FfabBk08 Chords

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Tagg: Everyday Tonality 8. Chords 137

8.ChordsChord,fromGreekchord(Latinchorda),originallymeantthestringofa

musicalinstrument.

Eventually,

chord

came

to

denote

the

simultaneous

soundingoftwoormoredifferenttonesbyanypolyphonicinstrument

orbyanycombinationofinstrument(s)and/orvoice(s).Thesimultane

oussoundingofnotesofthesamename,i.e.unisonpitchesorpitches

separatedbyoctaveintervals,doesnotqualifyasachord.Twonote

chordsarecalleddyads,threenotechordstriads,fournotechordstet

radsandsoon.

Chordsneed

not

be

heard

as

such

by

members

of

amusical

tradition

whosepolyphonyemphasisestheinterplayofindependentmelodic

lines(counterpoint)muchmorestronglythanmusicintheWestern

postRenaissancetraditionofmelodyandaccompaniment.Inmost

typesofpopularmusicchordsaregenerallyregardedasbelongingto

theaccompanimentpartofthatdualism.

DuetotheglobalpredominanceofWesternharmonicpractices,itis

usefulto

distinguish

between

two

main

categories

of

chord:

tertial

and

nontertial(seechapter6).Chordscanbeidentifiedinbothstructural

andphenomenologicalterms.Thischapterfocusesmainlyonstruc

turalaspectsofchords.

Structureand terminologyoftertialchordsTertialtriads

Tertialchordsarebasedonthesuperimpositionofthirds.Thesechords

arethefundamentalharmonicbuildingblocksinmostformsofjazz,

popularmusicandEuropeanclassicalmusic.

Atriadisanychordcontainingthreedifferentnotes.Thecommontriadisa

particular,andparticularlycommon,typeoftriadconstructedastwo

simultaneouslysounding thirds,oneoverlappingwith andsuperim

posed

on

the

other.

As

example

11

(p.138)

shows,c

ande

(a

majorthird) together withe andg (minor third) make the major common

triadofCmajor(c-e-g),whiledandf (minorthird)togetherwithfand

a(majorthird)makeaDminortriad(d-f-a,aminorcommontriad).


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138 Tagg: Everyday Tonality 8. Chords

Table11:TertialcommontriadsoneachdegreeofCmajor/Aminorscale

Therearefourtypesoftertialtriad:major,minor,diminishedandaug

mented(Table12).Thefirstthreeofthesetriadtypescanbegenerated

fromthesevenkeyspecificnotesofanystandardmajorordescending

melodic

minor

scale

(ionian

and

aeolian

modes).1

AsshowninTable11,majortriadsoccurondegrees1,4and5ofthe

major,andondegrees3,6and7oftheminorscale(e.g.C,F,GinCma

jor/Aminor).Minortriadsarefoundatdegrees2,3and6ofthemajor

andatdegrees4,5and1oftheminorscale(Dm,Em,Am).Themajor

scalesdegree7andtheminorscalesdegree2eachproduceadimin

ishedtriad.Allfourtypesoftriadaresetout,withCastheirroot,inta

ble11

(p.139).

Major

triads

consist

of

aminor

third

on

top

of

amajor

third(e-goverc-eforC),minortriadsofamajorthirdoveraminor

third(e.g.e$-goverc-e$forCminor),whileaugmentedtriadscom

prisetwosuperimposedmajorthirds(e.g.e-g#overc-e)anddimin

ishedtriadstwominorthirds(e.g.e$g$overc-e$).Alltertialtriads

containtheroot(1)and,withveryfewexceptions,boththird(3)and

fifth(5)ofoneofthetriadtypesdefinedinTable12.

1. Theflatsign($)infrontofthemajortriadsIII,VIandVIIintheAminorlineofexample11isintheoryonlynecessarywhendesignatingtriadsinminormodemusicusingapermanentPicardythirdonI(seepp.118120).Forexample,theGreenOnionsriffindorianE(EGA;BookerT,1962)followsaI$III IV(one,flatthree,four)patternwhilethefirstthreechordsintheverseofGreenbackDollarinaeolianA(EmGC;KingstonTrio,1962)canbedenotedeitherasi III VI(minorone,three,six)orasi $III $VI(minorone,flatthree,flatsix).

Given

the

hegemony

of

the

ionian

mode

in

conventional

harmony

teach

ing,itiswisetoputtherelevantaccidental,usually$,beforeromannumeralsdenotingtriadsonscaledegreesthatdonotconformtothoseoftheionianmode,asshowninTable32,p.277.


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Table12Fourtypesoftertialtriads(onc)

TertialchordsymbolsTwotypesofshorthandareincommonusesothatmusicianscan

quicklyidentifytertialchords:[1]romannumerals(I,vi,ii7,V7etc.)and

[2]leadsheetchordsymbols(e.g.C,Am,Dm7,G7).Leadsheetchord

shorthandisexplainedonpages145158.

Romannumerals

Romannumeralsareusedinclassicalharmonytodenotechordsand

theirrelationtothetonic(keynote)ofanykey.Thissystemofrelative

chordaldesignationcan,withminormodifications,betransferredto

thestudyofanypolyphonicmusicforwhichakeynoteortoniccanbe

established. Morespecifically, romannumeralsdenote chords

mainlytertialtriadsbuiltonthescaledegreetheydesignate.The

numeralsdenotethescaledegreeoftherootnoteofthechordinquestion,uppercasedenotingmajorandlowercaseminorcommontriads.

Table11(p.138),whoserootnotesarec d e f g a binthekeyofCmajor

(ionianC),showthatIdenotesamajortriadbasedonscaledegree1,

iiaminortriadwithscaledegree2(d)asitsrootandsoon.Alltriads

intheothermodescommonlyusedinWesternpopularmusicaresetoutinTa

ble32,p.277.

