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Chord notation

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Chord notation refers to the written notation for musical chords using chord symbols. Although these symbols are used occasionally in classical music, they are "universally used in jazz and popular music"[1] to specify the harmony of compositions, usually inside lead sheets and fake books.

Chord symbols and staff notation

Although it is possible to notate any chord using staff notation, showing not only the harmonic characteristics but also the exact voicing, staff notation is more difficult to read, requiring years of training[neutrality is disputed]. It may also provide too much information, making improvisation difficult. In fact, although voicings can and do have a significant effect on the subjective musical qualities of a composition, generally these interpretations retain the central characteristics of the chord. This provides an opportunity for improvisation within a defined structure and is important to improvised music such as jazz. Other problems are that voicings for one instrument are not necessarily physically playable on another (for example, the thirteenth chord, played on piano with up to seven notes, is usually played on guitar as a 4- or 5-note voicing that is impossible to play on piano with one hand).

As a result of these limitations, a shorthand describing the harmonic characteristics of chords is used.

For more information on chords themselves, see Chord (music). This article concerns systems of notation for chords, rather than the chords themselves.

Intervals

A chord consists of two or more notes played simultaneously that are certain intervals apart. The following table shows the labels given to these intervals and the respective notes for each of the twelve keys. Chord notation provides a shorthand for intervals, not actual notes. This table provides a mapping of intervals to actual notes to play.

Interval from Root  Root  Minor Second Major Second Minor Third Major Third Perfect Fourth Augmented Fourth / Diminished Fifth Perfect Fifth Minor Sixth Major Sixth Minor Seventh Major Seventh
Key of F F G♭ G A♭ A B♭ B / C♭ C D♭ D E♭ E
Key of C C D♭ D E♭ E F F♯ / G♭ G A♭ A B♭ B
Key of G G A♭ A B♭ B C C♯ / D♭ D E♭ E F F♯
Key of D D E♭ E F F♯ G G♯ / A♭ A B♭ B C C♯
Key of A A B♭ B C C♯ D D♯ / E♭ E F F♯ G G♯
Key of E E F F♯ G G♯ A A♯ / B♭ B C C♯ D D♯
Key of B B C C♯ D D♯ E E♯ / F F♯ G G♯ A A♯
Key of F♯ / G♭ F♯ / G♭ G / Adouble flat G♯ / A♭ A / Bdouble flat A♯ / B♭ B / C♭ B♯ / C / Ddouble flat C♯ / D♭ D / Edouble flat D♯ / E♭ E / F♭ E♯ / F
Key of C♯ / D♭ C♯ / D♭ D / Edouble flat D♯ / E♭ E / F♭ E♯ / F F♯ / G♭ Fdouble sharp / G / Adouble flat G♯ / A♭ A / Bdouble flat A♯ / B♭ B / C♭ B♯ / C
Key of G♯ / A♭ G♯ / A♭ A / Bdouble flat A♯ / B♭ B / C♭ B♯ / C C♯ / D♭ Cdouble sharp / D / Edouble flat D♯ / E♭ E / F♭ E♯ / F F♯ / G♭ Fdouble sharp / G
Key of D♯ / E♭ D♯ / E♭ E / F♭ E♯ / F F♯ / G♭ Fdouble sharp / G G♯ / A♭ Gdouble sharp / A / Bdouble flat A♯ / B♭ B / C♭ B♯ / C C♯ / D♭ Cdouble sharp / D
Key of A♯ / B♭ A♯ / B♭ B / C♭ B♯ / C C♯ / D♭ Cdouble sharp / D D♯ / E♭ Ddouble sharp / E / F♭ E♯ / F F♯ / G♭ Fdouble sharp / G G♯ / A♭ Gdouble sharp / A

Chord Notation

The first part of a symbol for a chord defines the root of the chord. The root of the chord will always be played by one of the instruments in the ensemble (usually by a bass instrument) – failure to include the root means that the indicated chord is not being played. By convention, the root alone indicates a simple major triad, i.e., the root, the major third, and the perfect fifth above the root. After this, various additional symbols are added to modify this chord. There is unfortunately no universal standard for these symbols. The most common ones are presented here.

Chord notation does not easily provide for ways of describing all chords. Some chords can be very difficult to notate, and others that exist theoretically are rarely encountered. For example, there are 6 possible permutations of triads (chords with three notes) involving minor and major thirds and augmented/diminished and perfect fifths. However, conventionally only four are used (major, minor, augmented and diminished). There is nothing to stop a composer using the other two, but the question of what to call them is interesting. A minor third with an augmented fifth might be, for example, Am+, which will strike most musicians as odd; in fact, this turns out to be the same as F/A (see slash chords below). A major third with a diminished fifth might be shown as A(♭5). Usually, when a composer requires a chord that is not easily described using this notation, he/she will indicate the required chord in a footnote or in the header of the music.

