Musicians use various kinds of chord names and symbols in different contexts to represent musical chords. In most genres of popular music, including jazz, pop, and rock, a chord name and its corresponding symbol typically indicate one or more of the following:
the root note (e.g. C) the chord quality (e.g. minor or lowercase m, or the symbols or + for diminished and augmented chords, respectively; chord quality is usually omitted for major chords) whether the chord is a triad, seventh chord, or an extended chord (e.g. 7) any altered notes (e.g. sharp five, or 5) any added tones (e.g. add2) the bass note if it is not the root (e.g. a slash chord) + Macro analysis symbols Triad Root Quality Example Audio Major triad Uppercase C Minor triad Lowercase c Augmented triad Uppercase + C+ Diminished triad Lowercase o co Dominant seventh Uppercase 7 C7
For instance, the name C augmented seventh, and the corresponding symbol C, or C, are both composed of parts 1 (letter 'C'), 2 ('aug' or '+'), and 3 (digit '7'). These indicate a chord formed by the notes C–E–G–B. The three parts of the symbol (C, aug, and 7) refer to the root C, the augmented (fifth) interval from C to G, and the (minor) seventh interval from C to B.
Although they are used occasionally in classical music, typically in an educational setting for harmonic analysis, these names and symbols are "universally used in jazz and popular music", in lead sheets, fake books, and chord charts, to specify the chords that make up the chord progression of a song or other piece of music. A typical sequence of a jazz or rock song in the key of C major might indicate a chord progression such as C – Am – Dm – G. This chord progression instructs the performer to play, in sequence, a C major triad, an A minor chord, a D minor chord, and a G dominant seventh chord. In a jazz context, players have the freedom to add sevenths, ninths, and higher extensions to the chord. In some pop, rock and folk genres, triads are generally performed unless specified in the chord chart.
Purpose These chord symbols are used by musicians for a number of purposes. Chord-playing instrumentalists in the rhythm section, such as pianists, use these symbols to guide their improvised performance of chord voicings and fills. A rock or pop guitarist or keyboardist might literally play the chords as indicated (e.g., the C major chord would be played by playing the notes C, E and G at the same time). In jazz, particularly for music from the 1940s bebop era or later, players typically have latitude to add in the sixth, seventh, and/or ninth of the chord. Jazz chord voicings often omit the root (leaving it to the bass player) and fifth. As such, a jazz guitarist might voice the C major chord with the notes E, A and D—which are the third, sixth, and ninth of the chord. The bassist (electric bass or double bass) uses the chord symbols to help improvise a bass line that outlines the chords, often by emphasizing the root and other key scale tones (third, fifth, and in a jazz context, the seventh).
The lead instruments, such as a saxophonist or lead guitarist, use the chord chart to guide their improvised solos. The instrumentalist improvising a solo may use scales that work well with certain chords or chord progressions, according to the chord-scale system. For example, in rock and blues soloing, the pentatonic scale built on the root note is widely used to solo over straightforward chord progressions that use I, IV, and V chords (in the key of C major, these would be the chords C, F, and G).
In a journal of the American Composers Forum the use of letters to indicate chords is defined as, "a reductive analytical system that views music via harmonic motion to and from a target chord or tonic". In 2003 Benjamin, Horvit, and Nelson describe the use of letters to indicate chord root as, "popular music ([and/specifically] jazz) lead sheet symbols." The use of letters, "is an analytical technique that may be employed along with, or instead of, more conventional methods of analysis such as Roman numeral analysis. The system employs letter names to indicate the roots of chords, accompanied by specific symbols to depict chord quality."
Other notation systems for chords include:Benward & Saker, p. 77. Traditional staff notation. Roman numerals, commonly used in harmonic analysis.Schoenberg, Arnold (1983). Structural Functions of Harmony, pp. 1–2. Faber and Faber. 0393004783 figured bass, widely used in the Baroque era. numbered musical notation, a musical notation that use numbers characters instance of graphical symbols, widely used in China. Nashville Number System, a variant of modern chord symbols, that use Arabic numerals for scale degrees.
Chord quality
Chord qualities are related to the qualities of the component intervals that 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: No symbol, or sometimes or for major , or for minor or for augmented for diminished
In addition, is used for major seventh, instead of the standard , or − is sometimes used for minor, instead of the standard or a lowercase root note is sometimes used for minor, e.g. instead of is used for augmented ( is not used, but sometimes is used, e.g. 6) is for diminished ( is not used) is used for half-diminished may occasionally be used for dominant
Chord qualities are sometimes omitted. When specified, they appear immediately after the root note or, if the root is omitted, at the beginning of the chord name or symbol. For instance, in the symbol Cm7 (C minor seventh chord) C is the root and m is the chord quality. When the terms minor, major, augmented, diminished, or the corresponding symbols do not appear immediately after the root note, or at the beginning of the name or symbol, they should be considered interval qualities, rather than chord qualities. For instance, in CmM7 (minor major seventh chord), m is the chord quality and M refers to the interval.