Bearing inmind thatpitchesextraneous to the tertialcommon triad,

mostfrequentlytheflatseventh,areexpressedassuperscriptedarabic

numerals,itisclearthat|Iviii7V7|designatesthesamechordpro

typeoftriad

typeofthird

typeoffifth notesinchord

leadsheetshorthand

romannum.

major major perfect c e g C I

minor minor perfect c e$ g Cm i

augmented major augmented c e g#/a$ Caug/C+ I+

diminished minor diminished c e$ g$/f# Cdim/Co io


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gressioninanymajorkey,whereas|CAmDm7G7|and|DBmEm7

A7|designatethesamesequenceintwokeysonly(CandDmajorre

spectively,ex.114).Similarly,arepeated|I$VIIIV|progression(CB$

F inC) isfoundasDCG(inD)throughoutLynyrdSkynyrdsSweet

HomeAlabama(1974)andas|GFC|attheendoftheBeatlesHeyJude

(1968b; in G). Note that tertial triadsbuilt on pitches foreign to the

standardmajororminorkeyofthepiecemustbeprecededbythereq

uisiteaccidental,forexample$VIIforamajortriadbuiltonb$inthe

keyofCmajor.Similarly,noteswithinatertialchordthatareextrane

oustothecurrentkeyofthepiecemustalsobeprecededbytherequi

site accidental, e.g. ii7$5 for the seconddegree seventh chord in C

majorwithdasrootandcontainingalsof, a$andc.

Ex.114. Iviii7V7sequence(vamp)inCandDmajor

InversionsEx.115. Cmajortriadinverted

Inmost

popular

music

the

lowest

note

in

achord

is

usually

also

its

root.

However,inchoralsettingsandinmusicstronglyinfluencedbytheEu

ropean classical tradition, tertial chords are often inverted, i.e. the

chordsrootnotedoesnothavetobeitslowest.Thefirstthreechordsof

example115showaCmajorcommontriad[1]initsrootposition(with

cinthebass),[2]initsfirstinversion(withitsthird,e,inthebass)and

[3]initssecondinversion(withitsfifth,g,inthebass).Thefinalchordof

example115

is

atetrad

(a

chord

containing

four

different

notes):

it

is

a

Cmajortriadwiththeflatseventh(b$)inthebass,i.e.aC7chordinits

thirdinversion(withitsseventh,b$,aslowestnote).


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Europeantextbookharmonysymbols,derivedfromfiguredbasstech

niquesofthebaroqueera(bottomlineofsymbolsinex.115),arelargely

incompatiblewiththeway inwhichchordsareunderstoodbymusi

ciansin

the

popular

field.

Therefore,

when

inversions

need

to

be

re

ferredtotheyaremostcommonlydenotedintheabsolutetermsoflead

sheet chord symbols (top line in ex. 115), sometimes in the relative

termsofromannumerals,asshowninthelineofsymbolsbetweenthe

twostaves,i.e.asI/3forthetonictriadwithitsthirdasbassnote,I/5

forthesamechordwithitsfifthinthebass,etc.

Recognition

of

tertial

chords

Individualchordscanbeidentifiedandnamedaccordingtotheircon

stituent notes and harmonic functions. They can alsobe recognised

phenomenologically.Table13listssomeofthemostcommonchordsin

popularmusic,togetherwithreferencestooccurrencesofthosechords

inwellknownpiecesofpopularmusic.Italsoshows,whereapplica

ble,withwhichmusicalstylesorwithwhattypeofmoodthechords

areoften

associated.

Table13:Familiaroccurrencesoftertialchords(3pages)

chord

short

hand

full

chord

descrip

tion occurrences

style

(common)majortriad

Firstandfinalchordofmostnationalanthems,WhiteChristmas(Crosby1942),theInternationale

(Degeyter1871),BlueDanubewaltz(Strauss1867).

Chordsin

chorus

of

Yellow

Submarine

(Beatles

1966).

HappyBirthday,lastchord.

m (common)minortriad

1stlongchordinPinkFloydsShineOnCrazyDiamond(1975).1stchordinItWontBeLong,SheLovesYouandIllBeBack(Beatles1963b;1964a).1stand

lastchordinChopinsFuneralMarch(1839).

+ augmentedtriad

GershwinsSwanee(1919)athowIloveyou!.SecondchordinBeingForTheBenefitOfMrKiteand

FixingAHole(Beatles,1967)

6 added

sixth

chord 1st

chord,

at

When

whipperwills

call,

in

My

Blue

Heaven(Donaldson1927).1standlastchordinMackTheKnife(Weill,1928);inchorusofAlabamaSong,atMoonofAlabama(Weill,1927).LastYeahinShe

LovesYou(Beatles,1963b).

jazz

192040s


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m6 minortriadwithadded(maj.)sixth

Firstchord

in

verse

of

Alabama

Song,

at

Show

us

the

waytothenext...(Weill,1927).FirstchordafterfanfareintheWeddingMarch(Mendelssohn,1843).

7 (dominant)seventh

chord

Penultimatechordinmosthymnsandnationalanthems.FirstchordinBeatlesISawHerStandingThere(1963a),IWannaBeYourMan(1963c),ShesAWoman(1964d),Taxman(1966),GetBack(1969b).

7+ seventhchordwith

augmented

fifth

ColePorter(1933):YoureBadForMe,upbeattochorus.MilesDavis(1961):SomeDayMyPrinceWill

Come,second

chord,

at

day.

