Chord Spelling
Understanding Chord Symbols
With the growing interest in Jazz and other forms of music, I find more and more people asking about chord symbols and chord construction. While there are many books out there on the market, there is very little explanation of how chords symbols are interpreted. I’d like to share some of my insight with all you music enthusiasts. In many song sheets chords are given for guitar or keyboard players. Functional names are not used for this purpose. Instead, the root and quality of the chord are given in what may be termed lead-sheet notation (for example, Amaj and F#dim7).
Chord symbols are made up of 3 component parts:
1. The ROOT
The alphabetical name of a chord.
i.e. A, Bb, G F# etc.
2. The Chord Type
Indicating either Major, minor, dominant, augmented or diminished.
3. The extension:
Tones added to the basic three note chord (triad) that changes its sound but not its type. Extensions are represented by scale step numbers i.e. 9, 11, 13
Here are the basic chord types:
MAJOR indicated by GMaj., GMa, GM or just G (Note: the capitol “M” is used to designate Major chords.) Major chords are sometimes written without chord type designation. Symbols are also used to designate Major chords i.e. , .
Minor Indicated by Gmin., Gmi, Gm or G- (NOTE: The lower case “m” is used to designate minor chords).
Dominant 7 Indicated with only the root and extension numbers. Since some major chords and all dominant 7 chords can be written without chord type designations, the following will help you to distinguish between a major chord and a dominant chord: If the FIRST extension number following the root or letter name of the chord is 7 or greater, and it does not specifically state major or minor then it is a dominant chord.
EXAMPLE: C7b5, C13, C9 and C7sus4 are all dominant chords, but Cm11 is a minor chord and CMaj.9 is a major chord.
If the FIRST extension number following the root or letter name of the chord is 6 or under, it is a major chord.
EXAMPLE: C6/9, C2, Csus4 are all major chords
Augmented
These are 3 note chords indicated by G aug, G+, or G#5
EXCEPTION: G+7 is always a dominant chord as is G7#5
Diminished
Indicated by G dim, Gdim7, or Gº, or Gº7
Incoming search terms:
Categories: Entertainment, Instrument Tags: Chord Spelling, chords, guitar, music lesson, music theory, piano
A Music Lesson At Your Own Pace
A good music lesson is simply the best way to learn how to play the piano. This is because most people need the discipline they get from learning how to play music in a certain sequence of time. Once you master one lesson, you will be able to move on to the next with a great deal of confidence as your skills start to improve. It’s this confidence that is going to keep you wanting to play the piano and increase your musical knowledge and ability.
The piano is one of the most popular musical instruments today. Most people who are starting out choose to play the piano because of its diversity and simplicity. Once you learn to play the piano, you’ll be able to pick up almost any other instrument and be able to produce some type of quality sound.
When looking for the right style of piano to play, you should consider how serious you are about learning. You will find some pianos are extremely expensive, and this type of piano may not be necessary for someone who is just starting out. Pianos do tend to hold their value, and if you take good care of it you can probably sell it many years later for a decent price when you are ready to replace it with something newer.
The music of the piano can be heard almost anywhere including clubs, schools, churches, symphonies, and at home. Once you get into a routine for each music lesson you take, you’ll find that making time to practice is something you look forward to.
Learning online through an online piano course is a great way to play in your own home without having to fuss with scheduling or finding a teacher. You decide when you want to learn your next lesson, as well as when you have the confidence to move on to the next music lesson. Many people are already finding out how easy it so to learn how to play the piano on their own.
Each music lesson is designed to teach you what you need in order to advance to the next level. All of the notes and chords for the next set of songs are presented at the beginning of the lesson. You don’t move forward until you feel you are ready. This means you can spend more time on one lesson over another if you’d like. And it also means you can go back to a lesson at any time to review what you’ve already learned.
At Hear and Play, we know that finding the right music lesson to get you started at learning to play the piano is the key to creating a successful new hobby or passion. We offer online learning guides and reference tools to effectively help you learn to play music by ear. Contact us today at http://www.hearandplay.com/ to learn more.
Categories: Uncategorized Tags: A Music Lesson At Your Own Pace, music lesson
Chord Spelling
Understanding Chord Symbols
With the growing interest in Jazz and other forms of music, I find more and more people asking about chord symbols and chord construction. While there are many books out there on the market, there is very little explanation of how chords symbols are interpreted. I’d like to share some of my insight with all you music enthusiasts. In many song sheets chords are given for guitar or keyboard players. Functional names are not used for this purpose. Instead, the root and quality of the chord are given in what may be termed lead-sheet notation (for example, Amaj and F#dim7).
Chord symbols are made up of 3 component parts:
1. The ROOT
The alphabetical name of a chord.
i.e. A, Bb, G F# etc.
2. The Chord Type
Indicating either Major, minor, dominant, augmented or diminished.
3. The extension:
Tones added to the basic three note chord (triad) that changes its sound but not its type. Extensions are represented by scale step numbers i.e. 9, 11, 13
Here are the basic chord types:
MAJOR indicated by GMaj., GMa, GM or just G (Note: the capitol “M” is used to designate Major chords.) Major chords are sometimes written without chord type designation. Symbols are also used to designate Major chords i.e. , .
Minor Indicated by Gmin., Gmi, Gm or G- (NOTE: The lower case “m” is used to designate minor chords).
Dominant 7 Indicated with only the root and extension numbers. Since some major chords and all dominant 7 chords can be written without chord type designations, the following will help you to distinguish between a major chord and a dominant chord: If the FIRST extension number following the root or letter name of the chord is 7 or greater, and it does not specifically state major or minor then it is a dominant chord.
EXAMPLE: C7b5, C13, C9 and C7sus4 are all dominant chords, but Cm11 is a minor chord and CMaj.9 is a major chord.
If the FIRST extension number following the root or letter name of the chord is 6 or under, it is a major chord.
EXAMPLE: C6/9, C2, Csus4 are all major chords
Augmented
These are 3 note chords indicated by G aug, G+, or G#5
EXCEPTION: G+7 is always a dominant chord as is G7#5
Diminished
Indicated by G dim, Gdim7, or Gº, or Gº7
Categories: Education, Instrument, Music, Symphony Tags: Chord Spelling, chords, guitar, music lesson, music theory, piano