Major, minor, augmented, and diminished chords Three-note chords are called triads. There are four basic triads (major, minor, augmented, diminished). They are all tertian—which means defined by the root, a third, and a fifth. Since most other chords are made by adding one or more notes to these triads, the name and symbol of a chord is often built by just adding an interval number to the name and symbol of a triad. For instance, a C augmented seventh chord is a C augmented triad with an extra note defined by a minor seventh interval:
C = C + augmentedseventh chord augmentedtriad minorseventh In this case, the quality of the additional interval is omitted. Less often, the full name or symbol of the additional interval (minor, in the example) is provided. For instance, a C augmented major seventh chord is a C augmented triad with an extra note defined by a major seventh interval: C = C + augmented majorseventh chord augmentedtriad majorseventh
In both cases, the quality of the chord is the same as the quality of the basic triad it contains. This is not true for all chord qualities: the chord qualities half-diminished and dominant refer not only to the quality of the basic triad but also the quality of the additional intervals.
Altered fifths A more complex approach is sometimes used to name and denote augmented and diminished chords. An augmented triad can be viewed as a major triad in which the perfect fifth interval (spanning 7 semitones) has been substituted with an augmented fifth (8 semitones). A diminished triad can be viewed as a minor triad in which the perfect fifth has been substituted with a diminished fifth (6 semitones). In this case, the augmented triad can be named major triad sharp five, or major triad augmented fifth (M5, M+5, majaug5). Similarly, the diminished triad can be named minor triad flat five, or minor triad diminished fifth (m5, m5, mindim5).
Again, the terminology and notation used for triads affects the terminology and notation used for larger chords, formed by four or more notes. For instance, the above-mentioned C augmented major seventh chord, is sometimes called C major seventh sharp five, or C major seventh augmented fifth. The corresponding symbol is CM7+5, CM75, or Cmaj7aug5:
CM7+5 = C + M3 + A5 + M7augmentedchord chordroot majorinterval augmentedinterval majorinterval (In chord symbols, the symbol A, used for augmented intervals, is typically replaced by + or ) In this case, the chord is viewed as a C major seventh chord (CM7) in which the third note is an augmented fifth from root (G), rather than a perfect fifth from root (G). All chord names and symbols including altered fifths, i.e., augmented (5, +5, aug5) or diminished (5, 5, dim5) fifths can be interpreted in a similar way.
Common types of chords
Triads As shown in the table below, there are four triads, each made up of the root, the third (either major [M3] or minor [m3]) above the root, and the fifth (perfect [P5], augmented [A5], or diminished [d5]) above the root. The table below shows the names, symbols, and definition for the four triads, using C as the root.
NameSemi-tones Symbols (on C) Definitions Short Long Alteredfifth Component intervals Notes(on C)ThirdFifth Major triad047 C CM C Cmaj M3 P5 C–E–G Minor triad037 Cm C− Cmin m3 P5 C–E–G Augmented triad (major triad sharp five)048 C+ Caug CM5 CM+5 M3 A5 C–E–G Diminished triad (minor triad flat five)036 C Cdim Cm5 Cm5 m3 d5
Seventh chords A seventh chord is a triad with a seventh. The seventh is either a major seventh [M7] above the root, a minor seventh [m7] above the root (flatted 7th), or a diminished seventh [d7] 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.
The table below shows the names, symbols, and definitions for the various kinds of seventh chords, using C as the root.
NameSemi-tones Symbols (on C) Definitions Short Long Alteredfifth Component intervals Notes (on C) Third Fifth Seventh Dominant seventh 047X CCM CmajCmaj M3 P5 m7 C–E–G–B Major seventh047N CM7CMa7 Cmaj7 C7 C Cmaj7 M3 P5 M7 C–E–G–B Minor-major seventh037N CmM7 Cm7 C−M7 C−7 C− Cminmaj7 m3 P5 M7 C–E–G–B Minor seventh037X Cm7 C–7 Cmin7 m3 P5 m7 C–E–G–B Augmented-major seventh (major seventh sharp five)048N C+M7 C+ Caugmaj7 CM75 CM7+5 C5 C+5 M3 A5 M7 C–E–G–B Augmented seventh (dominant seventh sharp five)048X C+7 Caug7 C75 C7+5 M3 A5 m7 C–E–G–B Half-diminished seventh (minor seventh flat five)036X C C7 Cmin7dim5 Cm75 Cm75 C−75C−75 m3 d5 m7 C–E–G–B Diminished seventh0369 C7 Cdim7 m3 d5 d7 C–E–G–B Dominant seventh flat five 046X C75 C7dim5 M3 d5 m7 C–E–G–B
Extended chords Extended chords add further notes to seventh chords. Of the seven notes in the major scale, a seventh chord uses only four (the root, third, fifth, and seventh). The other three notes (the second, fourth, and sixth) 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 jazz, certain notes can be omitted without changing the quality of the chord. In a jazz ensemble with a bass player, the chord-playing instrumentalists (guitar, organ, piano, etc.) can omit the root, as the bass player typically plays it.