Mary

Hopkins

(1968):

ThoseWereTheDays,atwerethe(upbeattochorus).Beatles(1969a):Oh!Darling,afterbrokedown

anddiedbeforerepriseofhook.

7$5 seventhchordwithdiminishedfifth;seven

flatfive)

Jobim(1963):GarotadaIpanema,penultimatechord;(1964):

Sambadaunanotaso,4thchord;(1969);Desafinado,2ndchord.

bossanova,

bebop,

maj

or

or

maj7

majorseven[th]

chord

ColePorter(1932):NightAndDay,firstchordofchorus.ErrollGarner(1960):Misty,1stdownbeatchordofchorus.Beatles(1963d):ThisBoy,1stchord.Tom

Jones(1965):ItsNotUnusual,1stchord.BurtBacharach(1968):ThisGuysInLoveWithYou,1stthree

chords.Beatles(1969a):Something,2ndchord.

jazzstandards,

pop1960s70s,

m7 minorseven[th]

chord

Youmans(1925):TeaForTwo,firstchord(ontea).Bacharach(1964):WalkOnBy,firstchord.Beatles

(1965b):Michelle,secondchord;(1968a):RockyRacoon,1stchordinhook;(1969a):YouNeverGive

MeYour

Money,

first

chord.

jazzstandards,

pop1960

s70s

m7

m9

minor,major

seven[th]/ninth

(ornine)

Hagen(1944):HarlemNocturne(theMikeHammertheme),firstdownbeatchordoftune.Norman/

Barry(1962):JamesBondTheme,finalchord.s

detective

&spies

m7$5 minorsevenflat

fiveorhalf

diminished

Addinsell(1942):WarsawConcerto,2ndchord.MilesDavis(1973):StellaByStarlight,1stchord.NatKing

Cole(1955):

Autumn

Leaves

(Kosma),

1st

chord

of

middleeight.

rom

antic

&c

lassics

chord

short

hand

full

chord

descrip

tion occurrences

style


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dim diminished

seventhchord

Beatles(1963b):

Till

There

Was

You,

2ndchord(athill);Beatles(1967a):StrawberryFields,

atnothingisreal.

horrorchord

silentmovies.

9 (dominant)ninthchord

Beatles(1964a):ThingsWeSaidToday,atdreaming(somedaywhenweredreaming);(1969a):Because,

highlightedchordatround/high/blue.

swing

bebop,

+9 plusnine

chordHendrix

(1967b):

Purple

Haze,

1st

chord.

Beatles(1969a):ComeTogether,start.BloodSweat&Tears(1969):SpinningWheel,firstchord.

rockc.1970,

jazzfusion

maj9 majorninechord

Jobim(1963):TheGirlfromIpanema,1stchord.

m9 minorninechord

Warren(1938):JeepersCreepers,1stchordofchorus.Weill(1943):SpeakLow,1stchordinchorus.Raksin

(1944)Laura,

1st

chord

in

chorus.

ja

zz

stands.

11 chordoftheeleventh;

elevenchord

RighteousBrothers(1965):YouveLostThatLovinFeeling,1stchord.Beatles(1967b):ShesLeaving

Home,atleavingthenote,standingalone,quietlyturning,steppingoutside,meetingaman;(1970):LongAndWindingRoad,atfirstoccurrenceofroad.Abba(1977):NameoftheGame,atrepeatedIwantto

know.

gospel,soul,

fusion,modaljazz

m11 minoreleven

chord

MilesDavis

(1959):

So

What,

all

chords.

Goldenberg

(1973):KojakTheme,firsttwochordsundermelody.

modal

jazz

13 chordofthethirteenth;

orthirteenchord

Degeyter(1871):Internationale,upbeattochorus.BigBenBanjoBand(1958):LuxembourgWaltz,1stchord

(upbeat).Beatles(1969a):Because,justbeforeecstaticAh!on

Dchord.

prejazz,

swing,

add9 majortriad

with

added

ninth

Bacharach(1970b):CloseToYou,

1st

chord

(at

why

do

birds

suddenly

appear?);

Nilsson(1974):WithoutYou,1stchord.

pop

ba

llads

chord

short

hand

full

chord

descrip

tion occurrences

style


8/22


madd9minor

triad

withaddedninth;

minoraddnine

AlHirt

(1966):

Music

To

Watch

Girls

By,

1st

chord.

LionelRichie(1983):Hello,1stchord.Rota(1966):RomeoandJuliet,

maintheme,1stchord.

sad,bitter

sweet

/3 majortriadinfirst

inversion

BeachBoys(1966):GodOnlyKnows,hooklineatknowswhatIdbe.Foundations(1967):Baby,NowThatIveFoundYou,atletyougoandevenso.ProcolHarum(1967b):Homburg,3rdand4thchordsin

introduction.

classical

/5 majortriadinsecondinversion

BeachBoys(1966):GodOnlyKnows,1stchord.Foundations(1967):Baby,NowThatIveFoundYou,at

loveyouso.ProcolHarum(1970):WreckoftheHesperus,startofmajorkeysection.

classical

m/5 minortriadinsecondinversion

Simon&Garfunkel(1966):HomewardBound,2ndchord;Sinatra(1969):MyWay,2ndchord.

reflective

ballads,

classical

7/7 seventhchordin

thirdinversion

BeachBoys

(1966):

God

Only

Knows,

at

are

stars

aboveyou.Foundations(1967):Baby,NowThatIveFoundYou.ProcolHarum(1967):Homburg,2nd

chord.Abba(1974a):Waterloo,2ndchord,ontheofooofAtWaterlooinverse1.

classical

7/7

majortriadwithmajorseventhin

bass

ProcolHarum(1967):WhiterShadeOfPale,chord2.EricClapton(1974):LetItGrow,2ndchord.

classical,

reflective

sus4 suspendedfourth

chord;quartalchord

Beatles(1965a):

Youve

Got

To

Hide

Your

Love

Away.

