm(maj7). QUICK REFERENCE

Component Chord Symbol Analysis of symbol parts

intervals Notes Chord name

Short Long Root Added Third Fifth Added C C maj3 perf5 C-E-G

Major triad CM Cmaj C maj maj3 perf5 C-E-G

Cm Cmin C min min3 perf5 Minor triad C-E♭-G

C+ Caug C aug maj3 aug5 C-E-G♯ o Cdim C dim min3 dim5 C C-E♭-G♭ C6 C 6 maj3 perf5 maj6

C-E-G-A chord CM6 Cmaj6 C maj 6 maj3 perf5 maj6

Cm6 Cmin6 C min 6 min3 perf5 maj6 chord C-E♭-G-A

C7 Cdom7 C 7 maj3 perf5 min7 Dominant C-E-G-B♭

CM7 Cmaj7 C maj 7 maj3 perf5 maj7 C-E-G-B chord

Cm7 Cmin7 C min 7 min3 perf5 min7 chord C-E♭-G-B♭

C+7 Caug7 C aug 7 maj3 aug5 min7 chord C-E-G♯-B♭

o Cdim7 C dim 7 min3 dim5 maj6 chord C 7 C-E♭-G♭-A ø C dim min3 dim5 min7 C Half-diminished seventh C-E♭-G♭-B♭ chord Cø7 C dim 7 min3 dim5 min7

CmM7 Cminmaj7

C min maj7 min3 perf5 maj7 Minor- Cm/M7 Cmin/maj7 C-E♭-G-B Cm(M7) Cmin(maj7)

Seventh Chords

A seventh chord is a triad with an added note, which is either a major seventh above the root, a minor seventh above the root (flatted 7th), or a diminished seventh above the root (double flatted 7th). Note that the diminished seventh note is enharmonically equivalent to the major sixth above the root of the chord. When not otherwise specified, the name "seventh chord" may more specifically refer to a major triad with an added minor seventh (a ).

For each symbol, several formatting options are available. Some 7th chords can be considered as triad chords with . For instance,

• Cm7 = C-E♭-G-B♭ = E♭/C or Cmaj7 = C-E-G-B = Em/C

The table below shows names, symbols, and definitions for the various kinds of seventh chords (using C as root).

Symbols Definitions Name Altered Component intervals

Short Long Integers Notes

fifth Third Fifth Seventh Seventh {0, 4, 7, C7 Cdom7 major perfect minor C-E-G-B♭ (dominant seventh) 10} CM7 7 CMa 7 {0, 4, 7, Major seventh j7 Cmaj major perfect major C-E-G-B C 11} CΔ 7 CmM7 Cm ♯7 M7 maj7 {0, 3, 7, Minor-major seventh C− Cmin minor perfect major C-E♭-G-B 11} C−Δ7 C−Δ 7 Cm 7 {0, 3, 7, Minor seventh Cmin minor perfect minor C-E♭-G-B♭ C-7 10} Augmented-major M7 CM7♯5 / C+ {0, 4, 8, Caugmaj7 CM7+5 major augmented major C-E-G♯-B seventh +Δ C 5 +5 11} (major seventh sharp five) CΔ♯ / CΔ

Augmented seventh 7 7 {0, 4, 8, C+ Caug C7♯5 / C7+5 major augmented minor C-E-G♯-B♭ (dom. seventh sharp five) 10} Half-diminished Ø Ø7 Cm7♭5 / C / C {0, 3, 6, C-E♭-G♭-B Cmin7dim5 Cm7°5 minor diminished minor seventh ø ø C / C 7 5 °5 10} ♭ (minor seventh flat five) C−7♭ / C−7 o7 C 7 C-E♭-G♭-B Diminished seventh 7 Cdim minor diminished diminished {0, 3, 6, 9} C°

Seventh flat five 7dim5 {0, 4, 6, C7♭5 Cdom major diminished minor C-E-G♭-B♭ (dominant seventh flat five) 10} Extended Chords (9th, 11th, 13th)

Extended chords add further notes onto 7th chords. Of the 7 notes in the , a seventh chord uses only 4. The other 3 notes can be added in any combination; however, just as with the triads and seventh chords, notes are most commonly stacked – a seventh implies that there is a fifth and a third and a root. In practice, especially in , certain notes can be omitted without changing the quality of the chord.

