Chord notation

{{Image frame|content= { \override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f \relative c' { \clef treble \time 4/4 \key c \major 1 } } |width=300|caption=Major seventh chord on C, notated as C Δ7 |max-width=}} {{Image frame|content= { \override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f \relative c' { \clef treble \time 4/4 \key c \major 1^\markup { "C" } 1^\markup { "c" } 1^\markup { "C+" } 1^\markup { \concat { "c" \raise #1 \small "o" } } } } |width=300|caption=Letters for triads built on C|max-width=}} 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) 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 .…

{{Image frame|content= { \override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f \relative c' { \clef treble \time 4/4 \key c \major 1 } } |width=300|caption=Major seventh chord on C, notated as C Δ7 |max-width=}} {{Image frame|content= { \override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f \relative c' { \clef treble \time 4/4 \key c \major 1^\markup { "C" } 1^\markup { "c" } 1^\markup { "C+" } 1^\markup { \concat { "c" \raise #1 \small "o" } } } } |width=300|caption=Letters for triads built on C|max-width=}} 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) 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. {{Image frame|content= { \override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f \relative c' { \clef treble \time 4/4 \key c \major 1^\markup { "C" } ^\markup { "C–" } ^\markup { "C+" } ^\markup { \concat { "C" \raise #1 \small "o" } } } } |width=300|caption=The four triads, all built on C: major (C), minor (C–), augmented (C+), and diminished (C )|max-width=}}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. {{Image frame|content= { \override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f \relative c' { \clef treble \time 4/4 \key c \major 1^\markup { \concat { "C" \raise #1 \small "Δ7" } } ^\markup { \concat { "C" \raise #1 \small "7" } } ^\markup { \concat { "C–" \raise #1 \small "7" } } ^\markup { \concat { "C" \raise #1 \small "ø7" } } ^\markup { \concat { "C" \raise #1 \small "o7" } } } } |width=350|caption=Five of the most common seventh chord, all built on C: major (C Δ7 ), dominant (C 7 ), minor (C– 7 ), half-diminished (C 7 ), and diminished (C 7 )|max-width=}}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. {{Image frame|content= { \override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f \relative c' { \clef treble \time 4/4 \key c \major 1^\markup { \concat { "C" \raise #1 \small "Δ9" } } ^\markup { \concat { "C" \raise #1 \small "9" } } ^\markup { \concat { "C" \raise #1 \small "7♭9" } } ^\markup { \concat { "C–" \raise #1 \small "9" } } } } |width=300|caption=Four of the most common ninth chords, all built on C: major (C Δ9 ), dominant (C 9 ), dominant minor ninth (C 7 9 ), and minor (C– 9 )|max-width=}}Ninth chords are built by adding a ninth to a seventh chord, either a major ninth [M9] or a minor ninth [m9]. A ninth chord includes the seventh; without the seventh, the chord is not an extended chord but an added tone chord—in this case, an add 9. Ninths can be added to any chord but are most commonly seen with major, minor, and dominant seventh chords. The most commonly omitted note for a voicing is the perfect fifth. The table below shows the names, symbols, and definitions for the various kinds of ninth chords, using C as the root. {{Image frame|content= { \override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f \relative c' { \clef treble \time 4/4 \key c \major 1^\markup { \concat { "C" \raise #1 \small "11" } } ^\markup { \concat { "CM" \raise #1 \small "11" } } ^\markup { \concat { "C–" \raise #1 \small "11" } } } } |width=300|caption=Three eleventh chords, all built on C: an eleventh chord (C 11 ), a major eleventh chord (CM 11 ), and a minor eleventh chord (C– 11 )|max-width=}}Eleventh chords are theoretically ninth chords with the 11th (or fourth) added. However, it is common to leave certain notes out. The major third is often omitted because of a strong dissonance with the 11th, making the third an avoid note. Omission of the third reduces an 11th chord to the corresponding 9sus4 chord (suspended 9th chord ). Similarly, omission of the third as well as fifth in C 11 results in a major chord with alternate base B /C, which is characteristic in soul and gospel music. For instance: C 11 without 3rd = C–(E)–G–B –D–F ➡ C–F–G–B –D = C 9sus4 C 11 without 3rd and 5th = C–(E)–(G)–B –D–F ➡ C–F–B –D = B /C If the ninth is omitted, the chord is no longer an extended chord but an added tone chord. Without the third, this added tone chord becomes a 7sus4 (suspended 7th chord). For instance: C 11 without 9th = C 7add11 = C–E–G–B –(D)–F C 7add11 without 3rd = C–(E)–G–B –(D)–F ➡ C–F–G–B = C 7sus4 The table below shows the names, symbols, and definitions for the various kinds of eleventh chords, using C as the root. Alterations from the natural diatonic chords can be specified as C 9 11 , A M9 11 ... etc. Omission of the fifth in a raised 11th chord reduces its sound to a 5 chord. C 9 11 = C–E–(G)–B –D–F ➡ C–E–G –B –D = C 9 5 . {{Image frame|content= { \override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f \relative c' { \clef treble \time 4/4 \key c \major 1^\markup { \concat { "C" \raise #1 \small "13" } } ^\markup { \concat { "CM" \raise #1 \small "13" } } ^\markup { \concat { "C–" \raise #1 \small "13" } } } } |width=300|caption=Three thirteenth chords, all built on C: a thirteenth chord (C 13 ), a major thirteenth chord (CM 13 ), and a minor