RollingStones(1965):Satisfaction,2ndoftwochordsinmainriff

MarvinGaye(1966):AintNoMountain,1stchordinintroduction.

pop1960s70s

chord

short

hand

full

chord

descrip

tion occurrences

style


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LeadsheetchordshorthandG,D7,Em7,C#m7$5,B$sus4,Amadd9andsoon:thesearejustafewex

amples

of

the

shorthand

used

to

designate

individual

chords

in

manyformsofpopularmusic.Theobjectofthissectionistoexplainhowthat

systemofchordlabellingworks.

Leadsheetsaresheetsofpaperdisplayingthebasicinformationneces

saryforperformanceandinterpretationofapieceofpopularmusic.El

ementsusuallyfeaturedonaleadsheetare:[1]melody,includingits

mensuration,instaffnotation;[2]leadsheetchordshorthand,usually

placedabove

the

melody;

[3]

lyrics,

if

any.

Such

types

of

written

music

areusedextensivelybymusiciansinthefieldsofjazz,cabaret,chanson

andmanytypesofdancemusic,etc.Leadsheetsconsistingoflyrics

andchordshorthandonlyarecommonamongmusiciansintherock,

popandcountrymusicsphere.

Leadsheetsoriginatedforreasonsofcopyright.Inthe1920s,theonly

waytoprotectauthorshipofanunpublishedsongintheUSAwasto

depositawritten

copy

with

the

Copyright

Division

of

the

Library

of

CongressinWashington.Toprotecttherightsofsongsrecordedby

earlybluesartists,musicianshadtoprovidetheLibraryofCongress

withatranscriptionofthemelodysmostsalientfeaturesalongwith

typewrittenlyricsandbasicelementsofthesongsaccompaniment

(Leib,1981:56).2Suchadocumentwascalledaleadsheet,itsfunction

descriptiveratherthanprescriptive,notleastbecause:[1]themost

profitable

popular

music

distribution

commodity

of

the

time

was

nottherecordingbutthreestavesheetmusicinarrangementforvoiceand

piano;[2]mostbigbandmusiciansreadtheirpartsfromstaffnotation

providedbythearranger.However,guitaristsandbassplayersofthe

thirtiesusuallyplayedfromamensuratedsequenceofchordnames,

i.e.frombasicelementsofthesongsaccompanimentaswrittenona

leadsheet.Withthedeclineofbigbandsandtheriseofsmallercombos

inpostwaryears,withtheincreasingpopularityoftheelectricguitaras

2. AmongthoseartistswereSippieWallace,BerthaChippieHillandEvaTaylor.AmongmusiciansprovidingthoseleadsheetswereGeorgeThomas,RichardMJonesandClarenceWilliams.ThankstoPaulOliverforthisinformation.


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mainchordalinstrumentinsuchcombos,andwiththeshiftfromsheet

musictorecordsasprimarymusiccommodity,leadsheetsoustedstaff

notationasthemostimportantscribalaidememoireformusiciansin

thepopular

sphere.

Other

reasons

for

the

subsequent

ubiquity

of

lead

sheetsarethat:[1]theirinterpretationdemandsnomorethanrudimen

tarynotationalskills;[2]sincetheycontainnomorethanthebarees

sentialsofasong,anextensiverepertoirecanbeeasilymaintainedand

transportedtoperformancevenues.

Byleadsheetchordshorthandismeant:[1]symbolsusedonaleadsheetto

represent,descriptivelyorprescriptively,thechordsofasongorpiece

ofmusic;

[2]

the

widespread

system

according

to

which

music

practi

tionersmostfrequentlydenotechords.

Sincethereareprobablyasmanyvariantsofleadsheetchordshort

handincurrentcirculationastherearemusicalsubcultures,itisimpos

sibletoprovideadefinitiveoverviewofthesystem.Still,eventhough

afewofthesevariantsdivergefromthecodificationpracticesdescribed

below,mostvariantsfollowbyandlargetheprinciplesexpoundedin

thischapter.

Table

14

(pp.148

149)

provides

aselection

of

fifty

tertial

chordsandtheirleadsheetsymbols,allwiththenotecasroot.Table15

(p.149)showshowtheshorthandtranslatesintospokenEnglishused

bymusicians.3Thebasicrationaleoftheshorthandwillbeexplainedin

detailafterthepresentationofthetwotables.

Leadsheetchordshorthandtable:explanations

Table

14

(pp.148

149)

charts

fifty

different

chords

based

on

the

note

c.Eachchordisidentifiedwith:[1]itsnumberinthechartsothatitcan

bereferredtoconciselyfromthecommentaryfollowingthetables;[2]

thestackofthirdsfromwhicheachchordderivesitsleadsheetshort

hand;[3]avalidwayofspacingeachchordonthepiano.Thefirstsec

tionofthechart(p.148)ispresentedinascendingorderofthenumber

ofthirdssupposedlycontainedinthechords:firstsimpletriads,then

seventhchords,ninths,eleventhsandthirteenths.Thatpartofthetable

3. Forashortguidetothephenomenological(aesthesic)ratherthanconstructional(poetic)identificationofchordsandforfullerstructuraldescriptionofcommonchords,seeTable13,(p.141,ff.).


11/22


isfollowedbyaselectionofadded,suspendedandinvertedchords,as

wellbyacoupleofexamplesofnoteomission,andendswithafew

samplesofquartalchords(p.149).