The 9th, 11th and 13th chords are known as extended chords. As the scale repeats for every seven notes in the scale, these notes are enharmonically equivalent to the 2nd, 4th, and 6th – except they are more than an above the root. However, this does not mean that they must be played in the higher octave. Although changing the octave of certain notes in a chord (within reason) does change the way the chord sounds, it does not change the essential characteristics or tendency of it.

Accordingly, using 9th, 11th and 13th in chord notation implies that the chord is an extended tertian chord rather than an added chord (see Added Chords below).

9ths

9th chords are built by adding to a seventh chord a note - which is an interval of a from root. This implies that the 7th note from root is also included in the chord. When the 7th is omitted, the chord cannot be classified as an , as it becomes an added tone chord. 9ths may be theoretically added to any type of chord, however they are most commonly seen with Major, Dominant and Minor sevenths.

The most commonly omitted note for voicings is the perfect 5th.

The table below shows names, symbols, and definitions for the various kinds of ninth chords (using C as root)

Symbol Quality of

Name Notes Short Long added 9th (Major) 9th CM9 / CΔ9 Cmaj9 Major C-E-G-B-D Dominant 9th C9 Cdom9 Major C-E-G-B♭-D Minor Major 9th CmM9 / C−M9 Cminmaj9 Major C-E♭-G-B-D Minor Dominant 9th Cm9 / C−9 Cmin9 Major C-E♭-G-B♭-D Augmented Major 9th C+M9 Caugmaj9 Major C-E-G♯-B-D Augmented Dominant 9th C+9 / C95 Caug9 Major C-E-G♯-B♭-D Major C-E♭-G♭-B♭-D Half-Diminished 9th CØ9 Half-Diminished Minor 9th CØ9 Minor C-E♭-G♭-B♭-D♭

Diminished 9th C°9 Cdim9 Major C-E♭-G♭-B -D Diminished Minor 9th C°9 Cdim♭9 Minor C-E♭-G♭-B -D♭

11ths

These are theoretically 9th chords with the 11th (4th) note in the scale added. However, it is common to leave certain notes out. The major 3rd is often omitted because of a strong dissonance with the 11th (4th), therefore called an . Omission of the 3rd reduces an 11th chord to the corresponding 9sus4. Similarly, omission of the 3rd as well as 5th in C11 results in a with alternate base B♭/C, which is characteristic in soul and gospel . For instance:

C11 without 3rd = C-(E)-G-B♭-D-F ≈ C-F-G-B♭-D = C9sus4 C11 without 3rd and 5th = C-(E)-(G)-B♭-D-F ≈ C-F-B♭-D = B♭/C

If the 9th is omitted, the chord is no longer an extended chord, but an added tone chord (see below). Without the 3rd, this added tone chord becomes a 7sus4 (suspended 7th chord). For instance:

C11 without 9th = C7add11 = C-E-G-B♭-(D)-F C7add11 without 3rd = C-(E)-G-B♭-(D)-F ≈ C-F-G-B♭ = C7sus4

The table below shows names, symbols, and definitions for the various kinds of chords (using C as root)

Symbol Quality of

Name Notes Short Long added 11th 11th C11 Cdom11 Perfect C-E-G-B♭-D-F (dominant 11th) Major 11th CM11 Cmaj11 Perfect C-E-G-B-D-F Minor-Major 11th CmM11 / C−M11 Cminmaj11 Perfect C-E♭-G-B-D-F Minor 11th Cm11 / C−11 Cmin11 Perfect C-E♭-G-B♭-D-F Augmented-Major 11th C+M11 Caugmaj11 Perfect C-E-G♯-B-D-F Augmented 11th C+11 / C115 Caug11 Perfect C-E-G♯-B♭-D-F Half-Diminished 11th CØ11 Perfect C-E♭-G♭-B♭-D♭-F