thirteenth chord (C– 13 )|max-width=}}Thirteenth chords are theoretically eleventh chords with the 13th (or sixth) added. In other words, theoretically they are formed by all the seven notes of a diatonic scale at once. Again, it is common to leave certain notes out. After the fifth, the most commonly omitted note is the 11th (fourth). The ninth (second) may also be omitted. A very common voicing on guitar for a 13th chord is just the root, third, seventh and 13th (or sixth). For example: C–E–(G)–B –(D)–(F)–A, or C–E–(G)–A–B –(D)–(F). On the piano, this is usually voiced C–B –E–A. The table below shows the names, symbols, and definitions for some thirteenth chords, using C as the root. Alterations from the natural diatonic chords can be specified as C 11 13 , G m11 9 13 ... etc. {{Image frame|content= { \override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f \relative c' { \clef treble \time 4/4 \key c \major 1 } } |width=300|caption=Added ninth chord built on C, written as C add 9 |max-width=}} There are two ways to show that a chord is an added tone chord, and it is very common to see both methods on the same score. One way is to simply use the word 'add', for example, C add 9 . The second way is to use 2 instead of 9, implying that it is not a seventh chord, for instance, C 2 . Note that this provides other ways of showing a ninth chord, for instance, C 7add 9 , C 7add 2 , or C 7/9 . Generally however, this is shown as simply C 9 , which implies a seventh in the chord. Added tone chord notation is useful with seventh chords to indicate partial extended chords, for example, C 7add 13 , which indicates that the 13th is added to the 7th, but without the 9th and 11th. The use of 2, 4, and 6 rather than 9, 11, and 13 indicates that the chord does not include a seventh unless explicitly specified. However, this does not mean that these notes must be played within an octave of the root, nor the extended notes in seventh chords should be played outside of the octave, although it is commonly the case. 6 is particularly common in a minor sixth chord (also known as minor/major sixth chord, as the 6 refers to a major sixth interval). {{Image frame|content= { \override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f \relative c' { \clef treble \time 4/4 \key c \major 1 } } |width=300|caption=6/9 chord built on C, written as C 6/9 |max-width=}} It is possible to have added tone chords with more than one added note. The most commonly encountered of these are 6/9 chords, which are basic triads with the sixth and second notes of the scale added. These can be confusing because of the use of 9, yet the chord does not include the seventh. A good rule of thumb is that if any added note is less than 7, then no seventh is implied, even if there are some notes shown as greater than 7. {{Image frame|content= { \override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f \relative c' { \clef treble \time 4/4 \key c \major 1 1 } } |width=300|caption=sus2 and sus4 chords built on C, written as C sus2 and C sus4 , respectively|max-width=}}Suspended chords are notated with the symbols " sus4 " or " sus2 ". When " sus " is alone, the suspended fourth chord is implied. This "sus" indication can be combined with any other notation. For example, the notation C 9sus4 refers to a ninth chord with the third replaced by the fourth: C–F–G–B –D. However, the major third can also be added as a tension above the fourth 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 voiced quartally as C–F–B –E. {{Image frame|content= { \override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f \relative c' { \clef treble \time 4/4 \key c \major 1 } } |width=300|caption=First- and second-inversion C major triads, written as C/E and C/G|max-width=}}An inverted chord is a chord with a bass note that is a chord tone but not the root of the chord. Inverted chords are noted as slash chords with the note after the slash being the bass note. For instance, the notation C/E bass indicates a C major triad in first inversion i.e. a C major triad with an E in the bass. Likewise the notation C/G bass indicates that a C major chord with a G in the bass (second inversion). See figured bass for alternate method of notating specific notes in the bass. Upper structures are notated in a similar manner to inversions, except that the bass note is not necessarily a chord tone. For example: C/A bass (A –C–E–G), which is equivalent to A M7 5 , C /E bass (E–G –C –E ), and Am/D bass (D–A–C–E). Chord notation in jazz usually gives a certain amount of freedom to the player for how the chord is voiced, also adding tensions (e.g., 9th) at the player's discretion. Therefore, upper structures are most useful when the composer wants musicians to play a specific tension array. These are also commonly referred as "slash chords". A slash chord is simply a chord placed on top of a different bass note. For example: D/F is a D chord with F in the bass, and A/C is an A chord with C in the bass. Slash chords generally do not indicate a simple inversion (which is usually left to the chord player's discretion anyway), especially considering that the specified bass note may not be part of the chord to play on top. The bass note may be played instead of or in addition to the chord's usual root note, though the root note, when played, is likely to be played only in a higher octave to avoid "colliding" with the new bass note. ==Notes==

Text derived from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1359930666 under CC BY-SA 4.0; modifications have been made.