Thetop

staff

line

in

Table

14

is

not

for

playing:

it

simply

shows

the

stackingofthirdsattheconceptualtheoreticalbasisofeachchord.The

lowertwostaves,however,presentaviablewayofspacingeachchord

onapianokeyboard.Pleasenotethatthelittle8underthetrebleclefof

thepianopartfollowsthepracticeofnotationfortenorvocalists.That

meansyourrighthandhastoplayeverythingoneoctavelowerthan

written.Thelefthandpartshouldbeplayedasnotated(ex.116).

Ex.116.

Symbols

and

signsusedinTable14(pp.148149)

Table14containsafewsymbolicconventionsinneedofexplanation.

[1]Thereisingeneralonebarperchord.Iftwochordsappearinthe

same bar it isbecause one and the same chord, for example C+11+9

(#100inex.116;orchordnumbers12and18onpage148),canbewrit

teninradicallydifferentwaysdependingontonalcontext.[2]Certain

notesmust,

for

reasons

explained

later,

be

omitted

from

certain

chords,

forexamplethemajorthird(e)intheC11chordshownasnumber98in

example116.Suchobligatoryomissionsareindicatedbyalinedrawn

diagonallythroughthenoteinquestion.[3]Sometimesthepianopart

inTable14missesoutnotesthatappearinthestackofthirdsrowwith

noobligatoryomissionlinethroughthem.Theseoptionalomissions

aredelimitedbybracketsround therelevantnote in the tertialstack

lineof

Table

14

(see

chords

99

and

100

in

ex.

116).


12/22


Table14:LeadsheetchordshorthandchartforC(1)


13/22


Table14(contd):LeadsheetchordshorthandchartforC(2)

Table15: FullnamesofleadsheetchordsinC(Table14)

chordshorthand

numberintable14

asspokeninEnglishC+orCaug 3 Cplus,Caugmented,Caug[o:g]

C7C9C11C13 5, 13, 22, 26 Cseven,Cnine,Celeven,Cthirteen

Cmaj7,Cmaj9 7, 15 Cmajorseven,Cmajornine

C75orC7$5 10 Csevenminusfive,Csevenflatfive

C7aug,C7+ 9 Csevenaugmented,Csevenplus

C9+(C9aug)C+9 19 18 Cnineplus(Cnineaugmented),Cplus9

C13+11(C11+13) 31 Cthirteenpluseleven(Celevenplusthirteen)

Cm7,Cm9,

Cm11 6, 14, 23 C

minor

seven,

C

minor

nine,

C

minor

eleven

Cm,Cm9 8, 16 Cminormajorseven,Cminormajornine

Cm75orCm7$5

orC11 Cminorsevenminusfive,

Cminorsevenflatfive,Chalfdiminished

CdimorCdim7 12 Cdiminished,Cdim,Cdiminishedseventh

C6,Cm6 33, 34 Csix(Cadd[ed]sixth),Cminorsix(Cminoradd[ed]sixth)

Csus(4),Csus9 37, 39 Csus(four),Cfoursuspension,Csuspendedfourth,Csusnine

Cadd9,Cmadd9 35, 36 Caddnine,Cminoraddnine

C7/3,C7/e 41 C(with)thirdinbass,C(with)ebass,Cfirstinversion


14/22


Basicrationaleofleadsheetchordshorthand

Afterseeingsomanystackedthirds,itseemssuperfluoustostatethat

leadsheetchordshorthandhasatertialbasis.Sincethissystemofabbrevia

tionevolvedduringtheheydayoftertialharmonyinpopularmusic,its

simplestsymbolsdenotecommontriadsbuiltonthedesignatednote

(e.g.CforacommonCmajortriad).Moreover,charactersplacedafter

thetriadnametendmerelytoqualifythattertialtriad,eitherinterms

ofnotesaddedtoitorbydenotingchromaticalterationofanydegree

withinthechordexceptfortherootanditsthird.Similarly,thenumer

alsseenmostfrequentlyafterthetriadsymbol(7,9,11,13)represent

pitchesstackedinthirdsabovethetwothirdsalreadycontainedwithin

thetriad(13,35)onwhichamorecomplexchordisbased(e.g.C9con

taining b$ and d flat seventh and major ninth in addition to

c-e-g).Theshorthandsystemalsoassumesthatrootandbassnoteare

thesame.Developedinstylespecificcontexts,leadsheetchordshort

hand allows for the concise and efficient representation ofchords in

many

types

of

popular

music,

for

example

jazz

standards,

chanson,Schlagerandmanytypesofpop,rockandcountrymusic.Thesystemis,

however,cumbersomeandinneedofreformwhenitcomestocodify

inginversionsandtonontertialharmony.

Symbolcomponents

Leadsheetchordsymbolsarebuiltfromthefollowingcomponents

placedinthefollowingorder:[1]notenameofthechordsroot,present

ineverysymbol;[2]triadtype,ifnotmajor;[3]typeofseventh,ifany;

[4]ninths,eleventhsandthirteenths,ifany,withorwithoutalteration;

[5]alteredfifth,ifany;[6]addednotesoutsidethetertialstack,oromit

tednotesandsuspensions,ifany;[7]inversions,ifany.Sincecompo

nents[2]through[7]areonlyincludedwhennecessary,chordsymbols

rangefromverysimple(e.g.C,Cm,C7)toquitecomplex(e.g.F#m6add9,

B$13+9,EomitG#).Table16summarisestheorderofpresentationfor

symbolsmost

commonly

used

in

connection

with

tertial

chords

con

tainingneitheraddednotes,norsuspensionsnorinversions.