Triads

Major Triads

A major triad can be built on each note:

C C♯ / D♭ D D♯ / E♭ E F F♯ / G♭ G G♯ / A♭ A A♯ / B♭ B

Referring to the interval table, we can see that the notes to play for C are the root C, the major third E and the perfect fifth G. For B♭ the notes are B♭, D, F:

Root Major Third Perfect Fifth
C C E G
Root Major Third Perfect Fifth
B♭ B♭ D F

For the rest of this article, we will build our examples using C as the root of our chords.

Minor Triads

Minor triads are the same as major triads, but with the third lowered by a half step. The most common notations are as follows:

Cm Cmin C−

Example:

Root Minor third Perfect Fifth
Cm C E♭ G

Augmented Triads

These are the same as a major triad, but with an augmented fifth instead of a perfect fifth. The most common ways to notate this are as follows:

C+ Caug

Example:

Root Major third Augmented fifth
C+ C E G♯

Diminished Triads

Diminished triads are similar to minor triads, but with a diminished fifth instead of a perfect fifth (the minor third is retained). The most common ways this is notated are as follows:

C° Cdim Cm(♭5) Cmin(♭5) C-(♭5)

Example:

Root Minor third Diminished fifth
C° C E♭ G♭

Please note that while the above symbols are commonly seen, the technically correct way to write a C diminished triad is C°.

Sevenths

A seventh chord is a triad with an added note, which is either the note a major 7th above the root, the note a minor 7th above the root (flatted 7th), or the note a diminished 7th above the root (double flatted 7th). Note that the diminished 7th note is enharmonically the same note as the major 6th above the root of the chord.

There are several different kinds of seventh chords, including major, dominant, minor, and diminished. For example, if you add the major 7th interval to your triad the resulting chord is called a major 7th, because the note you are adding to your triad is a major 7th interval above the root and the base chord is a major chord. A major chord built with the flatted 7th note above the root is known as a major-minor 7th chord, or a dominant 7th chord, or simply just a 7th chord. However, a dominant 7th chord usually refers to a chord built on the 5th note of the scale (in C major, this would be G). The G chord is the dominant (V) chord in the key of C major, therefore a G7 chord in C major is the dominant 7th, and all the notes used in this chord are diatonic to the key of C Major.

The table below shows the various kinds of 7th chords:

Major 7th Minor-Major 7th Augmented-Major 7th (Dominant) 7th Minor 7th Augmented 7th Half-Diminished 7th Diminished 7th
Notational forms: CM7 / Cmaj7 / CΔ7 / CΔ CmM7 / Cmmaj7 / CminM7 / Cminmaj7 / C−M7 / C−maj7 / C−Δ C+M7 / C+maj7 / CaugM7 / Caugmaj7 / CΔ+ C7 / C7 Cm7 / Cmin7 / C−7 / C−7 C+7 / Caug7 / C7♯5 CØ7 / Cm7♭5 / Cmin7♭5 / C−7♭5 C°7 / Cdim7
3rd major minor major major minor major minor minor
5th perfect perfect augmented perfect perfect augmented diminished diminished
7th major major major minor minor minor minor diminished
Example C E G B C E♭ G B C E G♯ B C E G B♭ C E♭ G B♭ C E G♯ B♭ C E♭ G♭ B♭ C E♭ G♭ Bdouble flat

Extended tertian chords

Extended tertian chords add further notes onto 7th chords. Of the 7 notes in the major scale, 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 jazz, certain notes can be omitted without changing the quality of the chord.

The 9th, 11th and 13th chords are known as Extended Tertian Chords. As the scale repeats for every seven notes in the scale, these notes are enharmonic to the 2nd, 4th, and 6th – except they are more than an octave 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

These are chords with the note that is an interval of a ninth added to the chord. The 9th notation implies that the 7th is also included in the chord, though in some cases it may be omitted. 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.

Major 9th Minor-Major 9th Augmented-Major 9th (Dominant) 9th Minor 9th Augmented 9th Half-Diminished 9th Diminished 9th
Notational forms: CM9 / Cmaj9 / CΔ9 CmM9 / Cmmaj9 / CminM9 / Cminmaj9 / C−M9 / C−maj9 C+M9 / C+maj9 / CaugM9 / Caugmaj9 C9 Cm9 / Cmin9 / C−9 C+9 / Caug9 / C9♯5 CØ9 C°9 / Cdim9
Example C E G B D C E♭ G B D C E G♯ B D C E G B♭ D C E♭ G B♭ D C E G♯ B♭ D C E♭ G♭ B♭ D♭ C E♭ G♭ Bdouble flat D♭

Note that the terms half-diminished 9th and diminished 9th, strictly speaking, refer only to the natural diatonic extensions of the corresponding seventh chords, which have only the minor ninth. Such chords with a major ninth are best referred to the corresponding minor chord with lowered fifth: Cm9♭5 / … etc.

