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Chords
An integral part of music is the chord - a group of notes played at the same time to create a more expressive tone. There are a huge number of chords you could learn, because any chord that begins on a given note could also begin on any other note.
For the sake of brevity we will deal only with chords in the key of and beginning with C. Even then there are almost 40 different chords.
There are 6 "types" of chords. They are: major, minor, diminished, seventh, augmented, and suspended. The difference in these types is really in the way they sound, and depending on the piece you are playing/composing you may want a major chord or an augmented chord, etc. The best way to learn what they sound like is to play them.
Each category of chord has specific chords below them, and the chord is determined by the interval between the notes. For example, the chord C, E, G, would have the intervals 1, 3, 5. C is the 1st note in the key of C, E is the 3rd, and G is the 5th. Thus the chord is C Major, or abbreviated Cmaj. Here is a list of the common chords in the key of C.
Chord Name Symbol Alt. Symbol Chord Interval
Major Chords
C Fifth C5 1 5
C major C Cmaj 1 3 5
C major C-5 Cdim5 1 3 b5
Diminished 5th
C major 6th C6 Cmaj6 1 3 5 6
C major 7th CD Cmaj7 1 3 5 7
C major 7th CD-5 Cmaj7-5 1 3 b5 7
Diminished 5th
C major 6 C6/9 C6 add 9 1 3 5 6 9
add 9
Minor Chords
C minor C- Cmin 1 b3 5
C minor 6th Cm6 Cmin6 1 b3 5 6
C minor 7th C-7 Cmin7 1 b3 5 b7
C minor/major C-D Cmin/maj7 1 b3 5 7
7th
C minor 9th C-7(9) C9(b3) 1 b3 5 b7 9
C minor 6th Cmin6/9 Cm6/9 1 b3 5 6 9
Add 9
C minor 9th C-D(9) Cmin9(maj7) 1 b3 5 7 9
Major 7th
C minor 11th C-7(11) Cm11 1 b3 5 b7 11
Diminished Chords
C diminished C0 Cdim 1 b3 b5
C half - C1/2dim7 1 b3 b5 b7
Diminished 7th
C diminished C07 Cdim7 1 b3 b5 6 or
7th 1 b3 b5 bb7
Seventh Chords
C 7th C7 - 1 3 5 b7
C 7th C7-5 C7dim5 1 3 b5 b7
diminished 5th
C 9th C9 - 1 3 5 b7 9
C 7th minor 9th C7(b9) C7min9 1 3 5 b7 b9
C 7th augmented C7(#9) C7aug9 1 3 5 b7 #9
9th
C 9th C9-5 C9dim5 1 3 b5 b7 9
diminished 5th
C augmented C(#11) C9(#11) 1 3 5 b7 9 #11
11th
C 11th C11 - 1 3 5 b7 9 11
C 13th C13 - 1 3 5 b7 9 13
C 13th minor 9th C13-9 C13(b9) 1 3 5 b7 b9 13
C 13th minor 9th C13-9-5 C13(b9)b5 1 3 b5 b7 b9 13
diminished 5th
Augmented Chords
C augmented C+ C+5 1 3 #5
C major 7th CD+5 Cmaj7+5 1 3 #5 7
augmented 5th
C 7th C7+5 C7aug5 1 3 #5 b7
augmented 5th
C 7th augmented C7+5(b9) C7aug5(b9) 1 3 #5 b7 b9
5th minor 9th
C 9th C9+5 C9aug5 1 3 #5 b7 9
augmented 5th
Suspended Chords
C suspended Csus - 1 4 5
C 7th suspended C7sus C7sus4 1 4 5 b7
As you no doubt noticed, there are quite a few chords and many have quite long names. Because of this most notation uses the abbreviated forms of the chords, so it pays to learn the symbols. Also, some music won't have the notes at all, only the abbreviated name, so memorizing these chords is a big step toward becoming an accomplished musician, jazz or otherwise.
A final couple of notes about chords: first, the above intervals work for any note to make the chords with a different base. Thus is you began on D and had a 1, 3, 5 interval, you would have a D major. Secondly, chords do not have to be played starting on the root note. For example, C major could be played C, E, G, or G, C, E, or E, G, C. These are called inversions and are useful when you want to raise or lower the pitch of a chord by less than a whole octave.
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Continue to Part 3
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