15/22


Table16:Normalorderofcomponentsinleadsheetchordshorthand

Notenameofthechordsroot

NotenamesmaybeinEnglish,asinthetoprowofTable16,orarewrit

tenaccording toGermanicorLatin languagenomenclature.4English

rootnote

names

are

always

in

upper

case.

Tertialtriadtype

Noextrasymbolisnecessaryforstandardmajortriads:justConits

ownisalwaysaCmajorcommontriad,i.e.c-e-g.Thequalifiermajor

applies exclusively to sevenths,never to thirds (see p.152). On the other

hand,minorappliestothethirdandtonoothernoteinthechord.Chords

built

as

or

on

a

common

minor

triad

must

therefore

include

the

triadtypequalifierm,miormin,alwayslowercase,immediatelyafter

thechordrootsnotename.Forexample,CmmeansaCminorcom

montriad,i.e.c-e$-g.5

Augmented triads consistof twosuperimposedmajor thirds (e.g.c-e-

g#),diminishedtriadsoftwosuperimposedminorthirds(e.g.c-e$-g$).

1:rootnote

name

A,B$,B,C,C#/D$,D,D#/E$,E,F,F#/G$,G,G#/A$

chord/intervaltype per

fectmajor minor aug

menteddiminished

2:triadtype[omit]

m(=min/mi)

augor+(5)

[v.unusual]

3:typeofseventh

maj(7)

or 7

dim(7)

oro(7)

4a:thirteenth 13 13

b:eleventh 11 +11

c:ninth 9 9 +9

5:fifth +oraug 5or 5

4. German

note

names

are

the

same

as

in

English

except:

[1]

B8

is

called

H,

[2]

B$

is

calledB,[3]F#,C#etc.arecalledFis,Cis,etc.,and[4]E$,A$,D$arecalledEss,AssandDess.CDEFGAandBarecalleddormifasollasiinFrench(aLatinlanguage),F#isfa#(fadise)andB$issi$(sibmol),etc.

5. Forotherminortriadsymbols,seeFlat,sharp,plusandminusonpage 156.


16/22


Theadjectivesaugmentedanddiminishedqualifyinthiscasethealtera

tionofscaledegree5.Augmentedfifthsareusuallyindicatedbya+,

orbyaug(e.g.C+,orCaug).Whilethediminishedtriadisuncom

monon

its

own,

the

augmented

triad

(C+,

B$+,

etc.)

occurs

quite

fre

quentlyinpopularmusic.

To avoid linguistic incongruities like Amadd9 in chord shorthand

theresnothingmadaboutit!itispreferabletowriterootnameand

triadtypeinnormaltypeface,subsequentsymbolsinasmallertypeface

and/orassuperscript,forexampleAmmaj7orAmadd9.

Typeof

seventh

Since,intheoftenjazzrelatedstylesforwhichleadsheetsymbolswere

originallydeveloped,theminor(flat)seventh(e.g.b$inrelationtoc)is

morecommonthanthekeyspecificmajorseventh(e.g.b8inrelation

toc),andsincethequalifierminorisappliedexclusivelytothethirdin

tertialtriads,acommonmajortriadwithanaddedminorseventhre

quiresnootherqualificationthanthenumeral7(Table14:5):flatseven

isdefault

seventh

in

the

same

way

as

default

triads

feature

major

thirds.

Ontheotherhand,tertialchordscontainingakeyspecificmajorsev

enthneedtobeflaggedbymeansofmajor(table14:7).Sincemaj

andarereservedasqualifiersoftheseventhandofnootherscalede

gree,the7maybeomittedinconjunctionwiththesesymbols(e.g.

CmajorC=Cmaj7).However,thesimple7isalwayspresenttodenote

thedefaulttetradoftheseventhwhoseseventhdegreeisalwaysflator

minor,

see

Table

14:

5

12).Seventhchordscontaininganaugmentedfifthindicatesuchalteration

by7+or7aug(Table14:9).Diminishedfifthsinseventhchordscontain

ingamajorthirdappearas7-5(sevenminusfive)or7$5(sevenflat

five,seeTable14:10).Seventhchordscontainingminorthird,dimin

ishedfifthandflatseventharewrittenasm7-5orm7$5,sometimesas

(minor seven flat five or half diminished, Table 14: 11). The dim

chord

constitutes

a

special

case,

containing

both

diminished

seventhandfifth,andismostfrequentlyindicatedbydimplacedstraightafter

therootnotename,sometimesbydim7,occasionallybyooro7(dimin

ishedseventhorjustdim;Table14,chordno.12).


17/22


Ninths,elevenths,thirteenths

Chordsinvolvingninths,eleventhsandthirteenthsareassumedtoin

clude,atleasttheoretically,somekindoftertialtriadandsomekindof

seventh

(p.148:

1332).

Chords

containing

elevenths

presuppose

the

presenceofaninth,andthirteenthchordsthepresenceofaneleventh

aswellasaninth,allinadditiontoaseventhandthemajororminor

triadoftherootnote.Tosavespace,shorthanddenotingallsuchchords

isusuallypresentedindescendingorderofintervalsrequiringqualifi

cation thirteenths, elevenths, ninths, fifths once the root note

name,theminortriadmarker(ifnecessary)andthemajorseventhsym

bol

(if

necessary)

have

been

included

(Table

14:

17

32).

The

only

excep

tion to this practice is the chord containing major thirteenth and

augmentedeleventh(13+11)whichissometimesreferredtoinreverse

orderas11+13(p.148:3132).Shorthandforchordsofthethirteenth,

eleventhandninthincludenomentionoftheeleventh,ninthorseventh

belowthem,unlessanyofthosedegreesdeviatefromtheirdefaultval

ues (perfect eleventh, major ninth, minor seventh). For example, the

11inC11assumesthepresenceofthedefaultninthandflatseventh(d

andb$),whereasthe9inC+11+9isincludedonaccountofitsalterationfromdtod#/e$(ex.116,p.147:chord100).