11ths

These are theoretically 9th chords with the 4th note in the scale added. However, it is common to leave certain notes out. As well as the 5th, the 9th (2nd) can be omitted. Often the major 3rd is omitted because of a strong dissonance with the 11th (4th). Omission of the 3rd reduces an 11th chord to the corresponding suspended 7th or 9th chord and it is properly no longer an 11th chord (Aiken 2004, p.104) (see Added Chords below). Similarly, omission of the 5th in a sharped 11th chord reduces its sound to a flat-five chord. (Aiken 2004, p.94).

C-()-G-B♭-(D)-F = C-F-G-B♭-(D)
C-E-()-B♭-(D)-F♯ = C-E-G♭-B♭-(D)

Major 11th Minor-Major 11th Augmented-Major 11th (Dominant) 11th Minor 11th Augmented 11th Half-Diminished 11th Diminished 11th
Notational forms: CM11 / Cmaj11 / CΔ11 CmM11 / Cmmaj11 / CminM11 / Cminmaj11 / C−M11 / C−maj11 C+M11 / C+maj11 / CaugM11 / Caugmaj11 C11 Cm11 / Cmin11 / C−11 C+11 / Caug11 / C11♯5 CØ11 C°11 / Cdim11
Example C E G B D F C E♭ G B D F C E G♯ B D F C E G B♭ D F C E♭ G B♭ D F C E G♯ B♭ D F C E♭ G♭ B♭ D♭ F C E♭ G♭ Bdouble flat D♭ F♭

Alterations from the natural diatonic chords can be specified as C9♯11 … etc.

13ths

These are theoretically 11th chords with the 6th note in the scale added. 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, for example, is just the root, 7th, 3rd and 13th (6th). This reduced chord does convey the essence of the 13th chord. Omission of the 5th in a flatted 13th chord, however, reduces its sound to an augmented chord and it is no longer properly a 13th.

C-E-()-B♭-(D)-(F)-A♭ = C-E-G♯-B♭-(D)-(F)

Major 13th Minor-Major 13th Augmented-Major 13th (Dominant) 13th Minor 13th Augmented 13th Half-Diminished 13th Diminished 13th
Notational forms: CM13 / Cmaj13 / CΔ13 CmM13 / Cmmaj13 / CminM13 / Cminmaj13 / C−M13 / C−maj13 C+M13 / C+maj13 / CaugM13 / Caugmaj13 C13 Cm13 / Cmin13 / C−13 C+13 / Caug13 / C13♯5 CØ13 C°13 / Cdim13
Example C E G B D F A C E♭ G B D F A C E G♯ B D F A C E G B♭ D F A C E♭ G B♭ D F A C E G♯ B♭ D F A C E♭ G♭ B♭ D♭ F A♭ C E♭ G♭ Bdouble flat D♭ F♭ A♭

Alterations from the natural diatonic chords can be specified as C11♭13 … etc.

Added 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 jazz chord 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 popular music generally. Without the 7th, these chords lose their jazzy feel, but can still be very complex. These chords are called added chords because they are basic triads with notes added. Added chords 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 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':

  • Cadd9

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

  • 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 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 pretty safely 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 outside of the octave, although it is commonly the case.

It is possible to have added chords with more than one added note. The most commonly encountered of these are 6/9 chords, which are basic triads with the 6th and 2nd notes of the scale added. These can be confusing because of the use of 9, yet the chord does not include the 7th. 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

Finally, mention should be made of a special kind of commonly encountered chord, the suspended chord. A suspended chord 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 are called suspended chords because they create an impression of suspense. These chords "desire" to resolve into a normal triad. Suspended chords are notated with the symbols "sus4" or "sus2". Sometimes you will see "sus" on its own, in which case the 4 is implied. This can be combined with any other notation. So for example:

  • Csus9

This chord is an extended 9th chord with the 3rd replaced by the 4th (C-F-G-B♭-D).

Inversions

In addition to all of the ways of building chords (listed above), a chord may be inverted. Inverting a chord refers to playing a chord, but with a note other than the root as the lowest note of the chord. Take, for example, the C Major Chord. Refer to the table below for a list of inversions.

C Major Chord

Root Position First Inversion Second Inversion
C – E – G E – G – C G – C – E B♭ – C – E – G
Written as: C Written as: C/E Written as: C/G Written as: C7/B♭

The notation C/E indicates that you are playing a C major chord, but with an E in the bass, likewise the notation C/G indicates that a C major chord is played with a G in the bass.

Notes

  1. ^ Benward & Saker (2003), p.78.

References

  • Aikin, Jim (2004). Chords & Harmony. San Francisco: Backbeat Books. ISBN 0-87930-798-6
  • Carl Brandt and Clinton Roemer (1976). Standardized Chord Symbol Notation. Roevick Music Co. Cited in Benward & Saker (2003), p.76.

See also

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