4CREATOR.com

   
Home Premium Tips Guitar Chord Basics Chord Symbol Notation (1)
Chord Symbol Notation (1) Print
Translation Status Bar
Outline: The chord symbol is a clever form of notation that tells you at a glance what notes make up a chord. Once you understand the ideas and rules behind building chord symbols, you can figure out the notes in any chord simply from that symbol.

NOTE: Unfortunately, chord symbol notation is not completely standardized; you may come across more than one way to label a given chord. In some of the descriptions below, we've included alternative ways to name a chord.


Learn the Basics of Chord Symbol Notation

The previous page outlined the simplest forms of chord, such as C or Cm, and the notes contained within. Here we'll dissect some of the more complex-looking sorts of chords you'll come across.
Chord symbol

Let's take the chord symbol above as a sample. We're going to break this down into 4 elements:

Chord symbol 2
Root
The first element of the chord symbol is always the root note of the chord.
Chord symbol 3
3rd
The second element in the example is the third of the chord. All chords are major unless otherwise stated, so there's no need for notation here if the third is major. A small "m", 'min", or "-" (minus symbol) is used to signify a minor chord.
Chord symbol 4
7th
If the chord contains a seventh, "7" appears as an added element in the chord symbol. If no "7" appears, that means the chord doesn't contain a seventh.

When musicians say "seventh" in the context of chords, they normally mean...

Members content You are seeing a preview page in the Premium Tips section. If you are a Premium Member, please login to continue reading.
▶ Not a Premium Member yet? Sign-up for a Free Membership first, then upgrade your account to a Premium Membership.


Tags: Chord
< Prev Title   Next Title >
 
Article title with *: Interim translation available.  Article Title with **: Translation not yet available.