Certain notes are often omitted from ninth, eleventh and thirteenth

chords.Whilemostoftheomissionsarepreferential,oneismandatory:

removingthemajorthirdfromanelevenchordbecauseofaninternal

minorninthdissonancecreatedbetweenthemajorthirdlower inthe

chordandtheeleventhusuallyatthetop,forexamplethee83against

thef4

in

C11

(see

chord

98

in

ex.116,

p.

147).6

Other

omissions

relate

largelytoregister.Forexample,withanaccompanimentalregisterin

themiddleofthepianokeyboardandwithbassnotesusuallybetween

oneand twooctaves lower,sounding the fifth inchordsof theninth

andthirteenthcanoftencauseamuddy,clutteredeffect.Itisforthis

reasonthatfifthsareomittedinchords17,18and2631onpage148.

6. Theissueisnotinfacttheminorninthassuch(oneoctaveplusasemitone)because

theminorninechord(C9,no.17onp.148)isitselfdefinedbythesameinterval.Itisratheraquestionofhowthedissonanceisspacedandwhetheritisproducedin

relationtotherootortoanothernoteinthechord.IntheC9onpage148therearetwooctavesandasemitonebetweentherootnotec2anditsminorninthd$4.


18/22


Alteredfi fths

Althoughsimpleaugmentedanddiminishedtriadsareencoded+or

aug

and

dim

or

respectively,

the

symbol

for

altered

fifths

(+

and

5

or$5)inchordsoftheseventh,ninth,eleventhandthirteenthisalways

placedlastafterallotherrelevantinformation(e.g.C7$5,Cm7$5,C7+,etc;

seetable14,chords912,1921,page148).

Additionalsymbols

Omittednotes

Themorenotesachordtheoreticallycontains,themoredifficultitbe

comestospacethosenotessatisfactorilyonthekeyboardorguitar.As

wejustsawwiththeelevenchord,theprincipleoftertialstacking

evenleadstounacceptabledissonancethatcanproveimpossibletore

solvewithoutremovinganotefromthestack.Suchremovalalsoap

pliestoanythirteenthchordwhosetheoreticaltertialstackcontainsan

unaltered

eleventh:

that

note

is

always

left

out

of

thirteenth

chordsbasedonthemajortriad(p. 148,chords2630).Similarly,theperfect

fifthisoftenomittedfromthirteenthchordsaswellasfromcertain

ninthchords.7Alltheseomissionsconstitutestandardpracticeand

neednotbeindicatedinleadsheetchords.

Onechordwhichdoesrequireindicationofnoteomissionisthebare

fifth,oftenusedasrockpowerchordandusuallynoted(inE)asEno

3or

E

omit

G#.

A

less

clumsy

way

of

indicating

open

fifths

is

with

a

simple5,forexampleE5foradyadofeandb,B$5forb$andf,C5

forcandg,etc.(seeTable14,p.149,chord45).

7. Infact,themorenotesachordhastoinclude,themoredifficultitbecomestospaceitsconstituentnotesinaconvincingwayandthemorelikelyitisthatpianistswillskipanotewhosepresenceisnotessentialtothesonicidentityofthechord.Guitaristsareprobablylessaffectedbytheproblem:notonlyisitimpossibletoplayall

seven

notes

of

a

thirteenth

chord

using

a

six

stringed

instrument;

it

can

also

be

hard

toconvincinglyaccommodateallfiveorsixnotesinsomeninthandeleventhchords.Besides,sincebothguitaristsandpianistsplayinginthestylesinwhichthesesortsofchordoccurbebopjazz,forexamplerelyonthebassplayerformostrootnotesandfifths,problemsofspacingandinternaldissonancedecrease.


19/22


Addedninthsandsixths

Addedchordsarethoseconsistingofasimpletriadtowhichanother

singlenotehasbeenaddedwithoutinclusionofinterveningodd

numberdegreesthatresultfromtertialstacking.Forexample,add9

andmadd9chordsaretriadstowhichtheninthhasbeenaddedwithout

includinganintermediateseventh(p.149, chords3536).Similarly,the

twosixthchords(p.149:3334)arequalifiableasaddedbecausethey

bothconsistofatriadtowhichamajorsixthhasbeenaddedwithout

anyinterveningsevenths,ninthsoreleventhsmakingthemintochords

ofthethirteenth.Itshouldberememberedthattheminm6refersto

theminor

third,

not

to

the

sixth

which

is

always

major

(e.g.

Cm6

as

c e$

g a8;p.149:34).Unlikeaddedninths,addedsixthchordsarenotindi

catedwiththeprefixaddbeforethe6.

Suspendedfourthsandninths

Suspensionsarechordsthatcanberesolvedintoasubsequenttertial

consonance. The most common suspensions in popular music, sus4

andsus9

,

both

resolve

to

common

major

or

minor

triads,

the

fourth

ofsus4toathird,theninthofsus9totheoctave(e.g.thefinCsus4tothe

eofCorthee$ofCm,thedinCsus9tothecofCorCm(p.149:3740).

Theabsenceofanynumeralaftersusassumesthatthesuspensionis

heldonafourth.Althoughadd9chords(p.149:3536)andsus9s(39

40)maybeidenticalasindividualchords,sus9shouldtypicallyresolve

inthemannerjustdescribed,whileadd9neednot.(Foruseofsusin

quartalharmony,seeNontertialchords,p.157,ff.).