Diminished 11th C°11 Cdim11 Diminished C-E♭-G♭-B -D♭-F♭

Alterations from the natural diatonic chords can be specified as C9♯11 ... etc. Omission of the 5th in a sharpened 11th chord reduces its sound to a flat-five chord:

C9♯11 = C-E-(G)-B♭-D-F♯ ≈ C-E-G♭-B♭-D = C9♭5

13ths

These are theoretically 11th chords with the 13th (or 6th) note in the scale added. In other words, theoretically they are formed by all the seven notes of a at once. Again, it is common to leave certain notes out. After the 5th, the most commonly omitted note is the troublesome 11th (4th). The 9th (2nd) can also be omitted. A very common voicing on guitar for a 13th chord is just the root, 3rd, 7th and 13th (or 6th). For example: C-E-(G)-B♭-(D)-(F)-A, or C-E-(G)-A-B♭-(D)-(F). On the , this is usually voiced C-Bb-E-A.

The table below shows names, symbols, and definitions for some chords (using C as root)

Symbol Quality of

Name Notes Short Long added 13th Major 13th CM13 / CΔ13 Cmaj13 Major C-E-G-B-D-F-A Dominant 13th C13 Cdom13 Major C-E-G-B♭-D-F-A Minor Major 13th CmM13 / C−M13 Cminmaj13 Major C-E♭-G-B-D-F-A Minor Dominant 13th Cm13 / C−13 Cmin13 Major C-E♭-G-B♭-D-F-A Augmented Major 13th C+M13 Caugmaj13 Major C-E-G♯-B-D-F-A Augmented Dominant 13th C+13 / C135 Caug13 Major C-E-G♯-B♭-D-F-A Half-Diminished 13th CØ13 Major C-E♭-G♭-B♭-D-F-A

Alterations from the natural diatonic chords can be specified as C11♭13 ... etc. Added Tone Chords

An important characteristic of jazz is the extensive use of sevenths. The combination of 9th (2nd), 11th (4th) and 13th (6th) notes with 7ths in a chord give voicing their distinctive sound. However the use of these notes is not exclusive to the jazz genre; in fact they are very commonly used in folk, classical and generally. Without the 7th, these chords lose their jazzy feel, but can still be very complex.

These chords are called added tone chords because they are basic triads with notes added. They can be described as having a more open sound than extended chords. Notation must provide some way of showing that a chord is an added tone chord as opposed to extended. There are two ways this is shown generally, and it is very common to see both methods on the same score. One way is to simply use the word 'add', for example:

• Cadd9

The second way is to use 2 instead of 9, implying that it is not a 7th chord for instance:

• C2

Note that in this way we potentially get other ways of showing a 9th chord:

• C7add9 • C7add2 • C7/9

Generally however the above will be shown as simply C9, which implies a 7th in the chord. Added tone chord notation is useful with 7th chords to indicate partial extended chords. For example:

• C7add13

This would indicate that the 13th is added to the 7th, but without the 9th and 11th.

The use of 2, 4 and 6 as opposed to 9, 11 and 13 indicates that the chord does not include a 7th unless specifically specified. However, it does not mean that these notes must be played within an octave of the root, nor the extended notes in 7th chords should be played of the octave.

A good rule of thumb is that if any added note is less than 7, then no 7th is implied, even if there are some notes shown as greater than 7.

Suspended chords

A is a triad where the 3rd is replaced by another note. In practice the 3rd is replaced either by the 4th or the 2nd. These chords "desire" to resolve into a normal triad. Suspended chords are notated with the symbols "sus4" or "sus2". Where "sus" is found on its own, the suspended fourth chord is implied. This can be combined with any other notation. So for example:

• Csus4

This chord is an extended 9th chord with the 3rd replaced by the 4th (C-F-G-B♭-D). However, the can be added as a tension above the 4th to "colorize" the chord (C-F-G-B♭-D-E). A sus4 chord with the added major third (sometimes called a major 10th) can also be quartally voiced as C-F-B♭-E.

For more in depth explanations – please visit this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chord_names_and_symbols_%28popular_music%29