Inversions

Sinceinversionsmainlytooccurinpopularmusicinpassingnotepat

ternsoranacrusescreatedbythebassplayerwithoutreferencetonota

tion,nostandardleadsheetcodificationexistsforsuchpractices.This

lacuna in the system makes chord labelling difficult in classical har

monycontexts.Onewayofindicatinginversionsis,however,towrite

the

relevant

bass

note

by

interval

number

or

note

name

following

therestofthechordssymbolsandaforwardslash,forexampleC7/3orC7/

eforaCsevenchordwithitsthird,e,inthebass(p.149:4143).Inver

sionsaudibleinpoprecordingsareoftenabsentfrompublishedlead


20/22


sheetsandtendonlybeindicatediftheyoccuronanimportantdown

beatoritssyncopatedanticipation.Thesamegoesforchordsthatare

heldorrepeatedwhilebassnoteschangeinconjunctmotion.Forexam

ple,abass

line

descending

chromatically

from

Cm

to

A$

would

first

passthroughthechordshownasnumber44onpage149:Cm/b8.That

indicationmaybeaccuratebutthechordisunlikelytobecalledCmi

norwithamajorseventhinthebassorCminoroverb naturalinthe

bass,muchmore likely tobe thoughtofasa anotherCminor,be

causeitssimplypartofthebassplayersjobtotakethemusicfromCm

toA$inanappropriatemanner.Inanycase,youareunlikelytosee|D

D/c#

|Bm

D/a

|G

|

as

lead

sheet

shorthand

for

the

first

five

chords

inBachsAir(1731),howeveraccuratethatmaybe.8

Anomalies

Flat,sharp,plusandminus

Sharpandflatsigns(#,$)aremainly

reservedasaccidentalsqualifyingthe

rootnotename.Example 117shows

the$

in

E$9

indicating

that

the

root

noteeitselfisflat(E$)andnotitsninth(f#becomingf8).Itisinthis

waypossibletodistinguishbetweenanEflatninechord,(E$9:e$-g-

b$-d$-f),andanEminusninechord(E9,i.e.E7withaflatninth,i.e.e-

g#-[b]-d-f8).Otherwisetheruleisthatinanychord,allaltereddegrees

apartfrom3and7(pp.151152)areindicatedby+foranoteraisedbya

semitoneandbyor$foranoteloweredbyonesemitone.C7$5and

C75are

in

other

words

the

same

chord.

It

should

be

noted

that

conflict

ingconventionsconcerningtheuseofthesesymbolsareinoperation.

Forexample,someversionsoftheRealBookuseminussignsinstead

ofmormin todenoteminortriads,flatandsharpsignsinsteadof+and

tosignalchromaticalteration.

8. Infact,legalorillegal,onpaperortheinternet,publicationsofsheetmusicandoflyricswithguitarchordsarenotoriousforomittingchordaldetailintrinsictothe

soundof

the

song

in

question.

For

example,

in

the

(legal)

Warner

sheet

music

ver

sionofLionelRichiesHello(1985)notasingleAmadd9appearsaseithernotesoramongtheguitarchords,eventhoughthatchorddominatesthesongsverses.

Ex. 117 E$9and E9


21/22


Enharmonicspelling

Leadsheetchordshorthandtendstodisregardtherulesofenharmonic

orthography.9Forexample,althoughthe$IIIcadenceattheendof

theGirlfromIpanema(Jobim,1963)mightappearasA$9$5Gmaj7ona

leadsheetinG,thesame$IIIcadencewouldinE$almostcertainly

bespeltE9$5E$maj7ratherthantheenharmonicallycorrectF$9$5

E$maj7.Similarly,distinctionisrarelymadebetweenchordscontaining

afallingminortenthandthosewitharisingaugmentedninth:theas

sumption is that sinceboth+9 and -10 refer to the same equaltone

pitch,

the

difference

between

them

is

immaterial.

+9

is

much

more

com

monlyused than -10,even if the latter ismoreoftenenharmonically

correct.

Nontertialchords

Sincenontertialchordsdonotderivefromstackedthirds,theyarenot

reallytranslatableintoleadsheetshorthand.Apartfromopenfifths,al

ready

mentioned,

there

are

problems

in

encoding

harmonies

used

inmodalandbitonaljazz,aswellasinsometypesoffolkmusicand

avantgarderock.Forexample,standardconsonancesinquartalhar

mony,likechords48and50onpage149(C4andC4$7),areoftenla

belledsusor sus4,whichisinonesensenot surprisingbecause

chords48and50(C4andC4$7)containexactlythesamenotesaschords

37and38(Csus,C7sus).ThepointisthatneitherC2,4,norC5andC4$7

needanyresolutionandthatharmonicsuspensionisneitherintended

norperceived.Thatsuchsuspensionisintendedinchords3740isindi

catedinthetable(p.149)byarrowsleadingfromeachsuspendednote

toitsresolutiononthesmall,stemlessblacknotefollowingit.

Anotheranomaly is thatmusiciansoftenconceptualisechordsof the

eleventhandthirteenthbitonallyratherthanintermsofstackedthirds,

forexampleC13+11asaDmajortriadontopofC7;orC11asGm7orB$6

withc

in

thebass.

No

satisfactory

consensus

exists

as

to

how

such

chordsmightbe more adequatelyencoded. One possiblesolution to

9. Formoreaboutenharmonicsseeaddendum,pp.270272.


22/22


partoftheproblemmaybetorefertosomeofthesechordsintheway

suggestedintable14,examples4750(p.149),inlinewithourdiscus

sionofquartalharmonyinChapter6(pp.125136).

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